Abstract

This article attempts to illustrate the characteristics of immigration to Geneva during the first half of the nineteenth century in order to understand the relational network that was built by these immigrants. The method used to establish this is akin to a biographical inquiry done by cross analysing several sources, namely the registry office, the census of the city and certificates of registration. By means of these data, the paper strives to illustrate the role that the socio economic and cultural profile played in the flow of immigrants to the city from which an assessment is made to appraise the influence of this variable in the establishment of a tangible migratory trend. Furthermore, the article also seeks to analyse the impact of family strategies on the construction of their relational web. The result suggest that professional specialisation of immigrants (primarily in the building industry, domestic services the retail trade and clock manufacturing)and the diversity of migratory projects may have influenced the construction of the trend as well as the structure of the family web within which they are located.