The Economic and Social Impacts of Colonial Emigration on Neuchâtel During the “Long 19th Century”

The Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel was able to develop and become one of the country’s economic poles—particularly in the export of watches—thanks to the movement of emigrants to Europe and European immigrants to Switzerland. At the same time, missionaries, explorers, and businessmen left Neuchâtel to travel to the colonial world. Historiography has never linked these two migratory phenomena. This article aims to fill this gap. On the one side, it will provide an overview of the existing historiography. On the other, through some case studies, it will propose evidence and new research approaches. The result will be an invitation to de-Europeanize the history of Neuchâtel in order to inscribe it into the global history of the colonial era.
Keywords: colonial migration, colonial trade, economic development, economic and family networks, de-Europeanization