Greek empire and New America

Don Theodoro was the first Greek immigrant to set foot in America in 1528. The history of mass immigration of Greeks to America can be traced back to 19^th century. By 1890, about 15,000 Greeks from Aegean had settled in Louisiana where they later began an orthodox church. Approximately some 400,000 people from Greece had settled in America by the end of the 19^th century. On the other hand, the first Greek to set foot in Britain was Pytheas in 13^th century. Evidences of bronze trade between the Britons and people of Greece have been traced in Wessex. For instance, daggers and bronze axe have been found. Stone tablets have also been found on tombs. This shows that there was contact between the Greeks and the Britons.

Massive immigration of Greeks into the United States was also witnessed during the early years of the 20^th century. This can be attributed to the problems the Greeks faced under the leadership of the ottoman. The wars in Balkans and the effect of the First World War were also reasons for their migration. About 450,000 people of Greek origin immigrated to America from 1890 to 1917 and another group of 70,000 came in from 1918 to 1924. This was far much ahead of the immigrants to the United Kingdom at that time.

Most of the Greek immigrants to the United States and England hoped to go back home after they earned enough for capital and for paying dowries at home. Most of these men were unskilled and illiterate. None of them could be able to communicate in English.

However, most of the Greek immigrants to America did not go back due to the wars in their homeland, for example the Turkish war. The United States also began programs that aimed at naturalizing the Greek immigrants into American citizens. The Americans saw the value addition that their country would gain from the Greek immigrants since they were compatible with most of them. They were self reliant, socially committed and worked hard for self achievement.

This assimilation of the Greeks into American citizenship also promoted the Greek language media and their social life. The Greek valued their family life and they rarely married outside their community (Hareven 5). They later began teaching Greek language in schools and churches to their children. This led to more Greeks migrating into the United States. The peak of Greek immigration to the United States was between 1950 and 1970.

In contrast, most of the Greek immigrants to England went there as soldiers or traders. The immigrants traded in bronze made items. The rulers in England hired the Greek immigrants as soldiers and combatants in military expeditions. Presence of Greeks in London can be trace back to 1445 with the arrival of Greek gold wire drawers. Henri the VIII encouraged many Greeks to immigrate to England as soldiers. In the 19^th century massive Greek immigration to England followed due to the perceived economic potential of England when Napoleon was defeated

In the late 19^th century, Greece experienced political wrangles and economic disruptions. The ottoman ruling class carried out heavy and excessive taxation on the peasants such that they could not support their families (Monos 3). Most of the immigrants were therefore peasants that were escaping these atrocities. It is majorly for this reason that most of these Greeks migrated to the United States and to England.

According to the Census Bureau of United states America year 2000, there are about 365,436 people in America that speak Greek. Most of the American Greeks can be found in New York, in Chicago, Boston and Florida. The Greeks immigrants have developed the culture of both United States and United Kingdom in various ways. For example the Greek architecture has been adopted in building of houses, churches and government structures. Most of the architectures of Greek origin have spread the Greek architectural design to most parts of the United States of America. The Americans readily accepted the Greek architecture both in the interior and exterior designs. It is from here that these designs have spread across the world. Similarly the Britons have readily accepted the Greek architecture and it is widespread in homes and government installations. The Greeks have also developed newspapers in both America and United Kingdom.

The American Greeks have also developed the social standings of America. For example the Greek Orthodox Church which started around Greeks coffee shops has spread to most parts of United States. After migrating to America most of the Greeks began by engaged in economic activities as street vendors, shopkeepers, railway workers, while other were employed in cotton farms and industries. America was also more conducive for the Greek immigrants since they were allowed to trade, to work as industrial workers, to open their own businesses and even to register as full citizens of United States. This explains why the population of Americans of Greek origin is at 1.5 million in America today.

In conclusion, the United States hosts the largest number of Greek immigrants compared to other nations. For example, the U.S hosts more Greeks than England and Cyprus. According to the United Kingdom census of year 2001, there were 31,169 Greeks in England. By 2009 there were 290,000 people of Greek origin. This is far below the population of Greeks in America. This population is majorly spread in London, Sunderland, Birmingham and Manchester. The population of Greeks in United States is also more distributed that that of United Kingdom.

Works cited

Hareven, Tamara K. Family Time and Industrial Time: The Relationship between the Family and Work in a New England Industrial Community. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982 p.5. Print.

Monos, Dimitris. The Immigrant Experience: The Greek Americans. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1996.p.3. Print.