Where Did Americans Come From? The Entire History

Ten places account for almost everybody in America. The largest is not a country — and the third sent more people here than any other nation on earth. This is every major source of American ancestry, ranked by size: how many came from each, when they came, which ports they used, where they settled, and how many of their descendants are here now. Britain and Ireland, West Africa, Germany, Mexico, Asia, Italy, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Caribbean, and everyone else. If you have ever wondered where your own family sits in that order, this is the whole list. In this video: Why the English are the largest ancestry in America and the least investigated. The two completely opposite English migrations — Puritan New England and the bound servants of the Chesapeake. The 50,000 convicts Britain shipped to Virginia and Maryland. The Scots-Irish and the Great Wagon Road. Why 31 million Americans claim Irish ancestry — five times the population of Ireland. Why only 4% of the transatlantic slave trade landed in North America, and why the population still grew so large. Which regions of West Africa were shipped to which colonies, and why Gullah survives on the Sea Islands. Germany's three separate migrations — the Palatines, the 19th-century wave, and the Germans from Russia whose records are in Russian archives. Why the border crossed Mexican families in 1848 rather than the other way round. Angel Island, the interrogations, and the poems carved into its walls. Why 70% of Italian arrivals went home again. The Poles who left a country that did not exist. Why Norway lost a third of its population. And the three reasons your surname is the weakest evidence you have. Chapters 0:00 The ten places 2:30 Britain and Ireland 10:00 West Africa 17:00 Germany 23:00 Mexico and Latin America 27:30 Asia 31:00 Italy 34:00 Eastern Europe 36:30 Scandinavia 38:30 The Caribbean 40:00 Everyone else 43:00 The people who were here first 45:00 Why these numbers do not add up 48:00 Pedigree collapse 50:30 Why your surname proves almost nothing 52:30 The two documents that name the town Tell me in the comments: which one is yours, and how far back can you actually take it? Country if you know it. Region if you know that. And if you can name the actual town, say so — almost nobody can, and the people who can usually have a story about how they found it. Subscribe for more of the migrations that built America. #Genealogy #AmericanHistory #Ancestry #FamilyHistory #Immigration