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Luxembourgish Americans (sometimes hyphenated) are Americans of Luxembourgish ancestry. According to the United States' 2000 Census, there are 45,139 Americans of full or partial Luxembourgish descent. However, demographers regard this as an undercount, as the index of inconsistency is high, and many, if not most, people of Luxembourgish ancestry have a tendency to identify simply as Americans or, if of mixed European ancestry, nominate a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. In 1940 the number of Americans with Luxembourgish ancestry was around 100,000.〔"De L'état à la nation 1839-1989" Imprimeries St. Paul. p. 145.〕 The first families from Luxembourg arrived in the United States, at least, in 1842, fleeing of the overpopulation and economic change in the newly independent country. This first families worked in the field, as was traditional in their country.〔(Encyclopedia of Chicago: Luxembourgers ). Posted by Kathleen Neils Conzen.〕 Luxembourgish Americans are overwhelmingly concentrated in the Midwest, where most originally settled in the nineteenth century. At the 2000 Census, the states with the largest self-reported Luxembourg American populations are Illinois (6,963), Wisconsin (6,580), Minnesota (5,867), Iowa (5,624), and California (2,824). ==History== Between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century, approximately one-third of the Luxembourgish population emigrated. Luxembourg was, at the time, a poor country with an economy dominated by agriculture. Like many other European emigrants of the period, the United States was a popular destination for Luxembourgers and the number of Luxembourgers who emigrated to the US in the 19th century is thought to be around 60,000–70,000. Substantial Luxembourgish emigration to America took off from about 1845, for several reasons. Advances in medicine caused the rate of infant mortality to decline. This resulted in overpopulation. The lack of work in industry led many to despair. The country could no longer feed its population. In the large families of the time, the dividing up of inheritance led to fragmentation of land ownership. The portion of each child was reduced to a few hectares, which was barely enough to feed a family. Selling one's portion to the elder brother, however, provided enough money for the other siblings to pay for the voyage to American and to start a new life there. Travelling was becoming easier in this period as well. Previously, it had taken as long to go from Luxembourg to Paris as from there to America. After a while, the news came to Europe that there was much unused land available in America. The Homestead Act offered fertile land, for low prices. Many therefore took the step of attempting a new start, since staying in one's home country would mean death by starvation. Luxembourgers arriving in the United States would not necessarily be registered as such by the authorities, but instead as Belgians or Germans. After arriving in New York, Luxembourgers tended to move on to Chicago, Illinois, as well as Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. A small number stayed in New York. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Luxembourg Americans」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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