SUMMARY

Foreign refugees in the 19th century
The July Monarchy created a "refugee status" for Poles in 1830. Throughout the 19th century, liberal Spaniards and Carlists (supporters of King Carlos and his descendants), Sardinian Italian republicans, Piedmontese and Polish refugees took advantage of this status between 1830 and 1900. Earlier, following the Spanish campaign of 1824, the Restoration had taken in Spanish liberals, who were initially prisoners but gradually became refugees. Even earlier, there was a massive influx of prisoners from the Revolutionary (from 1795) and Napoleonic wars (a system of forced labour was introduced in 1806), followed by the afrancesados of 1813.
Between 100,000 and 200,000 people are scattered across almost every département. They had local roots and today have descendants... The originality of the subject lies in the fact that they were grouped together and the thread running from 1789 to the last Spanish settlers at the end of the 19th century.

AUTHOR

Philippe CRISTOL, a professional genealogist specialising in Polish and Czech ancestry, is the author of the research guide "Retrouver ses ancendances polonais" and the monograph "Les Polonais au Sud de la Loire".