great migrations (1900–1950) ples having to flee as refugees and others voluntarily migrating in order to have a better standard of living, with numbers of indentured laborers going to work in other lands, often staying there In addition, there were large mass pilgrimages, such as those of Muslims on the Haj to Mecca, Shi’i Muslims to Karbala on the commemoration of the Day of Ashura, and Hindus to the River Benares Mention should also be made of the Russian Orthodox pilgrims, whole villages of whom made pilgrimages to Jerusalem in the early years of the century WORLD WAR I The period before World War I saw the advent of massive ocean liners that took many tourists, but also settlers, across the Atlantic from Europe to the United States Among the 1,317 passengers on the R.M.S Titanic were large numbers of Irish seeking a better life in the Americas At the same time many British left the British Isles to seek a new life in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa—those going to Australia being guaranteed a job under an Australian government incentive scheme Many of these stayed in Australia, with large numbers serving in the Australian Expeditionary Force in World War I There were also French and Italians moving to Algeria, where they established farms and small businesses, and significant numbers of British moving to Argentina, many to work on the railways Political troubles during this period saw some Russians, especially after 1906, moving permanently, including numbers to Australia to work on the railways, as well as many Russian Jews leaving Russia owing to the pogroms, with many settling in the United States There were also some Armenians and Christians leaving the Ottoman Empire before and during the Balkan Wars Indentured laborers from India moved to South Africa, to Ceylon for work on tea plantations, and to Malaya to work on the rubber plantations and tin mines, with others from Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies moving to the West Indies, including numbers from the latter for Suriname Many Chinese went to work in Transvaal, South Africa, on the goldfields, and men from Barbados and other places in the West Indies went to work on the Panama Canal During World War I there were many migrations, especially in the Balkans, with Serbia being invaded by Austria-Hungary, and many Serbs having to flee Belgrade and other cities In addition, there were internal migrations in Bosnia and Albania, also with Bulgars 133 having to evacuate Thrace Similarly, many Armenians were forced to migrate, and the end of the war resulted in war between Greece and the Turks, with Greeks in Turkey, such as in Smyrna, fleeing the Turks There were other conflicts that followed World War I including the Russian Civil War, which led to the flight of many White Russians and Ukrainians, including numbers moving to Harbin and Shanghai in China, as well as major smaller migrations associated with the formation of Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania (especially in Memel/Klaipeda), and Poland Some ethnic Hungarians from Vojvodina left for Hungary, Mennonites left for Paraguay and other places, and the Irish civil war saw many Protestants leaving the newly created Irish Free State and others fleeing the fighting and settling in Northern Ireland or on the British mainland In Asia, large numbers of Britons continued to go to India, Malaya, China, and Hong Kong, with Chinese moving to Malaya for the tin mines and Indians continuing to go to Malaya for the rubber plantations Large numbers of Koreans also left Japanese-occupied Korea for Manchuria In the United States, many people moved to northern cities like Detroit, New York, Cleveland, and Chicago with the establishment of large auto works and other industrial centers like Pittsburgh Many of those who migrated north were African Americans looking to escape the repressive Jim Crow laws of the South Additionally, with the halt on European immigration during World War I, African Americans were able to find work in northern factories The scope of the migration was huge: The African-American population in Detroit swelled from 6,000 in 1910 to nearly 120,000 by the start of the Great Depression BETWEEN THE WARS During the 1920s and 1930s, there was continued British migration to India, Malaya, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, to Burma with the enlarging of Burma Oil, as well as others going to Africa, especially with the copper mines at Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (modern-day Zambia), and elsewhere Other Europeans also moved to Rhodesia and South Africa, with some Italians moving to Argentina Lebanese and Syrian traders started to establish themselves in the Caribbean and in West Africa, with many Indian traders and professionals moving to seek greater opportunities in East Africa The Italians encouraged many of their people to settle in Africa, with numbers moving to Libya, Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, and also, after 1936, to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) Most left