Migration, entrepreneurship and investment strategies in the jura mountains in the 19th century. Two diverging trajectories

Abstract

The article examines some forms of 19th century entrepreneurial emigration and analyses their impact on the place of provenance. Taking the small town of Le Locle (Jura Mountains, Switzerland) as a case study, the author reconstructs two ambivalent paths of watchmaking families who saw some of their members emigrate overseas and diversify their economic activities. These trajectories reverberated on their native community in different ways. While, in one case, there was a return and investment directed to modernise the homeland, in the other we can see a runaway dynamic that caused financial losses to a fraction of the population. Investigating the reasons that drive two families in some ways similar to position themselves so differently, the essay argues that the choices made – but not necessarily intended – were influenced by the evolving political context of their place of provenance.