economy. Ships from the Americas also began to stop in Portuguese harbors, providing a ready mode of transportation for those Portuguese seeking opportunity in the new land of opportunity in the west. Mandatory military service and the land tenure system that basically enslaved the poor peasants, made many young men sneak aboard ships destined for America and the riches it promised. The tables below demonstrates the immigration patterns from Portugal to the United States between 1820 and 1977:
Decade No. of Decade No. of
1820-1830 35 1901-1910 69,149
1831-1840 829 1911-1920 89,732
1841-1840 550 1921-1930 29,994
1851-1860 1,055 1931-1940 3,329
1861-1870 2,658 1941-1950 7,423
1871-1880 14,082 1951-1960 19,588
...