PER CENT OF TOTAL IMMIGRATION COMING FROM SPECIFIED COUNTRIES BY DECADES, FROM 1861 TO 1910. ═══════════════════════════╤════════════════════════════════════════════ COUNTRY │ YEARS ───────────────────────────┼────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬──────── „ │1861–70 │1871–80 │1881–90 │1891–00 │1901–10 ───────────────────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼──────── Austria-Hungary │ 0.33│ 2.6│ 6.7│ 16│ 24.4 German Empire │ 35│ 25.5│ 28│ 14│ 3.9 Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia│ 0.51│ 2│ 5.9│ 18│ 23.3 Russian Empire and Finland │ 0.2│ 1.9│ 4.4│ 14│ 18.2 United Kingdom: │ 38│ │ │ │ England │ │ 15.6│ 12│ 6│ 4.4 Ireland │ │ 15.5│ 12│ 10│ 3.9 ═══════════════════════════╧════════╧════════╧════════╧════════╧════════ In seeking to determine the causes of this change it will be well to note first certain general causes which have underlain the whole movement, and then to consider the specific causes which have operated to stimulate immigration in certain of the more important countries. Among the general causes may be mentioned first of all the great development of transportation during the last thirty years. As has been previously observed, emigration movements are very dependent upon easy and cheap transportation facilities. One great reason why there were so many more immigrants from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries, during the first three quarters of the nineteenth century, was that communication between those countries and the United States was so much easier than with southeastern Europe. The latter part of this century saw the establishment of many direct steamship lines from Mediterranean ports to the United States, which served to open up this new territory. There was also a great improvement in internal transportation in the more backward countries of Europe, which completed the line of access from the United States to the more remote interior districts of Europe.