European migrants carried with them their political ideas and organisational skills.
Migrants brought with them not only their technical and professional skills, but also their political opinions, organisational talents and cultural interests. Political exiles created local branches of national political organisations in order to continue their political battles. Workers who had been exposed to the experience of trade unionism in their home countries contributed to the creation of trade unions. Migrants also associated for business purposes or to support each other in case of need.
At the same time, migrants strove to preserve their languages and cultures, at times with the direct support of their home governments. Schools were a key tool to preserve languages and a sense of national belonging. For this reason, some home countries financed schools abroad for migrants’ children.