Unemployment and famine in Southern Europe, and overpopulation in Japan during the late nineteenth century, led millions of people to cross the Atlantic Ocean in search of a better life in Argentina or Brazil. During the closing decades of the nineteenth century, Europeans faced famine due to poverty, leading the first Italians to migrate to Argentina, where food was plentiful. The economic depression of northern Italy led millions of Italians to travel to South America in search for new jobs, creating an Economic boom during the 1880s. Italian immigration during 1880s was of about 64,000. However, this number increases to about 2.5 million immigrants to Argentina between 1880 and 1930. The Argentine government encouraged European migration;
