Immigrant business and niche formation in historical perspective: The Netherlands in the nineteenth century

This article presents an historical perspective on niche formation amongst migrants. Four case studies show four quite different routes niche formation can take. The routes depend on the characteristics of the niche and of the host society. Contrary to current ideas there was no evidence of groups of migrants moving from one niche to the next. Neither were niches vacated by a group of migrants filled by more recent arrivals. Most importantly niches developed gradually whereby both the niche and the group took shape during the process of niche formation.