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people would eventually emigrate to America ~ over 42 per cent of the population
between 1843 and 1873 ~ by 1869, 51 Maggesi, or eight per cent of the population,
would come to AustraUa.'* Vincenzo Quanchi, whose tailoring business had begun to
fail in those years, decided to join the throng in 1854.
While peasant farmers were the greatest victims of the 1850s economic
upheaval, tradespeople also found themselves in severe economic difficulty: a
dwmdling population resulting from the mass emigration had left shop owners without
cUentele or with customers too poor to pay their bills. Like the neglected and
unproductive farms, many stores were closed and their owners declared bankmpt.
Vincenzo Quanchi, facing financial min at 45 years of age, hoped that AustraUa would
provide an outlet for his tailor skiUs ~ as the shipping companies had promised it
would. Since the majority of emigrating Maggesi were in their early teens* he was
also, perhaps, confident that his age would prove an asset in the business world. In
1854, Vincenzo borrowed 1,000 francs from the Maggia council which, like the
councUs of Giumaglio and Someo, had agreed to sponsor the emigration as a means of
solving its economic and social problems.^ Thirty thousand francs were made available
that year, enabling 28 traveUers to Australia and California to make the joumey.
While it is not clear which ship Vincenzo travelled aboard to Australia in 1854,
his joumey was almost certainly one of extreme discomfort and boredom: German
ships offering a cheaper but poorer standard of service were by this time attracting the
bulk of Italian-speaking travellers. Arriving in Melboume, Vincenzo possibly spent
some time seeking a taUoring position but, having little success (perhaps due to
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