Sven Mörsdorf

Permanently Temporary: The Austro-Hungarian Consular Colonies in New York City and Rio de Janeiro, ca. 1900–1920s. Ever since its foundation in the late 1860s, the Austro-Hungarian Empire established so-called consular colonies around the world. These state-sponsored communities were meant to support migrants abroad and keep them tied to the motherland. My research focuses on the consuls in charge of the two principal Habsburg micro-colonies in the Americas—those in New York City and Rio de Janeiro—to explore Austria-Hungary’s global empire through its growing diplomatic presence.