In his excellent biography, Alexander Hamilton, author Ron Chernow sometimes describes Hamilton as an immigrant. For example:
Like many self-invented immigrants, Hamilton had totally and irrevocably repudiated his past.
Chernow, Ron (2005-03-29). Alexander Hamilton (p. 580). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
My question is would contemporaries of Hamilton in the thirteen colonies have considered him an immigrant to the colonies? I can see arguments both ways.
For example trade between the North American colonies and the West Indies was frequent and often just as convenient if not more so than between the colonies themselves. South Carolina, for example, was established by Barbados sugar planters and in the early 18th century its residents could only communicate with other North American colonies by sea. It was as much a West Indian island as St Croix or Nevis and St. Kitts.
Conversely, with the exception of South Carolina and Georgia, which was a relatively new colony, the North American colonies did have much different history and culture from the West Indian plantations, so one could make the case that Hamilton's move from St. Croix to New York was not like Benjamin Franklin's from Boston to Philadelphia.
Alexander Hamilton was born to a Scottish immigrant father on the Caribbean island of Nevis.
He came to America after writing an essay accounting a severe hurricane. The local community leaders were the ones who sent him to the American Colonies in order to further his education.
I would assume he would have been considered an immigrant, as immigrant is defined as one who permanently relocates to a foreign country.
This is an old post, but I've just finished Chernow's biography and was searching Hamilton posts. Also, I don't think anyone answered the question.
So, Hamilton was Scottish decent. Meaning that he has all the advantages of a white man that all the other white men had at the time. However, he definitely was treated as an outsider/immigrant/an upstart. John Adams called him a Creole bastard. Yes, sometimes the fact that he came from the West Indies was a detriment to his political appearance, but, in my opinion, his brilliance, writings, and luck put him in a position of great power. But technically and practically, he was an immigrant\outsider.
I'd consider him an immigrant, although it's of course also important to note that once he was accepted in the US he became extremely anti-immigrant.