Edited sentence: A number of settlers of Jewish Palestinian origins would become important in the early 20th century, and they formed the largest Jewish Palestinian colony outside of the Middle East.Also coming in the early 20th century were Spaniards fleeing the Spanish Civil War.During the 19th century, local governments in Germany, Britain, Italy, Holland, Croatia, Switzerland, and France sponsored important colonial immigration.Equally important, maritime commerce in the ports spurred the establishment of the English, French, and Italians.In the 18th century, Spaniards of Basque origin arrived, and thanks to the smuggling of clothing and furniture, numerous British and French families also settled there.Independence brought European soldiers and merchants—especially Englishmen, Italians, Irishmen, and Frenchmen—who supported the struggle and settled there.Later on, their descendants—called "pardos" by the Spanish—were partially "absorbed" into the general population through crossbreeding.Others became part of the Ejército Libertador (Liberation Army) of Peru, their ethnic differences practically disappearing.These slaves (and their descendants) constituted 1.5% of the national population at the beginning of the 19th century