Immigration to UK - A Brief History of Migrants
Migration to Britain of Romans, Irish, Italians, Jews to EU Visitors
Oct 13, 2009
Whilst more realistically classed as the Age of Invasions than the Age of Immigration to the UK, the conquests of Britain from the Romans through the Vikings and to the Normans certainly added a multi-ethnic dimension to the British nation, increasing the population of Britain dramatically and encouraging greater population migration from the conquerer nations to Britain.
Immigrants to the UK from the 16th Century Onwards
From 1500AD onwards, immigrants to Britain arrived for a multiplicity of reasons and from various parts of the globe. The principal reason for migration has tended to be due to discrimination in the mother country, although economic migrants to the UK started as early as the Industrical Revolution. A brief list of migrants with reasons for their movements follows, although this is not an exhaustive record but more an indication:
- Communities of German, French and Italian merchant groups, located around the dockland areas of London
- Irish
- Protestant refugees due to the Reformation in Europe
- Spanish immigrants due to repressions caused from the Spanish Inquisition period
- French Huguenots (From around 16th-18th Centuries)
- Black slaves
- Romanies and other gypsies
- Jews, once again,migrated to Britain from the time of Oliver Cromwell who lifted the laws expelling Jews from Britain. (From AD1290 - AD1645 Jews had been banned from Britain)
- Economic migrants from the mid 17th Century - early 19th Century due to British industrialization and perceived wealth
- AD1846-1855 approximately 800,000 Irish migrants arrived in the UK due to the effects of the potato famine in Ireland
- AD1848 onwards approximately 10,000 European refugees due to revolutions
- AD1855-1914 - Principal migrants to Britain were Irish, German and Italian
- End of 19th Century large Jewish communities arrived in Britain, mainly due to discrimination in Europe
- During World War I a Belgian community of refugees arrived in Britain consisting of around 200,000 people, however most left after the war
- Great xenophobia in the interwar period caused the decline of migration to UK
- In 1938 Britain was one of the only countries to allow a large migration of German Jews due to the discriminations in Nazi Germany
- Little migration during World War II
- From 1945 onwards the principal migrants to the UK were Irish, Italians, Asians and West Indians
- The 1990s saw refugees moving en masse to the UK
- Since 2000 the a great many migrants to Britain have tended to be EU visitors who have stayed
Reasons for Migration to Britain
- The role and rate of population growth in the mother country
- Britain's wealth made it a magnet for migrants
- Britain had no migration controls in place until 1905
- Individual choice
- Existing networks within Britain played a significant role in the migrant choice to move to the UK
- Transportation improvements from the 20th Century onwards made it easier and quicker to move globally
In conclusion, it can be seen that Britain has been a magnet for migrants since early times and whilst there has been much discussion about the multi-ethnic dimension of the British population over recent years, this is not a new phenomenon.
