History - Migration

Comprehensive question-and-answer flashcards covering British migration history across the Medieval period, Early Modern era, 17th to 19th centuries, 20th century Modern Britain, and the post-war Notting Hill civil rights movement.

Where did the first Viking raid take place?

Lindisfarne Monastery

What was the only Anglo-Saxon kingdom not to be conquered by the Vikings?

Wessex (Northumberland, East Anglia, and Mercia were conquered)

What was the territory ruled by the Vikings in Britain called?

Danelaw

What was the name of the Viking King that eventually brought peace and stability after years of Saxon rebellions?

King Cnut

What structures did William build upon arrival to England?

Motte and Bailey castles (also Cathedrals)

What were the primary reasons William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066?

He believed he had been promised the throne by Edward and Harold; England’s wealth, fertile soil, and trading links; and religious reasons.

What name was given to the distribution of land under the Normans?

The Feudal System

What was the Harrying of the North?

The Norman crushing of Anglo-Saxon rebellions in the north of England.

What name was given to the Norman survey of land and property?

The Domesday Book

Why were Jews able to lend money in Medieval England?

Their religion did not regard charging interest on loans as a sin.

Why did anti-Semitism increase in the Medieval period?

People resented their special status and paying high rates of interest, the Crusades, and blood libel stories.

What was the 1275 Statute of Jewry?

A law requiring Jews to wear a yellow armband and banning them from charging interest on loans, which made many of them poor.

In what year were Jews expelled from England, and which monarch ordered it?

1290, ordered by Edward I.

Which historic buildings were constructed using Jewish money in Medieval England?

Tower of London, Castles at York and Dover, Norwich Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey.

Where did the Flemish weavers originate from, and why were they invited to England?

The Low Countries; they had specialist cloth-making skills and were asked to come to England to develop the cloth trade.

Which group of migrants built the Steelyard in London?

The Hanseatic merchants

What was an impact of the Lombardy bankers in Medieval England?

They helped finance merchant trade and helped turn London into an international financial market.

What were letters of denization?

Documents given to migrants who swore an oath of allegiance to the crown, granting them 'naturalisation' rights.

What hostility did Medieval migrant groups face in England?

Higher and additional taxes, 150 migrants killed during the Peasants’ Revolt, the Steelyard being destroyed, and weavers being forced out of towns.

How did Flemish weavers change the English economy?

The economy shifted from a primary economy (based on raw materials) to a secondary economy (based on manufactured goods).

Which group was allowed by Edward VI to build their own church in 1550?

French Protestants

What did Charles II offer French Protestants in 1681?

Denizen status

What trade or industry were the Huguenots particularly skilled in?

Silk weaving

Why did Palatine migrants leave Germany in 1709?

Bad harvests, famine, poverty, and war; they wanted a better life.

How did the British government initially support Palatine migrants in 1709?

They set up a refugee camp in Whitechapel Fields, London.

What company held a monopoly of trade in India?

East India Company

What were two distinct types of Indian migrants in the early modern period?

Ayahs and Lascars

What were the reasons for African migration to England in the early modern period?

Escaping rebellion against the Spanish government; escaping enslavement and fleeing to England; or being brought to England as servants by their owners.

Why were Jews permitted to return to England in the 1650s?

Oliver Cromwell allowed them to return to get closer to heaven and help develop the weak economy.

How were Roma Gypsies perceived in early modern England?

As vagrants and a threat to peace and law and order; the government disliked their nomadic lifestyle and passed laws to force them to settle in one place.

What anti-Semitic restrictions did Jews still face after their return in the 1650s?

They were forbidden to serve in the army, practice law, or attend universities, and faced cultural stereotypes like Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

How is the integration of African migrants into Tudor English society exemplified by John Blanke?

He served in the court of Henry VIII and successfully petitioned the king for higher wages, reflecting that Africans worked skilled jobs and earned standard wages.

How did migrants impact British finance in the early modern period?

Jewish financiers invested in businesses to stimulate growth and make London a financial center; the first governor of the Bank of England was a Huguenot; and they created the 'National Debt'.

What impact did Huguenots have on the cloth trade in Spitalfields?

Silk production increased by 20 times, and Spitalfields became known as Weaver Town.

How did Cornelius Vermuyden impact English agriculture under Charles I?

The Dutch engineer drained the fens; by 1642, 40,000 acres had been turned into fertile farmland.

Why were Walloons more welcomed in Canterbury than Flemish weavers?

Flemish weavers had become so successful that their trades threatened local jobs, whereas Walloons established new industries that had not existed before.

What four factors caused Britain to change and drove increased migration between the 17th and 19th centuries?

Political change, the Industrial Revolution, the British Empire, and Transport.

What were the four categories of Indian migration between the 17th and 19th centuries?

Lascars, Servants, Students, and Princes.

Who were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels?

Political radicals famous for creating and spreading Communist ideology who moved from Germany to England.

Which four migrant groups settled in Liverpool during the 17th–19th centuries?

Irish, Indian, African, and Chinese.

Who was Abdul Karim?

An Indian migrant who served as an attendant to Queen Victoria during her later years for the final 14 years of her reign.

What is the difference between the 1807 and 1833 legislation regarding slavery in the British Empire?

1807 was the Abolition of the Slave Trade, while 1833 was the Abolition of Slavery itself.

Why did Liverpool attract thousands of migrants in the 18th and 19th centuries?

It was a major trading hub offering thousands of jobs in dockyard industries, cheaper transport links, and a high demand for sailors.

What retail businesses opened by migrants demonstrated their economic impact in 19th-century Britain?

Marks and Spencer’s (Michael Marks, a Russian Jew), Moss Bros (Moses Moss), and Burton Menswear (Montagu Burton).

Why were the Aliens Acts passed in 1705 and 1793 respectively?

1705: passed to force Scotland to negotiate terms for union with England; 1793: passed following the French Revolution and during the French Revolutionary War due to the influx of French migrants.

What push factors drove Irish migration to Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries?

Cheap boat fares, the decline of Ulster wool and linen industries, high rents, poverty, eviction for sheep farming, and the potato famine and agricultural collapse.

Who was Dido Elizabeth Belle?

An African migrant who became a British heiress and a prominent figure in the upper class of British society.

What was the British reaction to Jewish migration in the 19th century?

Growing anti-Semitism and prejudice rooted in fears that migrants would take English jobs and opposition to sweatshops.

What does the term 'decolonisation' mean?

When one country stops governing others and former colonies become independent nations.

What were the terms of the Aliens Act of 1905?

It stated that only people who had jobs or sufficient money could enter Britain.

What rights did the British Nationality Act of 1948 confer?

It gave millions of people living in British colonies and former colonies the right to enter and remain in Britain as citizens.

How did imperial and foreign migrants support the British war effort in World War I?

Over 3 million served in the Allied army (including 1 million from India); Lascars staffed merchant navy ships; and Belgian refugees worked in munitions factories.

What was the Kindertransport?

A rescue effort between December 1938 and September 1939 that brought over 8,000 Jewish children safely to Britain to escape Nazi persecution.

What four Asian migrant groups migrated to Britain following decolonisation from 1947?

Indian, Pakistani, Ugandan, and Kenyan.

How did joining the EEC in 1973 affect migration into Britain?

It granted EEC citizens the right to live, work, and move freely between member states.

Who was the 'Windrush Generation'?

Migrants from the Caribbean who responded to invitations from the British government to help rebuild Britain after World War II.

What happened to the vast majority of Belgian refugees in Britain after World War I?

90% returned to Belgium because they were no longer needed or welcome.

Which groups in Britain were designated as 'enemy aliens' during WW1 and WW2?

WW1: Germans; WW2: Germans, Austrians, and Italians.

What occurred at the Battle of Cable Street in 1936?

Jewish and Irish migrants united to block and confront a march by Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF).

Which British politician delivered the controversial 'Rivers of Blood' speech in 1968?

Enoch Powell

What triggered the Brixton race riots of 1981?

Accusations of police brutality towards the local Black community.

What did the 1965 Race Relations Act establish as illegal?

Discrimination against someone on the grounds of their race in public places.

What was the Windrush Scandal of 2017?

The wrongful detention, denial of rights, and deportation of Commonwealth citizens under the 'hostile environment' policy because they lacked documentary proof of their status.

Why did many Caribbean migrants settle in Notting Hill during the 1950s?

It was close to Paddington station and had existing Black communities living in the area.

Why was Portobello Road market important to the Caribbean community in Notting Hill?

It provided a gathering place to socialise, eat, and buy traditional Caribbean foods like yams, sweet potatoes, and dasheens.

What was 'Rachmanism' and how did it affect tenants in Notting Hill?

Practiced by landlord Peter Rachman: exploiting tenants by charging extortionate rents for overcrowded, damp, poor-quality properties with no tenancy security.

What sparked the violence during the 1958 Notting Hill riots?

Teddy Boys attacked members of the Black community, escalating tensions with weapons and Molotov cocktails.

What does the term 'colour bar' mean in the context of post-war Britain?

The practice of denying Black people access to housing, employment, and social facilities purely because of the colour of their skin.

What key initiatives did Claudia Jones lead to support the Caribbean community?

She founded the West Indian Gazette, met civil rights leaders, and organised the first Caribbean Carnival in 1959.

Who was Kelso Cochrane and why was his 1959 murder significant?

An Antiguan carpenter murdered by a white gang in Notting Hill; police failed to catch the killers and dismissed racial motives, leading to mass protest at his funeral.

What was the Mangrove restaurant and why was it targeted by police?

A Caribbean restaurant owned by Frank Crichlow that served as a social and community hub; police subjected it to frequent, unjustified drugs raids.

What was the legal significance of the Mangrove Nine trial in 1971?

All nine defendants were acquitted of riot charges, and the judge made the first judicial acknowledgement of racial prejudice within the Metropolitan Police.

Who were the British Black Panthers?

A British civil rights organisation inspired by the American Black Panther Party that fought racial discrimination and police brutality.