Migration to Britain c.1700-c.1900

Learning Aim

  • Examine which groups migrated to Britain between c.1700-c.1900 and why.

GCSE Grade Levels

  • Identify the main migrant groups to came to Britain between c.1700-c.1900.
  • Describe some of the basic reasons why these groups migrated to Britain.
  • Fully explain the reasons why these groups migrated to Britain.
  • Compare and evaluate the most common reasons for migration.

Previous Learning

  • Important to remember the groups who migrated to Britain in earlier periods (Medieval and Early Modern) and why they came.
    1. African Migrants
    2. Roma Gypsy Migrants
    3. Jewish Migrants
    4. Viking Migrants
    5. Huguenot Migrants
    6. Palatine Migrants

Migrant Groups c.1700 – c.1900

  • Migrant groups who came to Britain during the Industrial Age:
    • Chinese Migrants
    • Jewish Migrants
    • Indian Migrants
    • African Migrants
    • Italian Migrants
    • French Migrants
    • German Migrants
    • Irish Migrants

Follow Up Tasks

  1. What similarities are there between the reasons why migrants came to Britain in the period c.1700 – c.1900?
  2. What impact did Britain’s Industrial Revolution have on migration to Britain between c.1700 – c.1900?
  3. From your table, what seems to have been the most significant reason for increased migration during the Industrial period?
  4. What factors can explain why there was more migration from a further distance around the world?
  5. Give one example of how the attitudes towards migrants became more negative during this time. Try to explain this.

Irish Migration

  1. What had happened to the control over Ireland by 1801?
    • By 1801, Britain and its government were in full control of Ireland.
    • The addition of Ireland to Britain formed the United Kingdom, with the British government and the monarch in charge of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
  2. Why was there religious tension in Ireland?
    • There was tension between the Irish who were Catholic and the British who were Protestant.
    • Many landlords traveled from Britain to take control of land in Ireland.
    • With British, Protestant control, many Irish people felt like they were being treated like any other British colony and that they were not treated fairly.
  3. Why did many Irish farmers dislike their landowners?
    • In Ireland, most of the land was owned by wealthy, Protestant landowners.
    • The farmers on the land were often Catholic.
    • Landlords charged high rents for very poor quality housing, which led to many Catholic farmers living in poverty.
  4. Why would the Catholic Emancipation Act (1829) attract more Irish people to Britain?
    • England was officially a Protestant country and had previously put in place laws to restrict the rights of Catholics.
    • The Catholic Emancipation Act now gave equal rights to Catholics.
    • This attracted many Irish Catholics to Britain.
  5. What impact did the potato famine have on migration to Britain?
    • Potatoes were the main food for poor people.
    • A disease destroyed a third of the potato crop in 1845 and the whole crop in 1846.
    • 1 million died of starvation, and 2 million were forced to migrate to England.
  6. What role did transport play in the migration of Irish people to Britain?
    • The fair between Ireland and Britain was cheap.
    • This led to a huge increase in Irish workers coming to Britain for seasonal work on British farms.
    • In 1841, nearly 60,000 Irish workers, mainly men, came to Britain to work on the harvest.
  7. In general, what attracted Irish people to Britain?
    • Many Catholics believed they had better opportunities in England.
    • With high food prices and a growing population, there was often not enough food, leading to poverty and starvation for some.
    • Belfast was the only city in Ireland to industrialize. Other places still relied on traditional work such as weaving. A lack of jobs attracted Irish people to come to Britain where industrialization was taking place.

Jewish Migration

  1. Outline 3 ways that the Jewish community already in Britain had been successful in the early 1800s?
    • By the early 1800s, the Jewish community in Britain had grown to around 65,000, and many Jews prospered.
    • The restrictions on Jews gradually ended, and despite some Anti-Semitism, the experiences of Jews in Britain improved.
    • Jewish success made England even more attractive to more Jewish migrants.
    • 1822 - a Jewish school opened.
    • 1833 - Jews were allowed to serve on juries and become lawyers.
    • 1856 - Jews were allowed to study at Cambridge University.
    • 1860 - a Jew opened the first fish and chip shop in London.
  2. How did this success influence other Jewish migrants?
    • Jewish success made England even more attractive to more Jewish migrants.
  3. Why was there a dramatic increase in Jewish migrants from eastern Europe in the 1880s?
    • During the 1880s, Jewish migration dramatically changed.
    • Between 1880-1900, over 100,000 Jews arrived in Britain.
    • Many were fleeing religious and racial persecution in the Russian Empire and had walked all the way to reach steamboats heading to Britain.
    • They were desperately poor, arrived with few possessions, and only spoke Yiddish, the traditional Jewish language.
    • Most went to Jewish communities which had already been established where they expected to find help and support.
  4. Why were some Jewish communities worried about the influx of so many poor, Yiddish speaking Jews?
    • Many of the Jews already living in these communities believed that the new Jewish migrants would damage the positive reputation of the Jews in Britain.
    • Even the chief rabbi in one Jewish community wrote to other rabbis in Eastern Europe to persuade Jewish refugees not to come to England.
  5. List three ways that the Jewish communities helped the new Jewish migrants into Britain.
    • Jewish communities in general wanted to help by setting up soup kitchens and charities for the poor Jewish migrants.
    • In London, the Poor Jews’ Temporary Shelter allowed Jewish migrants to stay for up to 14 days while they looked for housing and work.

African Migration

  1. What work had some African migrants already been doing in Britain before 1700?
    • By 1700, a few Africans had been brought over to work as domestic servants.
  2. How did the Slave Trade affect the migration of African people?
    • After 1700, the growth of the British Empire in Africa and the Slave Trade led to further African migration.
    • By 1750, Britain was the largest slave trading nation in Europe.
    • British slave ships transported over 3 million Africans until slavery was abolished in Britain in 1809.
    • The migration of African people linked to the slave trade was forced migration, with millions of families being taken from their native homelands as slaves to the Caribbean or North America.
    • A few were directly brought to Britain.
  3. What was becoming the common attitude towards African people and African migrants as a result of the British Empire?
    • The British Empire expanded rapidly in Africa under the reign of Queen Victoria.
    • Britons believed that they had a ‘right’ to colonize African countries and that they were helping the African people by teaching them how to live a Christian way of life.
    • This had a negative impact on the attitudes that most British people had towards African people.
  4. How many African colonies did Britain conquer in the late 1800s?
    • Britain added another 16 African colonies to its empire during the late part of the 1800s.
  5. Outline 3 reasons why some African people migrated to Britain during the 1800s.
    • Some wealthier families in Africa saw this as an opportunity and sent their children to Britain to be educated.
    • Some African merchants who had been helping British traders came to Britain for longer periods of time.
    • Some African people such as musicians and dancers were brought to Britain as entertainers.
    • A number of black communities formed around London, while in Liverpool, one road was unofficially renamed ‘negro street’

Indian Migration

  1. What had happened to control over India by 1858?
    • Until 1858, India had been controlled by the powerful East India Company.
    • In 1858, the success of the East India Company led to the British government fully taking control over all of India, with Queen Victoria describing India as the ‘Jewell in her Crown’.
  2. What opportunities did some wealthier Indian people see by migrating to Britain?
    • Some wealthy Indian families sent their older children to attend British universities, especially after 1858. Law was a popular subject. Many gained their qualifications and decided to stay.
    • Some wealthy Indian princes had been forced out of their land by the East India Company. With their wealth, they decided to migrate to England and stay.
  3. Why did more servants and lascars migrate to Britain?
    • As Britain’s control over India became greater, more British people moved to India and employed Indian servants. On their return to Britain, many brought their servants back.
    • Indian servants were cheaper than British servants and still seen as a status symbol for wealthier families.
    • Ayahs (nannies) continued to migrate to Britain.
    • Lascars (highly skilled sailors) were recruited by the East India Company from China, India, Somalia, and the Yemen. Their wages and working conditions were poor. It was no surprise that once their ships had docked in Britain, many ‘disappeared’ into dockland communities.

Chinese Migration

  1. Why did more migrants from China come to Britain in the mid 1800s?
  • Chinese sailors started to work on British trade ships. They spent time in British ports with some deciding to stay.
  1. What luxury goods were being traded from China in this time?
  • China was not part of the British Empire but the British East India Company set up trading posts there to trade luxury items such as silk and tea. A trade in a highly addicting drug called opium also began. This eventually led to the ‘Opium Wars’.
  1. What were places in towns nicknamed when Chinese migrants began settling there?
  • The communities which grew became known as ‘Chinatown’. The biggest were in London and Liverpool. Some opened up shops and restaurants and by 1900 Chinese migrants were known for opening up laundries.

French Migration

  1. Which famous historical event occurred in France in 1789?
  • The French Revolution began in 1789.
  1. Why was it mainly wealthy migrants from France choosing to migrate to England?
  • Many French, particularly the rich and powerful who were being threatened by the revolution, fled to Britain.
  • In one week in 1789, 3,000 French migrants landed by boat in towns along the south coast of England.

Italian Migration

  1. Why did the unification of Italy cause so many Italians to migrate to Britain?
  • Before 1861, Italy was made up of various small, independent, Italian-speaking states. After 1861, they were unified and the country of Italy was formed. Many states fought for power and so there was fighting throughout Italy. Most Italians migrated to Britain to escape this.
  1. Outline 2 more reasons why Italians migrated to Britain in the 1800s?
    • Changes to agriculture and farming in Italy left many in poverty. Agriculture in England, however, was stable and prosperous.
    • In Italy, there were outbreaks of deadly diseases such as typhus and cholera. Italians believed that Britain was a healthier place to live.

German Migration

  1. Why did the unification of Germany cause so many German people to migrate to Britain?
  • Germany was Unified:
    • Like in Italy, Germany had once been made up of smaller, independent, German-speaking states. After 1871 however, these states were unified and the country of Germany was formed.
    • The smaller states fought for power and there was lots of fighting in the country. Most Germans came to Britain to escape the warfare.
  1. Outline one other reason why Britain was attractive to many German people.
    • Britain’s wealthy economy from the Industrial Revolution attracted many highly skilled Germans.
    • Germans also liked how Britain allowed more freedom for people to speak their minds and have alternative political views without being punished. This was different to the tight restrictions and control they lived under in Germany.

Internal Migration

  1. Why was it possible for people already living in Britain to migrate to towns and cities?
  • The development of quicker, easier, and more reliable transport meant that both rich and poor moved around the country more. Transport offered far more opportunities in life and work.
  1. Outline 3 reasons why many people wanted to move into towns and cities.
    • People migrated from the countryside into the new industrial towns in search of higher wages and a better life. This is called urbanization. The main towns attracting migrants were London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester & Birmingham.
    • The Industrial Revolution provided landowners with new technology which replaced workers. For example a mechanised seed drill quickly and easily planted seeds in a row Many farm workers lost their jobs and moved to towns searching for better pay and more regular work.
    • Wealthy landowners in Scotland evicted farmers and replace their fields with more profitable sheep farms to produce wool. Thousands of unemployed farmers left Scotland and headed to make a new life in Canada, the USA and New Zealand. Others moved to the industrial towns of England.

4 Mark Practice Exam Questions

  • Explain one way in which the reasons for migration from Ireland in the 1800s were different from the reasons for migration from Scotland in the 1800s. [4]
  • Explain one way that the reasons for migration from India in the period 1700- 1900 were similar to the reasons for migration from China in the period 1700- 1900.

12 Mark Practice Exam Question

  • Explain why Irish migrants came to Britain in the 1800s.
    • You may use the following information in your answer:
      • The Catholic Emancipation Act (1829)
      • Potato Famine (1845-46)
    • You must use information of your own. [12]

16 Mark Practice Exam Question

  • The biggest cause of migration to Britain in the period 1700-1900 was the impact of the British Empire. How far do you agree?
    • You may use the following information in your answer:
      • India
      • Ireland
    • You must use information of your own. [16]