migration within britian

• how did the industrial revolution impact Britian

  • urbanisation: people in town grew from 5mn (1700) - 32.5mn (1900). due to growth in factories
  • transport: easier to move raw materials to factories. new docks in liverpool, london, glasgow, for example, were the busiest in the world as trade links developed
  • agriculture: enclosed of fields meant that better crops were grown. met the needs of growing towns
  • politics: working-class men could vote, people felt freer to express different attitudes and to demand their civil liberties
• The transatlantic slave trade: 3.5mn africians were transported across the Atlantic. they were sold into slavery on slavery and cotton plantations in the carribbean. British ships return with sugar, cotton, tobacco and rum. Slave traders became rich and reinvested their profits to town halls and schools
• what was the land like in Ireland

  • mainly rural
  • a lot of land was poor quality
  • in the 1840s and 50s they were hit by a terrible famine
• why did irish people migrate

  • they were fleeing poverty and starvation, searching for a better life; many believe they had a chance in Britian
  • Liverpool and Glasgow were the nearest ports to Belfast and Dublin, so quicker and cheaper to reach
  • many thought Britian as a 'stop-over' on their way to America or Australia. Many found they couldn't afford the fare to travel, so they stay in Britian. Lived in the poorest parts of the cities
• Indian servants often choose to go with the english families, to keep their jobs. They were called the ayahs
• Why did Indian students migrate to Britian


  to study in British universities, in which many studied Law
• Who did the East Indian Company hire

  India, China, Malaya, Somalia and Yemen. The working conditions on ships were poor so many lascars stayed in British ports in search of a better life
• Why did Jews migrate

  • came to join existing jewish communities in britian
  • increasing tolerance in britian, although anti-Semitism still existed, especially compared to the persecution they faced in Russia
• why did Italians migrate

  • agriculture in Britian was prosperous compare to Italy
  • Britian was peaceful and less dangerous. Italy was at war and had outbreaks of typhus and cholera
• Why did Germans migrate

  • britian had greater freedom for political thinkers - free from govt. interference for skilled people
  • britian was peaceful compared with the warfare between German states
• irish migrants experience

  • most settled in Britain's industrialising cities and took labouring work
  • irish navvies (labourers) dug canals and constructed railways. many were killed while working, pushing their families into poverty
  • irish migrants faced prejudice for being catholic and worked for lower wages
  • some english thought that irish migrants were 'Fenians' (irish independence fighters) who ran bombing campaigns in London in the 1880s
• Jewish migrants experience

  • settled in established Jewish communities, where they were supported until they found work
  • many worked in the clothing industry
  • many faced anti-Semitism, because their culture was different
  • many english people were threatened by the new Jewish migrants, as they were prepared to work longer hours for lower wages. unions were furious because they already regulated hours of work
• European migrants experience

  • German migrants settled throughout Britian
  • Italians settled mainly in London
  • German engineers and scientists set up companies and became successful; such as Brunner-Mod in Liverpool
  • Germans set up shops and restaurant
  • Italians continued to make tiles, ceramics or labouring on the roads.
  • Germans and Italians were generally liked because they contributed to the economy
• Asian migrants experience

  • many ayahs moved with their families when they moved to England
  • some ayahs were abandoned by their English employers and became destitute. A Christian charity set up a hostel for them (they raised money for they to go back to Indian or to find a job in England)
  • lascars were abandoned by their shipping companies when they reached port
  • many found work in the ports. others became poor, began to beg and steal. hostels were set up for them
• how did media influence ideas about migrants

  • the publicised judgement of Lord Mansfield (1772) when he said slavery didn't legally exist in England. many black people were delighted
  • Mary Seacole, a Jamaican nurse left destitute after caring for soldiers during the Crimean War, was given money from a fun-raising gala in 1858
• Paul Reuter, a German migrant, started the London-based news agency in 1851. He made British people feel a part of the wider world
• migrants impact politics and parliament

  • Olaudah Equiano helped persuade the public and MPs that the TSL trade should be abolished. 1807, Parliament abolished TSL trade and in 1833, abolished slavery in the British empire
  • Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels changed society organisation. 'Communist Manifesto' outlined how industry and property should be owned
  • Chartism: a national movement that wanted working class representation in Parliament
• Who was Feargus O'Connor

  an Irish protestant, edited the Northern Star (a radical newspaper that supported the Chartists that supported the Chartists
• William Cuffay became chairman of London Chartists, whose father had been enslaved in the Caribbean
• Who was the first Jewish MP

  Lionel de Rothschild became MP in 1858
• What is the Catholic Emancipation Act, 1829

  gave Catholics almost all the same civil rights as everyone else. however, they still couldn't attend universities, hold certain public offices or become monarch
• migrants impact trade and industry

  • irish navvies, by digging canals and constructing railways making British's economy successful
  • migrants owned and ran shops, banks and businesses. in 1884, Michael Marks, a Polish Jew, owned a stall in Leeds market. by 1900, M&S had shops in all Britain's major towns
  • eastern european jews worked in the clothing trade
• migrants impact built environment

  • railways went into town and city centres
  • synagogues were built so Jews could worship in line with their own beliefs
  • by 1900, a small number of mosques had also been built for Muslims to worship
• migrants impact culture

  • Chinese, Indian and Jewish restaurants and cafes added variety to people's diets
  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's music, son of a black African father and his english wife, was enjoyed by many and helped to break down racial prejudice
• • liverpool faced the atlantic ocean, so traded with American mainly; importing raw materials and exporting finished goods
  • raw cotton was a main import. needed to meet the demands of the growing numbers of mills in nearby Manchester. 80% of Britain's cotton imports came from the US
  • steamships replaced sailing ships; they were faster, could carry more cargo and required less skill
  • liverpool was attractive to migrants who were ready to work
  • (1845) 2.5mn tons of goods --> (1900) 7 miles of docks handled 10.5mn tons of goods
• irish community

  • irish navvies built the docks and thousands of migrants worked on them afterwards
  • after the 1840s, irish businesses opened. irish pubs gave advice to new incomers
  • irish people who fell ill were looked after by the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary.
  • In 1847, 60 000 caught typhus, a disease associated with filthy living conditions. The disease was known as 'Irish fever' and cause a lot of resentment among the english people
  • most irish people were catholic. (1870) Catholic parishes --> (1916) 24 parishes
• • Indian sailors: some carried on working as sailors. others took what they could find; and some set up lodging houses. many married english women, which helped them settle in the community. (1890)opened for Muslim Indians
• Chinese sailors: from 1850s, Liverpool merchants began trading in silk and tea from Shanghai and Hong Kong. They stayed in liverpool setting up businesses. They gain reputation for working hard. Liverpool had the largest Chinatown in Europe.
• African sailors: increasing trade with Africa brought African sailors to Liverpool. many were hired by shipping companies because they were willing to work for lower wages and in worse conditions
• 150,000 Jews arrived in London


  1880
• Many travelled for weeks to reach the safety of Britain and were very weary. They brought with them a suitcase containing their belongings, bedding, crockery, some tools and little money
• They brought with them a suitcase containing their belongings, bedding, crockery, some tools and little money
• Most Jews migrated to Whitechapel and Spitalfields
• There were established Jewish communities but the working and living conditions were poor
• Jewish leader formed shelters

  1. Could stay for max. 14 days

  2. Given two meals a day

  3. Introduced a crash course in the English language and customs
• Many found work in sweatshops
• They worked long hours in poor conditions for little pay
• The Jewish Free School was important in educating London's Jewish children
• sweatshops: all sweatshops were illegal. not all were owned by Jewish people, but all the ones in Whitechapel were. This was because the owners only spoke Yiddish, which the police did not. So communication was a problem=difficult to shut them down
• why was there racial tensions

  • five women were murdered by a man 'Jack the Ripper', some blamed the jewish community
  • the knives of Jewish ritual slaughterers had been used but this was not true
  • various witnesses testified that they had seen the women talking to 'foreigners' before they were killed, but this was not verified