Migration

• Groups that migrated to England in Medieval Period

  • Vikings from Scandinavia
  • Normans from France
  • Jewish migrants from the Middle East
  • Europeans from the Low Countries (Belgium & Netherlands) and Lombardy (Italy)
• Why people migrated to England in Medieval times

  It offered a better life
• Vikings


  • Raided north-east England in AD789 and took goods
  • Invaded and conquered England by AD865
• Reasons why Vikings migrated to England

  • Agriculture: English soil was rich and fertile for crops and farming
  • Trade: England was a great trading island
  • Religion: Vikings believed Odin would reward their warriors for invading eastern England
• Viking conquest of England

  1. Viking Great Army landed on east coast in 865

  2. Captured York in 866 to use as base

  3. Spent 14 years fighting to gain land from Anglo-Saxon earldoms

  4. By 878 had taken parts of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia
• Danelaw


  Boundary between Wessex and Viking lands
• Normans


  • Came from Normandy, a powerful kingdom in northern France
  • Invaded from the south coast, led by William, Duke of Normandy
• Why the Normans migrated to England

  William saw the death of Edward the Confessor as a chance to gain power in England
• Norman conquest of England

  1. William prepared well for invasion

  2. Norman army defeated Anglo-Saxons at Battle of Hastings

  3. William marched to London, burning farms and villages

  4. Terrified people surrendered to Normans

  5. William crowned King of England in 1066
• Why William encouraged Jewish migration to England


  He needed to borrow money from Jews to build expensive castles and cathedrals to show his power
• There were few Jews in England by 1066
• Jewish Diaspora


  When a group of people leave their homeland and migrate to a variety of other places
• Reasons why Jews migrated to England

  • William I wanted to borrow money from Jews to build castles and cathedrals
  • Christians were not allowed to charge interest on loans, but Jews could
• Jews became highly successful money lenders in England, inspiring more Jews to migrate
• Reasons why people from the Low Countries migrated to England

  • War: Hundred Years' War disrupted lives and work
  • Wages: Higher wages in England compared to Europe
  • Black Death: Decline in population meant plenty of work
• Migrants from the Low Countries

  • Settled in south-east England, found work as skilled craftsmen like weavers, saddlers, tailors
  • King Henry III invited weavers to work in England to take advantage of high quality English wool
• Migrants from Lombardy


  • Rich banking families arrived in 1220s to invest money and lend to kings and businesses
  • Allowed to charge interest on loans after 1265 when Pope permitted it
• Danes used their craft skills to set up workshops and easily traded with Anglo-Saxons
• Danes in England


  • Lived in traditional Viking longhouses
  • Told long stories called sagas
  • Played chess, made music
• King Ethelred believed Danes already settled in England wanted to join up with more aggressive Viking raiders


  So he massacred the Danes in 1002
• King Ethelred paid the Vikings large amounts of money called Danegeld to stay away, but this failed
• King Cnut


  First Danish King of England, ruled 1016-1035
• Reign of King Cnut

  • Allowed Saxons to hold positions of power
  • Continued to use Anglo-Saxon laws
  • Brought peace, prosperity and stability to England
  • Increased trade between England, Denmark and Norway
  • Supported the Christian Church
• How William the Conqueror gained control of England

  1. Stopped Anglo-Saxon rebellions through brutal tactics like the Harrying of the North

  2. Created the feudal system to keep everyone under his control

  3. Carried out the Domesday Survey to record what people owned so he could tax them
• Impact of Vikings in England

  • Influenced place names and language
  • Held local meetings called Things for democracy and justice
  • Adapted to Christianity while still worshipping Viking gods
• Jews helped the English economy grow through their money lending and other successful businesses
• Anti-Semitism


  Prejudice and discrimination against Jewish people
• Reasons for anti-Semitism


  • Jews had a special status in society which made others jealous
  • Christians saw Jews charging interest as anti-Christian and greedy
  • Jews were the only non-Christians in England at the time
  • The Crusades made it acceptable to attack Jews as 'unbelievers'
• Examples of anti-Semitism


  • Jews attacked at King Richard I's coronation
  • False 'blood libel' stories spread about Jews murdering Christian children
  • Jews forced to wear yellow patches
  • Jews arrested, bankrupted and hanged for charging interest
  • King Edward I ordered all Jews to convert or leave England in 1290
• Migrants from the Low Countries settled quickly, working with English people and helping develop trade and industry
• In 1275 the Statute of Jewry banned Jews from charging interest on loans and those who owed money to Jews did not have to pay it back. This made hundreds of Jews bankrupt. Jews were arrested accused of charging interest with 293 hanged.
• King Edward I finally ordered all Jews to convert to Christianity or leave England

  1290
• Some Jews converted but as many as 3,000 refused and chose to go. They were forced to walk to the south coast where they were shipped to Europe as refugees. It was nearly 400 years before Jews were allowed back to England.
• Migrants from the Low Countries


  • They settled quickly, first in the south coast and then across England
  • They had useful skills that people needed and were willing to pay for
  • They played a useful part in helping England develop its trade and industry
• Migrants worked with English people

  • Dutch brickmakers taught English brickmakers a more effective building technique
  • Dutch brewers (mainly women) showed English brewers how to make beer with hops instead of barley
• Weavers


  • They were the most successful migrants from the Low Countries
  • They were welcomed by King Edward III
  • They made the cloth industry even more profitable
  • Many settled in and around London
• King Henry III invited important banking families from Lombardy to England and also promised them royal protection. By the 1220s, powerful families had moved to London and became hugely successful.
• Lombardy bankers


  • They used their wealth to invest in other successful businesses such as the wool and cloth trade
  • Being Christian, they took advantage of the Anti-Semitism against the Jewish money lenders and started to take over from them
  • They supported the monarchs by lending vast amounts of money to Henry III and Edward I
• It was not easy being a migrant in England. During difficult times, the English often turned their fear and desperation on the migrants around them.
• Craft Guilds


  • They accused migrants of taking their work or selling goods cheaper than the English to get more business
  • This led to hostility