KQ1 - Early Modern Period

• During this period, the number of immigrants began to increase. Both push and pull factors contributed to this. England was a leading Protestant nation, so it was a refuge for Protestants who were escaping religious persecution. England also became a trading power and began to build an empire, which drew people to the country.
• Religious Immigrants


  Escaping Persecution
• Britain came to be seen as a place of refuge for persecuted Protestants from Europe


  16th and 17th century
• Huguenots


  French Protestants
• St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris


  1572
• After the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris in 1572, the Huguenots first arrived in numbers in Britain</b>
• A larger, second wave of Huguenots arrived in Britain


  Late 17th century
• By the early 18th century it is estimated that Britain was home to 50,000 Huguenots
• Poor Palatines


  German refugees fleeing French invasion
• In the early 18th century, perhaps as many as 13,000 Poor Palatines began to move to England
• As Britain began to trade across the globe, particularly the slave trade, the number of African and Asian immigrants increased
• There was an established African community in England


  Beginning of the 17th century
• African and Asian immigrants


  • Came as servants
  • Came as freed slaves
  • Came as sailors
• Most African and Asian immigrants were found in the main seaports e.g. London, Liverpool and Bristol, though little was known of them
• Between 10,000 and 20,000 people of African descent lived in Britain


  Early 18th century
• Sailors from India and the Arab world


  • Known as Lascars
  • Settled in Britain's ports
• However, for this period there is no way of knowing the exact number of immigrants, or where they settled. The absence of a census or any official measurement of migration in and out of the country make it difficult to estimate the numbers.
• Welsh Example:

  There was very little immigration into Wales at this time. Welsh ports were small compared to places like Bristol so there was hardly any trade with the British Empire. As a result, there were few African and Asian migrants. Some foreign experts were brought in to develop the mining industry e.g. German engineers to develop the mines in Cardiganshire, but they were very few in number.