History migrants

• Medieval England in the 9th century was one of the wealthiest countries in northern Europe. It was an inviting prospect for raiders, invaders and settlers.
• Medieval England


  • Rich mineral deposits
  • Fertile land
  • Well-established trade routes
  • Fortified towns as trading centres
  • Wealthy monasteries and abbeys
• Christianity was brought to England by the Romans. When the Roman army left Britain in 410, Christianity was still simply one religion among many.
• Spread of Christianity in England


  1. 563: Irish Christian missionaries founded an abbey on the island of Iona, in Scotland

  2. 597: The pope sent Augustine, a Christian missionary, from Rome to England

  3. 635: Christian missionaries from Iona founded an abbey at Lindisfarne, on Holy Island, off the coast of Northumbria
• Government in Anglo-Saxon England


  • Divided into many small kingdoms
  • Larger kingdoms emerged after fighting
  • Kings had ultimate authority
  • Advised by powerful men
  • Taxation based on land ownership
  • Law and order maintained by local communities
  • Lack of central government made defence difficult
• Athelstan was the first king of all England. He reigned from 925 to 939.
• Reasons for medieval migration to England


  • Wealth and resources of England
  • Vikings wanted to settle and control land
  • Normans wanted to conquer and rule England
  • Jews invited to lend money to the king
  • Skilled European workers sought opportunities
• Vikings in England


  • Captured York and used it as a base
  • Raided monasteries, towns and villages for treasure
  • Settled in the Danelaw region under their own laws
  • Relations with Saxons generally good, but worsened after Danelaw came under Saxon control
  • Cnut became first Danish king of England, improving relations
• Normans in England after 1066


  • Had to establish control over England
  • Experienced hostility and resentment from Saxons
  • Held positions of authority under feudal system
  • Owned land given by the king
• Jewish migrants in England


  • Invited by William I to lend money, as Christians were not allowed to charge interest
  • Well-respected for financial support to small businesses
  • Increasingly experienced anti-Semitism as people resented high interest rates
• Skilled European workers migrated to England due to disruption from the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, and the desire to replace Jewish moneylenders with Christian ones.
• The Saxons were forced to build castles for the Normans, sometimes having to destroy large areas of towns
• The feudal system ensured that the Normans, as barons, bishops and knights, held positions of authority over the Saxons
• Land in England was now totally owned by the king. He kept some for himself, gave some to the Church, and then shared most of the rest with Norman nobles who were loyal to him
• They knew the value of the land they were taking over because of the Domesday Book. They also knew what crops would grow and which animals would do well
• Jewish migrants


  • Made sure they were kept safe by lending money to monarchs who protected them in return, allowing them to shelter in castles during dangerous times
  • Were well-respected in local communities for many years because of the financial support they gave to small businesses
  • Increasingly experienced anti-Semitism as people began to resent paying interest on loans. Interest rates were high to cover the taxes Jews had to pay
• Anti-Semitism


  The term to describe prejudice and discrimination against Jewish people
• The 1275 Statute of Jewry made Jews wear a yellow armband. It also meant Jews were forbidden from charging interest on loans. Many Jews became desperately poor
• In 1290 Jews were expelled from England by Edward I
• Flemish weavers


  Had specialised skills that English weavers didn't have. They were welcomed because they taught their skills to the English weavers and helped the cloth trade to flourish and employment to increase
• Hansa merchants


  From Germany were given the right to trade in England by Edward I. They set up the Steelyard in London, from which they directed and controlled trade with the Hanseatic League and other parts of Europe. By the mid-1400s, German merchants controlled most of the English cloth industry
• Lombardy bankers


  From 1220 there were powerful Italian banking families working in London. They did well, especially after the expulsion of Jewish people in 1290 and even after Edward III stopped repaying their loans
• Problems faced by migrants as they tried to settle in England


  • Migrants were murdered during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381
  • The Hansa Steelyard was burned down
  • Craft guilds regularly complained that 'foreigners' were taking work from them
• Vikings in the Danelaw introduced Things, where members voted on laws. Things were also law courts and members agreed on a punishment for those they found guilty
• Normans developed the Saxon system of government into an established parliament with lords and commons
• Forest Laws


  Created royal forests where the king controlled who could hunt
• Murdrum


  A fine paid by Saxons if a Norman was murdered and the culprit wasn't found
• Letters of denization


  Gave individual migrants the same rights as English people
• Aliens


  Legally defined as first-generation migrants, who were taxed by Parliament in 1440
• The Normans built thousands of churches, cathedrals and monasteries. The construction of many religious buildings was financed by loans from Jewish migrants
• The number of monks and nuns increased 400% between 1066 and 1500
• Church organisation became more hierarchical, with parish priests at the bottom and archbishops at the top. This drew the English Church more firmly into Christendom
• Saxon bishops and archbishops were removed and replaced by Normans
• Burhs


  Fortified towns developed by the Saxons in response to Viking raids
• Castles


  Built by the Normans, replacing wooden churches with stone ones
• Cathedrals


  Built by the Normans from stone
• Towns, mainly in East Anglia, grew and developed because the Flemish weavers settled there
• Ports grew, especially London and Kings Lynn, building wharves and warehouses because of the Hansa merchants (traders from Germany)
• Middle English


  The language that gradually emerged as Norman French and Saxon English came together
• Feudal system


  Changed land ownership and obligations and duties between people in different levels of society