2.1 European immigration to Britain in the early modern period Flashcards
1
Q
Who came and why?
A
England, later Great Britain, came to be seen as a place of safety, especially by Protestants suffering persecution such as the Walloons and Huguenots
2
Q
What was their impact?
A
- European immigrants had a significant economic effect , playing an important part in the move to a capitalist trading economy and the growth of London as a world financial centre
- There were sometimes tensions when it as bereaved that immigrants were being given special privileges
3
Q
What were their experiences?
A
- Many European migrants were welcomed and became fully integrated
- There were social and economic tensions regarding migration, however
- People whose culture, lifestyle or religion were different from the majority could be persecuted
4
Q
How did Britain’s relationship with the wider world affect European immigration?
A
- The Reformation divided Europe between Catholic and Protestant states
- Protestant refugees were accepted in England, which gradually became a Protestant country during the sixteenth century
5
Q
Wave 1 of Walloons and Huguenots
A
- In the 1560s, Walloons came from what is now Belgium, which was then ruled by Catholic Spain
- Under the rule of the Duke of Alba, Walloons who opposed Spanish rule were persecuted
6
Q
Wave 2 of Walloons and Huguenots
A
- In the 1570s, over 10,000 Protestants were murdered in France in the Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day
- Many endured dangerous journeys to escape with their lives
7
Q
Wave 3 of Walloons and Huguenots
A
- In the 1680s, the French king Louis XIV overturned a previous king’s promise to protect Protestants
- He banned their services, destroyed their churches and forced them to become Catholics
- As a result, many more Huguenots migrated to safety in England
8
Q
Why were the Huguenots welcomed by England?
A
Huguenots were welcomed by English authorities because they were Protestant and because France and Spain were enemy powers.
9
Q
How did the Huguenot migration affect the English economy?
A
- Among these refugees were skilled workers and entrepreneurs who ended up playing an important role in helping England move from an agricultural to an industrial economy
- Towns in Kent, for example, invited Walloons to come and set up businesses
- By 1595, there were more than 3,000 immigrants in Canterbury, weaving woollen and silk cloth on some 800 loons
- Huguenot craftsmen often brought new trades, such as feather-work and the making of fans, needles, soap and vinegar
- Huguenot spinners, weavers and wood-carvers boosted trade across the South of England
- They transformed the trade in silk cloth, increasing production so rapidly that England became a NET EXPORTER
- Huguenot skills, money and manpower set Britain on the path to becoming a world power
- They played a key role in the development of a capitalist economy, when the Bank of England was founded in 1694, 10 per cent of its capital investment came from Huguenot entrepreneurs
10
Q
Historical/political attitudes to the Huguenots (Quotes)
A
- “Let us kick the foreigner out of the kingdom” said the member of parliament Sir John Knight in the 1690s
- In 1709, writer Daniel Defoe argued that “opening the nation’s doors to foreigners has been the most direct and immediate reason of our wealth and increase, and has brought us from a nation of slaves and mere soldiers to a rich, opulent, free and a mighty people”
11
Q
What caused the mass emigration of German Palatines to Britain?
A
- In 1709, the government passed the Foreign Protestants Naturalisation Act
- This allowed all European Protestants to come and live in England with full rights at the cost of only one shilling
- In Germany, a group of Protestants in desperate conditions heard about this invitation
- These Rhineland Palatines were poor farmers suffering from bad harvests, a terrible winter, decades of war and brutal landlords forcing them to become Catholics
- They decided on mass emigration to Britain
- By the end of summer 1709, at least 13,000 Germans had arrived in the Thames estuary
12
Q
Why weren’t the German Palatines welcomed?
A
- They offered few useful skills
- There were many children and elderly who could not work or provide for themselves
- Although some were able to find work in the military or building canals, most were unemployed
13
Q
Evidence that the German Palatines were somewhat welcomed
A
- To begin with the Palatines were received kindly
- Money was raised to help them, and the government began trying to disperse them around the country in small groups
14
Q
Evidence that the German Palatines were not welcomed
A
- Palatines were soon after denounced as a threat and a drain on resources
- In one incident in Kent, Palatines were stoned by a mob
- They were put in camps and many were moved on to America or Ireland
- In 1712, the Foreign Protestants Naturalisation Act was repealed
- Britain no longer had an open border policy for European migrants, especially those who were not economically useful
15
Q
Why were Gypsies persecuted?
A
- Their different way of life meant that they were often resented and suffered extreme prejudice
- They also had no state protection
