Early Modern England Flashcards
Factors bringing immigrants
Religion - England became a Protestant country
Economic Growth - Trading companies created routes to Africa, Europ and India. The transatlantic slave trade began which forcibly brought immigrants.
Government - The government passed paws that encouraged immigration. Jews who had been expelled in 1290 were allowed to return.
Huguenots
- Protestants who left France
- Protestant church was founded in London in 1550
- Charles II offered them denizen status to live in England with certain rights
- Many were skilled craftworkers
Palatines
- Mostly Protestant farmers who left Germany in 1709
- Left because of bad harvest and poverty
- Were very poor and had few skills apart from farming and labouring
- Many depended on charities to live
- The government deported thousands to Ireland but about two thirds of those deported came back to England.
- Many sailed to America but only few survived.
Indian Migrants
Ayahs and Lascars
Ayahs
- Indian Nannies
- Were brought by the family they took care of
- Many could not find jobs later on and became very poor but others kept working for the families
Lascars
- Worked on the ships sailing between England and India
- Many settled in English ports, looking for a better way to life
- British people claimed that they stole thier jobs
- Life of hard labour
African Migrants
- Had lived in England since Roman times
- Some had been forcibly taken to england by their owners
- Others escaped to England after being enslaved
- Often worked as servants as it was fashionable for the British nobles to have an African servant, especially a child
- Many were also also employed in a variety of skilled jobs such as interpreters and became respected snd equal members of society.
Jews
- They were facing a lot of antisemitism in Europe in 1650s
- In 1656, Cromwell allowed Jews to return to strengthen the economy
- They opened synagogues
- They were forbidden to serve in the army, work as lawyers or attend universities.
- Were described as thieves or scoundrelsin popular songs and pamphlets.
- Shylock, a jewish character written by Shakespeare as a mean and greedy moneylender
Romani
- Nomadic people who travelled throughout England and Europe
- English government regarded them as vagrants and beggars and passed laws to make them stay in one place
- Many ignored this law, causing hundreds to br hung
- In 1650s the governemt began transporting Romani people into slavery
Evil May Day 1517
British people who resented the amount of privilege that migrants had caused a riot and attempted violence against migrants.
Cloth Trade
Boosted by skilled Huguenot silk weavers. Between 1650 and 1700 cloth exports were 20 times greater than between 1600 and 1650.
Maritime trade
Jewish traders working in ports helped increase Britains maritime trade
Manufacturing Industries
Huguenots invested in the Sheffield steel industry and started the English paper industry.
Finance
Jewish financers invested in businesses, enabling economic growth and helping turn London into a major financial centre.
Fashion Industry
Silks and new fabrics were in demand by rich women and dress designers.
Dutch engineers and labourers…
worked for 20 years digging ditches, straightening rivers, and building pumps and windmills. This opened new jobs in agriculture and landowners became rich.
Dutch painters such as Hans Holbein…
came to England to paint the royalty and other rich people.
The printing press
The invention of the printing press took control of knowledge away from the Church and allowed new ideas to spread.
Flemish Weavers in Sandwich 1561
- Flemish weavers began migrating to Sandwich while their economy was in a really bad place.
- They wove high quality woollen broadcloth that sold well in the twice weekly town markets. They were given st peters church to worship their religion.
- In 1569 English officials in Sandwich claimed that the flemish weavers were stealing their jobs.
-In 1582 many Flemish migrants moved to other towns and cities.
Walloon weavers in Canterbury
- Canterbury was in decline and Elizabeths council gave permission to invite Wallon migrants from Europe to live and work there.
- The city authorities gave 100 empty houses to the Walloons.
- The weavers were very successful as they produced high quality cloth.
- They developed new trades such as silk dying and diamond cutting, trade improved and Canterbury prospered.
Huguenots in Spitalfields
- Settled because housing was cheap.
- Were highly skilled silk weavers .
- Spitalfields was outside of outside of London so the weavers were free from the rulesof the guildsand could experiment.
- Huguenots were allowed to build churches in Spitalfields, by 1700, nine had been built.
- Charles II offered Huguenots ‘denizen status’
