Migrants In Britain: 3.3 Flashcards
The impacts of migrants on Britain (17th-19th century)
1
Q
Who was Olaudah Equiano ?
A
- Nigerian slave to a Virginian plantation owner
[] sold two more times after this before gaining freedom from his third master, a Quaker (NON-CONFORMIST) - settled in Britain then published his autobiography
[] detailed horrific conditions on the ships used to trade slaves - widely read; his accounts of slavery and the slave trade left a lasting impact on the British public
- travelled around Britain giving public talks about the topics discussed in his book and condemning the slave trade
[] helped the spread of these ideologies to poorer areas of Britain less able to buy books and less likely to be literate; ensured that abolitionism was strong throughout Britain, thus pressuring the British government into action concerning ALL of Britain, not just a specific area’s issues with slavery (which could be easily ignored or solved by one local MP, not all-encompassing passing of law)
2
Q
Who was Ignatius Sancho ?
A
- sold as a slave at 2 years old to three sisters in London
[] worked for them until 18 - started his own shop keeping business
[] meant that he OWNED PROPERTY - could thus vote in elections and became the first black African ever to do so - posthumously published a book of his letters detailing his life and experiences as a former slave as well as his thoughts on the slave trade
[] very widely read and helped white opinion of the slave trade shift
3
Q
Who was Ottobah Cugoano ?
A
- black Ghanaian (at the time, called the Gold Coast)
- bought by British merchant Alexander Campbell in 1772 and given freedom in Britain
- worked as a servant for the famous Italian-English artists Richard and Maria Cosway
[] helped him become immersed in elite British society as well as being known by leading British politicians (helped massively in encouraging political anti-slavery campaigns) - part of the Sons of Africa abolitionist group
- published a document calling for the end of slavery in Britain and the British Empire in 1787 with the help of Olaudah Equiano
4
Q
What role did black Africans play in the abolition of the slave trade and slavery in Britain ?
A
- comprised the majority of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade (est. 1787)
[] educated the British public about the horrors of the slave trade
[] held meetings, published (black-authored) books/pamphlets/posters with testimonies of slave trade experiences and organised lecture tours - some black Africans wrote testimonies and autobiographies detailing the horrors of the slave trade
[] these books were widely read by the British public and led to a rise in white opposition to the slave trade (shown by the Sugar Boycott of 1791’s massive participation)
[] authors included Equiano, Cugoano and Ignatius Sancho
[] these authors gave talks and lectures around Britain also, spreading the storied even to illiterate parts of the population and increasing involvement across Britain in opposition to the slave trade
5
Q
What were the impacts of the end to slavery in the British Empire, 1833 ?
A
- all slaves in the British Empire freed
[] slaves on plantations in America and the West Indies required to keep working for 4 more years in poor conditions and with racist employers whilst the plantation owners figured out how to run their plantations without slave labour (eventually employed many Irish immigrants whom they viewed as disposable) - previous slave owners in America and the West Indies compensated by the British government (spent around $2.43 billion doing this) for “loss of property; no black slaves were compensated for their slavery and forced migration despite this
6
Q
Describe the key factors that contributed to the end to slavery and the slave trade in Britain and the British Empire in the early 1800s
A
- efforts of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in changing public opinion
- widespread British boycott (300 000 participants) of sugar on the basis of it being a product of slavery
- testimonies of former black slaves about the horrors endured by those affected by the slave trade
- fears in the West Indies about black slaves rebelling, like on the French island of St Dominique and in Haiti (1791) (successful rebellions)
- British MP of Hull’s campaign for the end of the slave trade
[] Hull was a port city, where many slaves were bought and sold; the rise in black abolitionists in port cities like Hull probably prompted the campaign so that the MP would win votes in future elections from the black demographic there - the Industrial Revolution gave rise to many British industries and new economic strengths for Britain, meaning it was less dependent on the slave trade and could afford to abolish it without losing enormous amounts of wealth that it couldn’t earn back
- rise of non-conformist (non-Anglican Protestants) Christian denominations in Britain
[] these placed emphasis on the proclamations of equality and equal rights in the Bible and called for an end to slavery in line with religion
7
Q
Who was Feargus O’Connor ?
A
- Protestant born in Ireland to prominent land-owner family
[] inherited estate in County Cork and became its MP - argued for tenants’ rights
- founded radical newspaper the Northern Star
- key in founding the Chartist movement; the first specifically working-class movement in Britain
[] gave inspirational speeches that drew large crowds
[] endorsed violent tactics to gain suffrage for working class men after the Voting Rights Act of 1832 disappointed them; landed him in jail several times
8
Q
Who was William Cuffay ?
A
- son of a former Caribbean slave
- became disgusted with the lack of working-class rights after being fired for partaking in a strike in 1834
[] joined the Chartist movement and was elected president of the London Chartists
[] supported militant action to further Chartism and was deported to Tasmania as a result
9
Q
What was Chartism ?
A
working-class political movement campaigning for the voting rights of working-class men after the Voting Rights Act of 1832 failed to give these
- the suffragette movement broke off from the Chartist movement later on also
- took campaigning tactics from the slavery abolitionist movement
10
Q
Who was Karl Marx and what was his impact on Britain ?
A
- German immigrant born 1818
[] in Britain in 1850 - worked and wrote for the British Museum when living in London
- radical political philosopher
- wrote Das Kapital
[] criticism of capitalism and business owners
[] establishment of Marxist theory, which proclaimed an eventual proletariat revolution against the bourgeoisie
[] encouraged strikes, protests and movements like Chartism for voters’ rights and workers’ rights - believed religion was a “drug” used by the bourgeoisie to better control the proletariat and take their minds off of the oppression of the capitalist system
- wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party with Freiderich Engels
[] set out principles and policies of communism, founded on Marx’s Marxist ideas in Das Kapital
[] argued society should be stateless and classless
[] last line of the book encouraged workers to “unite” against unfairness and oppression in the capitalist system; frightened the government due to possibility of revolution (later actualised in the Russian Revolution of 1917)
11
Q
Who was Freiderich Engels and what was his impact on Britain ?
A
- born in Germany to a wealthy international factory-owning family
[] migrated to England to experience his workers’ days in the Lancashire cotton mills - was a radical political philosopher like Marx; wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party with him
[] believed Britain was a likely candidate for communist revolution amongst the poor; shows the freedom of speech that the British government gave everyone and thus why political freedoms enticed immigrants - studied the lives of the poor in Manchester for his book The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844
[] huge impact on reformers like the Chartists and pushed for government recognition of calls to reform - 1869, sold his share of his family’s factory business to support the Marx family and to continue writing radical articles
12
Q
Describe the impacts of Irish and Italian navvies on the British economy
A
- helped to establish, expand and construct the British Canal Network and the British Rail Network
[] raw materials and manufactured good could move to and fro port cities and manufacturing hotspots in Britain easily, speeding up trade and boosting the economy
[] made it easier for migrants to settle in all parts of the country, allowing industrial towns to grow quickly and more even distribution of skilled migrants across the country, improving the economy overall - led to a rise of the tourism industry in Britain as transport across the country was made easier and cheaper for many people
- allowed journalists and newspapers to grow in wealth due to increased circulation around Britain
[] increased and encouraged widespread literacy in Britain, producing more educated and skilled (academic) workers, raising the economic profile of Britain even further as well as ensuring proper information and thus greater political awareness and freedom among the British - made EVEN more attractive for prospective migrants - improved people’s diets and promoted the sale of fresh fish and fruit throughout the country as it could now be moved quickly before it spoilt
13
Q
Who was Paul Reuter and what was his impact on Britain ?
A
- German migrant; moved to England, London in 1851
- in Germany, created a telegraph system between Aachen and Brussels so that he could get news quickly and sell to newspapers quicker than competitors
- set up the Reuters News Agency in London, which greatly improved the quality, accuracy and speed of publish of British newspapers, as well as selling international stories of importance, not just national
- Reuters News Agency is still the most prominent source of news for news outlets today
14
Q
Who was Moses Moss ?
A
Moses Moss, an educated Ashkenazi Jew BORN IN ENGLAND founded the Moss Bros (successful men’s outfitters)
- prior to this successfully dealt in second-hand clothing, establishing a prominent network of trade later taken advantage of by Moss Bros (inherited by two of his five sons, Alfred and George Moss, who added the “Bros” part of the name)
- Moss Bros established itself with for-hire suits and high-fashion garments, as well as ready-to-wear garments later on, and clothed many of Britain’s elite
15
Q
Who was Montagu Burton ?
A
- Ashkenazi Jewish migrant who fled Lithuania in 1900
[] founded Burton’s Menswear; very successful fashion chain
16
Q
Who was Michael Marks ?
A
- Ashkenazi Jewish migrant in the 1880s
- founder of Marks and Spencer
- 1884 set up a penny stall (everything sold was only 1 penny) in Kirkgate Market, Leeds
[] popularised penny bazaars in Wakefield, Warrington, Bolton and Manchester etc.
[] later joined by Tom Spencer in 1894, when opened Marks and Spencer together - purchased goods directly from manufacturers, cutting out the merchant middle men meaning greater profits
[] introduced new approach to running businesses that sold manufactured goods or food
17
Q
List the impacts of four German migrants on British industry and economy
A
- Johann Jacob Schweppe
[] scientist who developed carbonated water
[] moved to London from Geneva in 1792 to grow his business (was an economic migrant) and started a company that eventually merged with Schweppes International
[] made London a key manufacturer of the first carbonated mineral waters - Gustav Wolff
[] German-Jewish migrant who lived in Liverpool in 1849
[] partnered with Edward Harland to found the Harland-Wolff Shipyard
[] manufactured over 400 ships including the Titanic - Ludwig Mond
[] chemist specialising in alkali manufacture
[] set up Brunner Mond in Cheshire
[] later merged with three other British companies to become the ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries; largest chemical manufacturer in Britain) and then became a subsidiary group of the European branch of Tata Chemicals - Hugo Hurst
[] opened a shop selling electrical bells, coils and ignitions systems for vehicles
[] partnered with Gustav Byng later and then merged with the General Electric Company in Britain
18
Q
Describe the impact of migrants on food in Britain
A
- Italian migrants popularised the sale of ice cream across Britain cheaply; until then, it was hard and expensive to make
[] Carlo Gatti (technically Swiss from Italian-speaking area), who settled in Little Italy in 1847 was crucial in this; made the first agreement with the government to cut ice from the Regent’s Canal to have enough to make ice cream with, and set up many cafes and restaurants across London
[] Glasgow alone had 300 ice cream parlours by the 1900s - Indian migrants especially under Queen Victoria (had an Indian servant called Mohammed Abdul Karin (nicknamed “the Munshi”) whom she was fond of who introduced her to many Indian staples like curries etc.) popularised Indian foods in Britain
- Chinese foods as well as teas from Shanghai and Hong Kong (the British region of China) became popular in Britain with the establishment of Chinatowns (the oldest being in Liverpool)
