Medieval 1000-1500 overview - OCR AThe story of England’s immigrants

Reasons for immigration

Immigrants arrived in England for many different reasons:

Most immigrants came to England looking for work. There were opportunities here for skilled artisans who wanted a better life for themselves and their families.

Problems in their own homelands forced many to migrate. People came to escape war and economic collapse and some were refugees.

Those in power encouraged some groups to come. Some were encouraged to come because their skills were needed to boost England’s economy. Others were invited because they could lend money to ruling kings and bishops.

A few were forced to come and live here. Some were political prisoners, while others were kidnapped and sold to be enslaved.

Some immigrants belonged to the ruling classes. They included foreign nobles and princesses arriving with their attendants to marry kings.

Experiences of immigrants

On the whole, foreign-born immigrants settled in well during the Middle Ages, becoming part of local communities. However, there was often resentment from those who felt immigrants were getting unfair special treatment, taking local jobs and pushing up prices.

Their treatment depended on where they came from. Those born in lands controlled by the English Crown were not seen as foreign. However, those born outside the Crown’s realms were known as ‘aliens’.

Their treatment depended on how useful they were. When they were needed, immigrants often enjoyed Crown protection. However, as Jews found in the 13th century when King Edward I expelled them from England, that could suddenly and completely change.

Their treatment depended on when they were here. In times of war or economic hardship, immigrants could be victimised. When there was a labour shortage they could be welcomed.

Impact of immigration

The terrible treatment of Jews in the early Middle Ages had an impact on Jewish communities across Europe. The racist myth of the Blood Libel and other measures against Jews spread across the continent, with tragic results of Jews being put on trial and murdered in several countries.

Later, as foreign and local-born people mixed, grew up together and learnt from each other in communities all over the country, the social and cultural impact must have been great, affecting the ways in which people understood each other’s cultures. We do not have direct evidence of this because most people could not read or write. However, the facts that immigrants were so widely distributed and that we know of very few cases of conflict suggests that most settled and integrated.

Immigrants had a very great economic impact, in different ways at different times:

• Castles and cathedrals were built with the help of Jewish moneylenders.
• The economy transformed from a primary one based on raw materials to a secondary manufacturing one, with the help of Flemish and Dutch artisans.
• London developed as a financial and trading centre thanks to Hanseatic merchants and Lombard bankers.