Migration to Britain c1000 to c2010

Migration has played an important part in Britain's history from c1000 to the present day. It has influenced Britain’s economy, politics, culture and relationship with the wider world.

Immigration was constant and needed. Most migrants settled peacefully but they were not always welcomed. Ideas of who ‘belonged’ and who did not often changed.

Immigrants came to work in many occupations. Some came as refugees. The Normans came as invaders. Jews were invited by King William I because he wanted to borrow from Jewish moneylenders.

Migrants had different experiences. Norman rule was resisted unsuccessfully and Jews were terrorised and expelled. Though most migrant workers settled well, they were sometimes targeted.

The impact of migration was huge, from how the Normans governed with Jewish money to how migrants kick-started manufacturing and trade. There were also tensions that sometimes exploded dangerously.

Huge changes emerged from the Reformation, the Union with Scotland, the beginnings of empire, new global trade routes, the growth of business and the trade in enslaved Africans.

Most migrants came because of violence and upheaval elsewhere - religious wars, conquest or enslavement. They were affected by a changing world.

While most Protestant refugees were welcomed, other groups, such as Gypsies and foreign Catholics, were not. Africans and Jews settled quietly but enslavement and empire brought great change.

Huguenot investment and skills helped bring greater wealth to Britain, as did the expansion of a trading empire and the slave trade. Ideas about racial difference also began to spread.

British wealth and power came from the slave plantations, trade, the factory system and empire. Migrant workers from across the world made this possible and helped to lead movements for change.

People migrated to Britain for different reasons - forced labour, poverty, hope of work, business and to escape to safety. All came because of Britain’s wealth, empire and world dominance.

Large numbers of migrants fleeing hardship found work in industrial Britain. Most saw their lives improve slowly, though many faced often appalling living conditions and growing racial prejudice.

Britain was at the height of it's global power and mass immigration impacted on all aspects of life: from food and fashion to faith, politics and commerce.

While levels were low in the early 20th century, the later period saw mass immigration. The 20th and early 21st centuries were also a time of increased immigration controls.

Immigration was usually due to a search for work or safety. Numbers grew in the late 20th and early 21st centuries because of the EU’s free movement policies and humanitarian crises in many countries.

Migrants experienced immigration controls, discrimination and organised racism and had to struggle for acceptance. Nevertheless, the UK has become increasingly at ease with its cultural diversity.

While there are contrary views about how immigration has affected British society, the impact has clearly been considerable in all areas of UK life.

In your History GCSE, it is important that you not only have good subject knowledge, but have the skills to apply this knowledge to exam questions.