Did migrants come to GB 1000 – 1730 AND ONLY because OF ECONOMIC reason (24
marks)
One group from the earlier period that would agree with this statement would be the Jews. This is
because they were invited into Britain by William the Conqueror in order to help him organise the
royal finances and to lend money to the king. Because of this, Jews were able to get well-paid jobs
and earn a living.
Another group from the earlier period who came to England for economic reasons were the
Hanseatic league, a group of North European port cites, mostly German such as Lubeck and Rostock,
which trade throughout North Europe and England. They were invited by various English kings in
order to increase trade with Northern Europe. The Germans of the League accepted because they
would simply earn more money.
But not all groups came for economic reasons. A group that may disagree with this statement would
be The Flemings. This group came over from Flanders, modern day Belgium. Their predominant push
factor was that some were political refugees from warfare as medieval Flanders saw much fighting.
Another reason for the Flemings to leave Flanders was due to a series of storms that caused floods in
1106. Much low-lying land was covered by the sea, so Flanders wasn’t a particularly safe place to
live.
Another group that didn’t come to England for economic reasons were the Rhineland Palatines. This
was because of the pull factors and the appeal coming from England itself. In 1709, The British
government passed the Foreign Protestants Naturalisation Act which allowed any European
Protestant to come and live in England with full rights at the cost of only one shilling, the equivalent
of five pence today. Another reason they came to England was because the Protestants among them
were also subject to oppressive treatment from their Catholic ruler.
The Normans also felt that they had political reasons to migrate to England, simply because William
of Normandy felt he had the claim to the throne of England. He felt this as the previous king Edward
the Confessor had spent much time in Normandy. He also claimed that when Harold Godwinson had
been shipwrecked in Normandy that Harold had promised on oath to support William’s claim to the
throne. As a push factor it could be argued that ruling Normandy was less impressive than ruling
England, as England was a much bigger than Normandy and the rule of England would be a king
rather than just a Count.
In conclusion, I believe that the majority of groups migrated to Britain for economic reasons, as
groups such as the Flemings felt also that as a result of the flooding’s in Flanders, that they needed a
more economically secure place to live. Another group like the Huguenots were very skilled in the
silk trade, so they came to England and brought lots of new skilled jobs which brought much
prosperity to England.
marks)
One group from the earlier period that would agree with this statement would be the Jews. This is
because they were invited into Britain by William the Conqueror in order to help him organise the
royal finances and to lend money to the king. Because of this, Jews were able to get well-paid jobs
and earn a living.
Another group from the earlier period who came to England for economic reasons were the
Hanseatic league, a group of North European port cites, mostly German such as Lubeck and Rostock,
which trade throughout North Europe and England. They were invited by various English kings in
order to increase trade with Northern Europe. The Germans of the League accepted because they
would simply earn more money.
But not all groups came for economic reasons. A group that may disagree with this statement would
be The Flemings. This group came over from Flanders, modern day Belgium. Their predominant push
factor was that some were political refugees from warfare as medieval Flanders saw much fighting.
Another reason for the Flemings to leave Flanders was due to a series of storms that caused floods in
1106. Much low-lying land was covered by the sea, so Flanders wasn’t a particularly safe place to
live.
Another group that didn’t come to England for economic reasons were the Rhineland Palatines. This
was because of the pull factors and the appeal coming from England itself. In 1709, The British
government passed the Foreign Protestants Naturalisation Act which allowed any European
Protestant to come and live in England with full rights at the cost of only one shilling, the equivalent
of five pence today. Another reason they came to England was because the Protestants among them
were also subject to oppressive treatment from their Catholic ruler.
The Normans also felt that they had political reasons to migrate to England, simply because William
of Normandy felt he had the claim to the throne of England. He felt this as the previous king Edward
the Confessor had spent much time in Normandy. He also claimed that when Harold Godwinson had
been shipwrecked in Normandy that Harold had promised on oath to support William’s claim to the
throne. As a push factor it could be argued that ruling Normandy was less impressive than ruling
England, as England was a much bigger than Normandy and the rule of England would be a king
rather than just a Count.
In conclusion, I believe that the majority of groups migrated to Britain for economic reasons, as
groups such as the Flemings felt also that as a result of the flooding’s in Flanders, that they needed a
more economically secure place to live. Another group like the Huguenots were very skilled in the
silk trade, so they came to England and brought lots of new skilled jobs which brought much
prosperity to England.
