The Experience of Migrants in Eighteenth & Nineteenth-Century Britain (Edexcel GCSE History) : Revision Note

What were migrant experiences like in the 1700s and 1800s?- Summary

Some migrants had positive experiences in Britain. Migrants from places like Germany and Italy were sometimes able to set up small businesses or work in skilled jobs like baking or making tiles. Jewish migrants built strong communities in places like the East End of London. A few migrants even became well known and respected, like Mary Seacole, who helped soldiers during the Crimean War. Others, like Ludwig Mond, helped grow British industry by starting successful companies.

However, many migrants faced negative experiences. They were often given the hardest, lowest-paid jobs and lived in poor, overcrowded housing. Irish workers, for example, worked in dangerous jobs like building railways and were treated unfairly by the public. Asian migrants, like ayahs and lascars, were sometimes left without money or support and faced racist attitudes. Some migrants were also shown unfairly in the media, which spread negative stereotypes. Life in Britain could be very tough, especially for poor or working-class migrants.

Eighteenth & nineteenth century Irish migrants

Where did Irish migrants settle?

• Most Irish migrants lived in industrial cities such as:

  • Liverpool

  • Manchester

  • Glasgow

  • London

• They often settled in poor, overcrowded housing near docks, factories, or railway lines

• In some areas, entire Irish communities developed

  • By the 1860s, one in five people in Liverpool was Irish-born

Work and experiences of Irish migrants

Work

• A large number worked as navvies, doing manual work like:

  • digging canals

  • laying railway tracks

  • building roads and sewers

• These were dangerous and badly paid jobs

  • Many navvies died on the job, leaving their families in poverty

Experiences

• Many British people treated Irish migrants poorly. This was because they were:

  • Afraid of the competition Irish migrants placed on labouring jobs

  • Convinced that Irish migrants were untrustworthy and violent

  • Protestant, whilst many Irish migrants were Catholic

  • Worried that all Irish migrants were Fenians

    • The Fenians were an Irish nationalist group who conducted terrorist attacks across Britain in the 1880s

Eighteenth & nineteenth century European migrants

Where did European migrants settle?

• Unlike the Early Modern period, the two main groups of European migrants in the 18th and 19th centuries were:

  • German

  • Italian

• Most Italian migrants settled in London, especially areas like Soho and the East End

• German migrants settled across Britain in port cities such as Hull, Southampton, and Liverpool, often close to trade routes

Work and experiences of German migrants

Work

• Many German migrants set up businesses such as:

  • bakeries

  • butcher shops

  • restaurants

  • watchmaking

  • tailoring

• Ludwig Mond, a German-born chemist, partnered with British industrialist John Brunner in 1873 to establish Brunner Mond & Company in Cheshire

  • The company produced sodium carbonate, a vital product in glassmaking, textiles, and soap production

  • Brunner Mond quickly grew to become one of the largest chemical producers in Britain

Experiences

• German migrants often integrated well into English life due to their work benefitting Britain's economy

• However, they sometimes faced suspicion during political unrest or war

Work & experiences of Italian migrants

Work

• Many Italian migrants worked in skilled trades including:

  • making tiles, ceramics and roads

  • selling ice-cream

  • performing music in the streets

Experiences

• Many British people accepted Italian migrants into the community because of the trades that they provided

• However, Italian migrants were often poor and lived in cramped housing

Eighteenth & nineteenth century Asian migrants

Where did Asian migrants settle?

• Most Asian migrants lived with British families who had moved from India back to Britain

• Many of these families settled in port cities like London, Cardiff, and South Shields

• Some ayahs lived in dedicated ayah homes near docks in London

Work and experiences of Asian migrants

Ayahs

• Ayahs were Indian women who worked as nannies for British families

• British families often abandoned or dismissed ayahs once the family no longer needed them

• Christian charities tried to help ayahs through:

  • Boarding houses

  • Paying for their journey back to India

• Many ayahs struggled to survive or find passage home

Lascars

• Lascars worked on British merchant ships, often under harsh conditions and for very low pay

• The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 increased demand for lascars

• Lived in cheap lodging houses near docks, often with other sailors

  • Shipping companies often abandoned lascars in port towns for other workers

  • Some lascars chose to leave the ship to remain in England

• If lascars could not find work in ports, they were forced to beg and steal to survive

  • Charities tried to help lascars in poverty by placing them in hostels

Eighteenth & nineteenth century Jewish migrants

Where did Jewish migrants settle?

• Similar to the Early Modern period, many Jewish migrants settled in London in areas such as:

  • Whitechapel

  • Spitalfields

    • Nearly 95% of the population of the Spitalfields area was Jewish by the 20th century

• Jewish migrants mostly settled in established Jewish communities

  • Settling in one place gave more protection for Jewish migrants

Work and experiences of Jewish migrants

Work

• Many newly-arrived Jewish migrants worked in the clothing industry

  • Whitechapel had many sweatshops 

• Jewish-owned shops and businesses became common in some areas

  • Jewish migrants found more work with Jewish-owned businesses

Experiences

• Many people in Britain disliked the Jewish community because of cultural differences

  • Jewish migrants spoke a different language called Yiddish

  • Judaism has different religious celebrations like the Sabbath

  • Jewish migrants wore different clothes, like the Kippah, and did not eat pork

• British workers also felt threatened by Jewish migrants

  • Out of desperation, Jewish workers accepted lower wages and longer hours from sweatshops to make clothes

    • British businesses could not compete with sweatshop prices

    • It undermined union attempts to achieve fairer pay and working hours

• Many British people continued to be antisemitic

  • Newspapers and cartoons portrayed Jewish people negatively

  • They were blamed for social problems like overcrowding or job shortages

What role did the media have in migrant experiences?

• During the 18th and 19th centuries, the media became more powerful and widespread

• The causes:

  • The growth of cheap newspapers

  • More printing presses

  • The railway network

• This meant that news could be printed quickly and spread across the country in just a day

• Media became important in shaping public opinion about migrants

Lord Justice Mansfield’s Ruling (1772)

• Lord Mansfield ruled that enslaved people could not be forced to return to slavery once they set foot on English soil

• The media coverage led to a mix of opinions

  • The verdict made Black people in Britain and abolitionists happy that the slave trade might come to an end

  • Businesses that relied on slavery were unhappy with the verdict

Mary Seacole

• Mary Seacole, a Jamaican-born nurse, cared for British soldiers during the Crimean War

  • After being refused by the British Army’s official nursing service, she funded her own journey to the Crimea

• War correspondents from newspapers like The Times wrote positively about her bravery and compassion, describing her as “Mother Seacole”

• In 1857, a fundraising gala was held for her in London

  • Around 80,000 people attended the gala over four days

  • Journalists and influential figures organised the event and the press widely promoted it

Paul Reuter

• Paul Reuter, a German-Jewish migrant living in London, founded the Reuters News Agency in the mid-1800s

• Reuter’s work transformed the media by helping newspapers access global stories

  • This gave British readers a broader view of the world