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Migration in early modern England, c1500 to c1700
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As England became a Protestant nation and a trading power, Protestant refugees from Europe and people from Africa came to England.
Context
England became mainly Protestant, so Protestant refugees from Catholic Europe looked to it for safety.
Trade grew: the cloth industry, global trading companies such as the East India Company (1600), and privateering.
People from Africa lived in Tudor and Stuart England, as servants, sailors, musicians and craftspeople. John Blanke was a trumpeter at the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. England also became involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
Trade grew: the cloth industry, global trading companies such as the East India Company (1600), and privateering.
People from Africa lived in Tudor and Stuart England, as servants, sailors, musicians and craftspeople. John Blanke was a trumpeter at the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. England also became involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
Case study: Sandwich and Canterbury
In the 1560s, Flemish and Walloon Protestants (called 'Strangers') were invited to settle in Sandwich, and many later moved to Canterbury.
They brought skills in the 'New Draperies', lighter cloth that sold well.
They boosted the local economy, though some locals resented competition. In Canterbury the Walloon church met in the cathedral crypt.
They brought skills in the 'New Draperies', lighter cloth that sold well.
They boosted the local economy, though some locals resented competition. In Canterbury the Walloon church met in the cathedral crypt.
Case study: the Huguenots
Huguenots were French Protestants. Many fled after the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572) and especially after Louis XIV ended their rights in 1685.
Tens of thousands came to England, many to Spitalfields in London, where they were famous for silk weaving. Others were skilled in clockmaking, silverwork and finance.
They faced some hostility but were generally accepted, partly as fellow Protestants.
Tens of thousands came to England, many to Spitalfields in London, where they were famous for silk weaving. Others were skilled in clockmaking, silverwork and finance.
They faced some hostility but were generally accepted, partly as fellow Protestants.
Explain why Huguenots came to England in the late 1600s.
- They were Protestants persecuted in Catholic France.
- In 1685 Louis XIV removed their rights.
- Protestant England offered safety and work for their skills.
Answer: Religious persecution in France and safety and opportunity in Protestant England.
Protestant England attracted refugees. Strangers in Sandwich and Canterbury (New Draperies). Huguenots after 1572 and 1685, silk weaving in Spitalfields. Africans in Tudor England, e.g. John Blanke.
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