Expert: Malcolm Speechley - 5/19/2008

Question
I've had good few weeks spent lately, in researching about Immigration in USA/Canada, along with European History, in particular British Empire and Roman Empire. As a part of this, I'd my attention drawn towards Immigration in UK, right from the Ice Age to present day.

I'm particularly interested in knowing:

>> population of UK before each of these immigrants group arrived
>> where exactly they came from
>> number of these immigrants arriving
>> when exactly they arrived
>> reason for their migration to UK

It's easy to get these information, for recent immigrations, such as over the past couple of centuries, like African, Asian or Eastern European, either through Internet or certain books, focusing on "People that makes Britain".

However, I'm particularly interested in historical immigration. I've gathered some of the required information, which I'm including here, but if there's any correction or addition that you may think of, you're welcome to enlighten me further. In addition, could you possibly help me in filling the gaps (???)

Following are the list of major wave of immigration over the past few millenia, since the Ice Age.


BEAKER PEOPLE

Date: 2800 BC – 1900 BC
Place: Europe, possibly Germany
Settled in: South West
Population: By 100 BC there may have been around 250,000 people in Britain, which had risen to 500,000 by 50 BC


CELTIC PEOPLE

Date: 200 BC – 100 BC
Place: Eastern Europe
Settled in: ???


ROMANS

Date: 43-410
Place: Italy
Settled in: England & Wales
Total: 20,000 (43 AD)
Population: Estimates for the population by 200 AD vary between 1 and 2 million


GERMANIC PEOPLE (various location)

GERMANIC PEOPLE Total: 50,000-100,000

SAXONS

Date: 410
Place: Germanic people located in what is now north-western Germany (Lower Saxony) and a small section of the eastern Netherlands
Settled in: Sussex, Essex & Middlesex
Reason: overpopulation & plague from Asia; farming and settled down & Vorgigern inviting Hengest and Horsa


ANGLES

Date: 410
Place: from Angeln in Schleswig, Germany (covers the area about 19 miles north & 25 miles south of the border between Germany and Denmark)
Settled in: Northumbria & East Anglia

JUTES/LUTI/LUTAE

Date: 410
Place: Germanic people originated from Jutland in modern Denmark, Southern Schleswig (South Jutland) and part of the East Frisian coast
Settled in: Kent, Hampshire & Isle of Wight

FRANKS

Date: 410
Place: West Germanic tribes in north and east of the Lower Rhine
Settled in: North and East England

FRISIANS

Date: 410
Came from: Germanic people in Friesland, Groningen and parts of Germany



VIKINGS/DANES/NORSEMEN

Date: 789 & 8 June 793
Place: Scandinavia
Settled in: North Britain (East Anglia), Northumbria, Southern Wales, Ireland, Shetlands, Isle of Man
Total: 100-250 (??? - could this very few people cause havoc in British Isle)


NORMANS

Date: 1066
People: Northern France & descended from Vikings
Place: Normandy in Northern France
Total: 20,000 (initial entrance during Battle of Hastings: 7,000-8,000)
Reason: William the Conqueror claimed throne of England, following Kind Edward the Confessor’s death


JEWS

Date: 1066-1290; from 1656 & 1881-1914; 1933-39
People: money lender & refugees
Place:  Russian Empire (Lithuania, Poland & Romania) and Germany
Population: By 1348, England's population has been estimated at between 4.5 and 6 million; In 1440 there were 16,000 foreigners in England, among a population estimated between 2 and 2.5 million, which had fallen by at least 60% since the Black Death


DUTCH

Date: around 1550
People: war of independence from Spain
Place: Netherlands
Population: In 1558 the population was around 2,500,000. Between 1603-1625, it has been estimated at between 4-4.5 million, and 5,600,000 in 1630. In 1750 the population of Great Britain was probably a little over 7,000,000


HUGUENOT

Date: 1680s
People: French Protestants facing persecution
Place: France
Total: 40,000-50,000


BLACKS

Date: mainly 18th century
People: mainly slaves
Place: Africa
UK Population: towards the end of 18th century, 9,000,000


INDIAN

Date: 1972
People: Ugandan refugees
Place: Uganda
Total: around 30,000


EASTERN EUROPEAN

Date: since 1 May 2004
Place: Central & Eastern Europe
Reason: Economic migrants following European Union expansion

Answer
Hi Darsh.
Its seems as though you have done quite a lot of work on this already. However, heres a few extra points for you to consider.

The Celts settled in most of Western Europe. Particularly France (Gaul) Spain, Britain and Ireland. Their descendants can still be found among the Basques in Spain, the Bretons in France as well as in Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

The Romans who settled in Britain were mainly discharged soldiers. Soldiers normally spent the whole of their career in one country and as a result it became their permanent home even after they had left the army. It should be noted that the Roman army recruited from all parts of the empire, so when we speak of Roman settlement we are actually talking about many different races.

You speak of Jutes and Freisans these are actually the Same people. Modern Jutland gets it's name from the fact that Jutes settled not because they originated there.

The Franks did not settle in Britain. The people who populated the northern part of England were, in fact, Angles.

The Viking Population by the beginning of the 11th century actually numbered several thousand. Those that settled in Wales came from Ireland, in other words they had re-migrated.

Although many Indians migrated in the second half of the twentieth Century, as you suggest, there were a small number who arrived before the second world war. These were sailors who worked the route between India and Britain who decided to stay once they arrived.

At the same tine as the Indian migration of the late twentieth century large numbers of blacks also arrived from the West Indies.

One other significant migration occurred following the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. Those Scots who had taken part in this rebellion were punished by being deprived of their land. This land was given to the Hanoverian soldiers as who opposed them as a reward for their part in putting down the rebellion. This resulted in a large influx of Hanoverian settlers to the north of England and South of Scotland.

Hope you found this additional information useful.

Malcolm.