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Expansion and empire

Relatively small numbers of Protestants from Britain had been migrating to Ireland from the 16th to the 19th century as major landlords. The food they grew on their land was mostly shipped back to Britain where these Anglo-Irish landlords could get a good price for their produce.

The lack of land left for indigenous Irish people left them overly reliant on potatoes, the only staple crop that could grow well in small landholdings. The potato harvests were ruined by the spread of a fungal disease and this led to a catastrophic famine between 1845 and 1852, in which over one million died and another one million migrated. Their reason for leaving was undoubtedly to improve their chances of survival by finding work in Britain or further abroad in America.

Many Irish people began to settle in the port cities where their ships docked. The highest concentration of Irish migration to Britain was in Liverpool, which was one of Britain’s most important ports in the 19th century.

• Thousands of Irish people found work loading and unloading goods from the many ships that docked at Liverpool. Irish workers also settled in London’s East End, which was the site of England’s busiest port.
• The thousands of Irish people who migrated to Britain most likely came to work long enough to save enough money to go to America but most just settled in Britain.
• As Britain underwent a rapid transformation during the Industrial Revolution Irish manual labourers could be found in every major British city; building roads, train tracks or factories.

Jewish immigrants

When Jewish immigrants arrived in Britain from Eastern Europe in large numbers in the late 19th century, they often settled in poor areas near the docks, such as the East End of London. They were generally poor and took on any jobs available.

One of the main areas of employment was the clothing industry and Jewish immigrants often ended up working in small, cramped buildings for low wages; these were called sweatshops. They worked hard and many saved in order to create better futures for their families. English workers often resented them because they were prepared to work for lower wages, and it was feared this would led to fewer jobs for the English. However, usually it just meant an expansion of employment.