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Between 1750 and 1900 Britain’s wealth depended on industry. It needed raw materials to be shipped from around the world. British factories then made manufactured goods, such as clothing and machinery, which were transported across the country and exported to the world. Coal was the fuel that powered the factory machines and Britain was fortunate to be rich in coal deposits. Coal was also exported, bringing more profit to this country. At the same time, consumer goods, such as tea, sugar and tobacco, were shipped to Britain and traded here, bringing profit to planters, shipping companies, merchants and shopkeepers.

Immigrant labour was at the heart of all these processes.

• Asian, African and West Indian seamen worked on the ships bringing raw materials and consumer goods into Britain, and on those which exported coal and manufactured goods to countries around the world.
• Docks, roads and railways were built by ‘navvies’, many of whom were Irish migrants.
• The workforce in the factories - women and children as well as men - consisted of migrant workers from many places including Italy, Ireland, Scotland and other parts of England.
• Several of the entrepreneurs whose businesses profited from the industrial system were themselves immigrants, in many cases from Germany.
• Much of the wealth invested in all the above processes had been gained as profit from the slave plantations of North America and the West Indies.

Industrial Britain needed cheap labour, which migration provided. Economic growth created more jobs for British workers. By 1900, although wide gaps in wealth existed, living and working conditions for most people were better than they had previously been.