Migration in the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution (c1750--1900) was the greatest period of internal and external migration in British history. Millions of people moved from the countryside to the new industrial towns, while immigrants from Ireland, continental Europe, and the empire came to Britain seeking work and refuge.

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Internal Migration: Rural to Urban

The most significant migration during the Industrial Revolution was the movement of people from the countryside to the towns and cities.

Push Factor (leaving rural areas)	Pull Factor (attracting to towns)
Enclosure of common land drove small farmers off the land	Factory jobs offered regular wages
Agricultural mechanisation reduced the need for farm labour	Towns offered more opportunities (shops, services, entertainment)
Rural poverty and lack of opportunity	Growing industries (textiles, iron, coal) needed workers
Population growth meant not enough land for everyone	Railways made travel easier from the 1830s onwards

Scale of Urbanisation

City	Population in 1801	Population in 1901
London	1,117,000	6,586,000
Manchester	75,000	645,000
Birmingham	71,000	523,000
Glasgow	77,000	762,000
Liverpool	82,000	685,000

Key Term: Enclosure --- the process by which common land was fenced off and made private property. Enclosure Acts in the 18th and 19th centuries forced many small farmers and labourers off the land, pushing them towards industrial towns.

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Irish Migration

The largest immigrant group during the Industrial Revolution was the Irish. Irish migration to Britain had been ongoing for centuries, but it reached enormous proportions during the 19th century.

The Great Famine (1845--1852)

Feature	Detail
Cause	A potato blight destroyed the staple food crop of the Irish population
Scale	Approximately 1 million people died of starvation and disease; approximately 1 million emigrated (many to Britain, others to the USA, Canada, and Australia)
British response	The British government's response was widely criticised as inadequate; some historians argue it constituted a form of genocide through neglect
Migration to Britain	By 1861, there were over 600,000 Irish-born people living in England and Wales; they settled primarily in Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and London

Irish Communities in Britain

Feature	Detail
Occupations	The Irish typically took the lowest-paid and most dangerous jobs: navvying (building railways and canals), dock work, factory work, domestic service
Living conditions	Irish immigrants often lived in the worst slum housing; overcrowded cellars and courtyards
Hostility	Irish immigrants faced widespread prejudice and discrimination; they were stereotyped as violent, drunken, and uncivilised
Anti-Catholic sentiment	The overwhelmingly Catholic Irish faced hostility from the Protestant majority
Community	Irish communities maintained their culture through the Catholic Church, pubs, and community organisations
Contribution	Irish labour was essential to the construction of Britain's railways, canals, and buildings; Irish workers literally built the infrastructure of industrial Britain

Exam Tip: Irish migration is a key case study for showing both the economic contribution of migrants and the hostility they faced. Draw comparisons with later immigrant groups to identify recurring patterns.

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Jewish Migration

A new wave of Jewish migration began in the late 19th century, driven by persecution in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Feature	Detail
Background	Following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II (1881), a wave of violent anti-Jewish attacks (pogroms) swept through Russia and Eastern Europe
Scale	Between 1880 and 1914, approximately 120,000--150,000 Jewish refugees settled in Britain
Settlement	Concentrated in the East End of London (especially Whitechapel and Spitalfields), Manchester, and Leeds
Occupations	Tailoring, shoemaking, furniture-making, and other skilled trades
Hostility	Jewish immigrants faced antisemitism and were blamed for overcrowding, low wages, and disease in the East End
Aliens Act (1905)	Britain's first immigration control law, primarily aimed at restricting Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe

Key Term: Pogrom --- an organised massacre or persecution of an ethnic or religious group, particularly used to describe attacks on Jewish communities in Russia and Eastern Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Other Migrant Communities

Community	Detail
German immigrants	A significant German community existed in Britain, especially in London (the "German quarter" around Fitzrovia); many worked as bakers, sugar refiners, and musicians; faced hostility during the First World War
Italian immigrants	Italian communities settled in London (Clerkenwell, known as "Little Italy"), Manchester, and Glasgow; worked in the food trade (ice cream, restaurants) and as organ grinders and street musicians
Lascars (South Asian sailors)	Indian and other South Asian sailors employed on British merchant ships; some settled in port cities like London, Liverpool, and Cardiff
Chinese communities	Small Chinese communities developed in port cities (London's Limehouse, Liverpool); associated with the merchant navy

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Emigration from Britain

The Industrial Revolution also drove large-scale emigration from Britain.

Destination	Detail
USA	The largest destination; millions of British and Irish emigrants sought land and opportunity
Canada	British settlement expanded westwards across Canada throughout the 19th century
Australia	Initially a penal colony (convicts transported from 1788); later attracted free settlers, especially during the gold rushes of the 1850s
New Zealand	British settlement from the 1840s; Maori land was seized through treaties and war
South Africa	British settlers arrived in increasing numbers, especially after the discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886)

| Scale | Between 1815 and 1914, approximately 10 million people emigrated from Britain |

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Key Figures

Person	Role
Isambard Kingdom Brunel	Son of a French immigrant; one of the greatest engineers of the Industrial Revolution
Friedrich Engels	German immigrant who documented the appalling conditions in Manchester (The Condition of the Working Class in England, 1845)

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Key Dates

Date	Event
1845--52	Irish Great Famine; mass emigration to Britain
1881	Pogroms begin in Russia; Jewish refugees flee to Britain
1905	Aliens Act --- first immigration control law
1815--1914	Approximately 10 million people emigrate from Britain

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Extended Worked Paragraph: Q4 "Main Factor" Question

Specimen question: "Economic change was the main factor shaping migration into and within Britain during the Industrial Revolution." How far do you agree? Explain your answer with reference to economic change and other factors. [16 marks + 4 SPaG]