London: A City of Immigrants, Since When?

History books show that our nation has nearly always been made up of people from different countries, some war-mongering, some friendly, some looking for opportunities, some truly desperate.

We Londoners are a mixed up society and a;though this isn't always easy it has made us one of the most tolerant and easy-going cities in the twenty-first century.

Look at the timeline below and next time you see a scaremongering headline about immigrants, think about the shared ever-evolving history of our city #LoveLondon

AD

250, Romans arrive in Britain

700s, Danes & Norwegians invade and settle

1000s, Normans conquer and settle

1100s, Jews are invited to settle in England (but were expelled in 1290)

1100s, Flemish merchants from the Netherlands settle in England

1500s, Queen Mary marries Philip of Spain, the first Gypsies settle & Huguenots arrive

1600s, Africans, West Indians are brought to England as slaves

1700s, Refugees from the French revolution arrive (1789)

1700s, First records of Indian & Chinese sailors in London

1800s, Jewish refugees from Poland, Ukraine and Russia arrive

1800s, Irish people fleeing famine in Ireland arrive

1800s, The growth of the empire & trade routes brings more people from China and India

1900s, Belgians fleeing the battles of the First World War arrive

1930s, Refugees fleeing Nazi oppression in Germany arrive

1940-1960s, Homeless refugees from across Europe arrive, mainly from Poland

1948,  Jamaicans start arriving, invited by the government to help rebuild post-war Britain

1950s, More settlers from other Commonwealth nations arrive eg, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, Canada and New Zealand

1970s, Asians are forced to leave Uganda and come to the UK seeking refuge

1980s, Refugees from Romania and former Yugoslavia arrivve fleeing war

1992-97, After the break up of Yugoslavia, refugees arrive seeking sanctuary

1999, War in Sri Lanka leads to more asylum seekers arriving

2000s, Changes within the EU result in a wave of Polish & other EU economic migrants

2010, Unrest in Middle East leads to more refugees.