History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 41

Cromwell had made it clear that he was unopposed, and although no law was passed
enabling their residence, and with Charles II subsequently unopposed either, Jews
began to re-settle.
William of Orange embarked upon a policy of encouraging wealthy Dutch Jews, who
were also financing his operations, to settle in Britain. Geoffrey Alderman writes, "As a
corollary, however, the Jews had to become the staunchest supporters of the Glorious
Revolution of 1688 … As shareholders in the National Debt, the richer sections of the
community risked financial ruin had there been a Stuart restoration; for such an event
would certainly have been followed by a repudiation of government debts."
In 1685 there were 400 Jews in Great Britain, which had doubled by the end of the
century. In 1753 there were probably less than 8,000. By 1815, there were around 2030,000.
The next period of Jewish immigration was from Russia, Lithuania and Poland towards
the end of the 19th Century.
David Coleman, Oxford University writes: "The Jews who fled from the Russian Empire
(including Poland) and Romania, especially after 1882, seeking entry to Britain and
other Western countries, were not so welcome. For the most part they were unskilled
and destitute. They were conspicuous by appearance, language and religion. It was a
migration unique in British history. There had been poor religious refugees before (like
the 10,000 'poor Palatines' of the reign of Queen Anne [1702-1714]), but never had
there been non-Christian refugees in such numbers. The return of the Sephardi Jews
(expelled in 1290) from 1656 onwards began as a tiny migration which had grown to a
prosperous and well established community by the 19th century. The arrival of the East
European Ashkenazi Jews in large numbers (about 120,000 inferred from the Census of
1911), their concentration in certain areas, the pressure they imposed on housing and
employment, provoked growing demands for immigration control."
Around 55,000 Jews arrived between 1933-1939. In 1995 there were 285,000 Jews in
Britain, down from a post-war high of 400,000.

LOMBARDS and HANSA 1250-1598
These were small numbers of merchants from Lombardy in Italy, and from the
Hanseatic League, a trading association of German and Baltic towns. Based in London,
Lombards gradually replaced Jews as the country's financiers, during this period. The
Hansa merchants were squeezed out when their operation near London Bridge was
closed down in 1598.

WEAVERS FROM THE LOW COUNTIES 1337-1550
The Flemish came from "The Low Counties" which are now Belgium, the Netherlands,
Luxemburg and parts of northern France and Germany. They came to East Anglia in
the 13th and 14th century spurred by warfare, civil strife and good wool. They came in
the 16th century escaping religious persecution. In 1440 there were 16,000 foreigners in
England, among a population estimated between 2 and 2.5 million, which had fallen by

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