ABSTRACT

Before exploring the ways in which the three immigrant groups at the heart of this study were received by the ‘natives’ 1 of Spitalfields, it is necessary to consider the terms under which their reception is described. In common with the fact that good news rarely gets into the media, so it is generally only the hostile reactions to refugees, immigrants and sojourners, that attract attention. In spite of an inherent human suspicion of things foreign and different, in the very earliest stages of settlement Huguenots, Jews and Bangladeshis rarely met with hostility. However, as their numbers increased and their impact upon local and national socio-economic conditions became visibly and physically significant, the attitudes of many members of the receiving societies 2 changed from a cautious welcome to overt antipathy. A 350-year overview of the issues creating the tensions and the terms in which these were expressed confirms continuity. Throughout the centuries the prime concerns of the native residents of Spitalfields have been the immigrants’ impact on local housing and jobs, cultural traditions and health. These are the basic pillars of everyday life and, should they appear endangered, the outsider will always be scapegoated. Yet, whilst the themes have remained constant, the terms of reference have not: group behaviour has been branded by the tensions of the times and, as the centuries passed, the terminology has undergone change.