About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about migration history as a discipline and the nature of migration in Britain, focusing in particular on: (i) the history of migration treated as secondary in the history of Britain, as contrasted to the history of the United States; (ii) the focus on migration, specifically the number of migrants resident in Britain, in the media; (iii) the first use of the term ‘refugee’ in the 17th century to describe the Huguenots, who were protestants fleeing religious persecution in France; (iv) late 18th century migration of African and South Asian people to Britain; (v) 19th century migration of Irish people to Britain, particularly during the famine years; (vi) late 19th century migration of Eastern European Jewish refugees to Britain.

About the lecturer

Dr Daniel Renshaw is a lecturer in British history in the Department of History at the University of Reading. Dr Renshaw’s research interests are in migration, diaspora and identity in Britain. Some of Dr Renshaw’s recent publications include ‘’And now you love me, and there is no way out of it’: marital engagement, misogyny and violence in the Victorian fin-de-siècle gothic short story’ (2023) and ‘Old prejudices and new prejudices: state surveillance ad harassment of Irish and Jewish communities in London’ (2022).