Baltic people in the United Kingdom

Baltic British
Total population
Baltic-born residents
108,711 Lithuanian-born (2011 census)
61,441 Latvian-born (2011 census)
8,710 Estonian-born (2011 census)
Regions with significant populations
London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow
Languages
English, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian.
Religion
Christianity · Judaism • Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
Balts • Baltic Finns

Baltic people in the United Kingdom are those born or raised in the UK, or residents, who are of Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian origin.

History, population and settlement

In the early 20th century, many Latvian and Lithuanian refugees began to settle in Glasgow and at its height in the 1950s, there were around 10,000 in the Glasgow area.[1]

During the first period of Estonian independence in the inter-war years, Great Britain, and, especially, London, became a magnet for many young people from Estonia wishing to learn English. This was made easier by a bi-lateral agreement drawn up by the British (Agreement A), which allowed foreigners to live with English families and get board and lodging in return for housekeeping duties. After the initial influx, the number of Estonian immigrants gradually reduced as people were more able to find work and, as a result, they gravitated to a few towns and cities, in particular London, Leicester and Bradford, with smaller communities in and around Bolton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Bournemouth and some north of the border in Scotland. In the early 1950s, many Estonians left to live in other countries, leaving less than 6000 in Britain.[2]

Significant numbers of Baltic people moved to the UK in 1947 under a government backed scheme called Westward Ho. The first group of displaced persons (DPs) from the British zone of occupation of Germany arrived in the UK in 1947, called the Balt Cygnets.[3]

The 2011 UK Census recorded 95,730 Lithuanian-born residents in England, 1,353 in Wales,[4] 4,287 in Scotland,[5] and 7,341 in Northern Ireland.[6] The census recorded 53,977 Latvian-born residents in England, 692 in Wales,[4] 4,475 in Scotland,[5] and 2,297 in Northern Ireland.[6] The number of Estonian-born residents recorded was 7,687 in England, 177 in Wales,[4] 747 in Scotland,[5] and 99 in Northern Ireland.[6]

The previous, 2001 UK Census, had recorded 4,363 UK residents born in Lithuania, 4,275 born in Latvia and 2,005 born in Estonia.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Guardian (2006-01-23). "Lithuanians in Glasgow". Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  2. ↑ UK Estonian Embassy (2008). "The Estonian community in the UK". Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  3. ↑ McDowell, Linda (2008). "On the Significance of Being White: European Migrant Workers in the British Economy in the 1940s and 2000s". In Dwyer, Claire; Bressey, Caroline. New Geographies of Race and Racism. Aldershot: Ashgte. pp. 51–64. ISBN 978-0-7546-7085-8.
  4. 1 2 3 "2011 Census: Country of birth (expanded), regions in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "Country of birth (detailed)" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 "Country of Birth – Full Detail: QS206NI". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2017.

Bibliography

  • Burrell, Kathy and Panayi, Panikos: Histories and Memories: Latvians and Their History in Britain
  • Budriuniene, Jolanta: Regeneration of the Lithuanian Emigrant Press: Fifteen Years' Experience
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.