German-speaking people have always lived, either as temporary or as long-term residents, in the British Isles. While the majority of the visitors arrived to pursue trade, others came for a wide variety of reasons. In the sixteenth century German reformers came to promote Protestantism. In 1714 the Elector of Hanover came because he had inherited the crown. In Victorian times Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital in the British Museum.
The nineteenth century was perhaps the highpoint in the history of German settlement, with the establishment of widespread German communities and organisations. The First World War, and a combinations of official and unofficial hostility, destroyed most of these communities. During the interwar years both Nazis and Jewish refugees from Nazism entered the country. Since the war, professionals have formed the basis of the German community.
The present volume traces the history of German settlement through a series of essays designed to cover each period and to analyse specific aspects. Germans in Britain Since 1500 represents a unique history of an immigrant grouping in Britain over almost 500 years.