British Attitudes Towards Polish Migrants and Workers in the 'Yellow Nineties'
Karolina Fedorcio
Ryerson University
2453
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Source: Wikimedia Commons user Simmo Simpson
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Britain in the 1800s: Sentiments Towards Immigrants
Although based in France, The Yellow Book’s publication and reception was in England. The central question remains, How did the British feel about migrant foreigners on their lands during the 1890s? To my knowledge, there is limited or no research which indicates British sentiments towards immigrants and workers in the time when the works were published – 1894 and 1895. However, thanks to the author’s personal commentary of the conditions during her time and secondary research which analyzes British attitudes towards immigrants in more recent times … It can be inferred that their attitudes were not all that positive. |
Clue #1: Dowie's Commentary
Two comments stand out in Dowie’s In Ruthenia, published in 1890.
Two comments stand out in Dowie’s In Ruthenia, published in 1890.
- Firstly, she says that perhaps one day England will benefit from the rich culture and food Poland has to offer (Dowie 772). Clearly, England was not yet ready for the inclusion of a different culture at this time. It had to acquire a certain acceptance before it could benefit from Poland’s riches.
- In the same article, Dowie says that she is bold to say that Polish are among the most intelligent of peoples (772). Boldness implies that she was taking a risk when making that statement. This implies that the majority opinion was opposite Dowie’s – perhaps that the people of Poland were not so smart.
Clue #2: British Sentiments Towards Immigrants in 21st Century
Just like how the event of the November Uprising sparked an influx of migrants to other countries, the accession of Poland to the European Union in 2004 had similar affects for immigration.
Thousands of Polish immigrants made their way to the United Kingdom in hopes of improving their lives. Unfortunately, for the most part their lives were made more difficult. The people of Britain had a difficult time accepting the newcomers, seeing them as outsiders unworthy of the same rights as the exclusively British society and as strangers who threatened to steal their jobs (Spiegelman 99). It is because of such negative rhetoric in the media that Polish immigrants were attacked more widely by society (100-101).
Interestingly, the article which focused on modern day British attitudes towards Polish immigrants, ended on such note:
“The negative framing of the Polish newcomers as invading outsiders threatening the extant population, legitimised by their dehumanisation as a natural disaster and bellwether of a wider phenomenon, conformed to previous ways in which immigrants in general have been portrayed in the “besieged” British Isles” (111).
Such statement confirms that poor treatment of immigrants in the 21st century was prevalent during the 19th century as well. What this means in the context of The Yellow Book’s reception, is that the works which positively depicted immigrants and low salary workers were published at a time where the majority opinion on these types of people was negative. The artists went against the dominant rhetoric of the society and provided perspectives which were new, strange and scandalous by the society’s standards.
And this was precisely the aim of The Yellow Book.
Just like how the event of the November Uprising sparked an influx of migrants to other countries, the accession of Poland to the European Union in 2004 had similar affects for immigration.
Thousands of Polish immigrants made their way to the United Kingdom in hopes of improving their lives. Unfortunately, for the most part their lives were made more difficult. The people of Britain had a difficult time accepting the newcomers, seeing them as outsiders unworthy of the same rights as the exclusively British society and as strangers who threatened to steal their jobs (Spiegelman 99). It is because of such negative rhetoric in the media that Polish immigrants were attacked more widely by society (100-101).
Interestingly, the article which focused on modern day British attitudes towards Polish immigrants, ended on such note:
“The negative framing of the Polish newcomers as invading outsiders threatening the extant population, legitimised by their dehumanisation as a natural disaster and bellwether of a wider phenomenon, conformed to previous ways in which immigrants in general have been portrayed in the “besieged” British Isles” (111).
Such statement confirms that poor treatment of immigrants in the 21st century was prevalent during the 19th century as well. What this means in the context of The Yellow Book’s reception, is that the works which positively depicted immigrants and low salary workers were published at a time where the majority opinion on these types of people was negative. The artists went against the dominant rhetoric of the society and provided perspectives which were new, strange and scandalous by the society’s standards.
And this was precisely the aim of The Yellow Book.
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