England’s Immigrants: Were there really aliens - Lesson 2

1. The England’s Immigrants Project
Teacher Scholar Scheme 2016
Were there really aliens living among the
population of England in the 15th
century?
Lesson 2

2. Welcome!
Listen to the music and get ready to
go back in time again
First task is a quick review:
•Were there aliens in England in the 15th
century?
•What sort of jobs did they do?
•What else did you learn about them?

3. Your turn to have a think
• When you were investigating the aliens
you used a database
• We actually know quite a lot about aliens
• Historians think this is wonderful
• But would those aliens have agreed?

4. How were the aliens treated in 15th
century England?
• We know so much about the aliens because
we have government records
• But what are these records and how do
historians use them?
• What can they tell from them?

5. Look carefully at this document and Look
at the bigger image you have been given.
• What can
you
identify?
• Is it a letter?
• A recipe?
• Is it
something
important?
• How do you
know?

6. It is a tax document.
• Tax today
– Direct tax: Government directly takes a percentage of
your income to pay for schools, hospitals, the armed
forces and much more
– Indirect tax: Government collects a percentage of the
cost of things we buy eg customs duties or VAT
• Tax in medieval times
– Indirect tax more common as it is easier to collect
– But there were direct taxes
– One of these was the Alien Subsidy – a tax on
foreigners!

7. Why was the Alien Subsidy
introduced?
• Feel free to speculate – what reasons can you suggest which
explain why the monarch brought in the Alien subsidy?

8. Why was the Alien Subsidy
introduced?
• Finished speculating? Let’s look at some
documents!
• Look at Source 1-The Libelle Englyshe
Polyce
• Look at Source 2- a Parliamentary
petition

9. The Libelle of Englyshe Polcye 1436
The trewe process of Englysh policye
Of utterwarde to kepep thys regne in rest
Of oure England, that no man may denye
Ner say of soth but it is one the best,
Is thys, as who seith, south, north, east or west
Cheryshe marchandyse, kepe thamyralte
That we bee maysteres of the narowe see.
For if this see be kepte in tyme of were
Who cane here pass wthought daunger and woo
Who may eschape , who may myschef dyfferre?
What marchaundy may forby be agoo?
For nedes hem muste take truse every foo,
Flaundres and Spayne and othere, trust to me,
Or ellis hindered alle for thys narowe see.

10. May it please your Royal Highness to grant that,
regardless of the arrangement your grandfather,
Edward I had made, the merchants from such
countries as Flanders, France, Scotland and Italy, be
obliged to sell all goods that they bring into England
within forty days of their arrival. If they don’t agree to
this then their goods should be confiscated. Please
can his Royal Highness remember that the grant your
Grandfather made to alien merchants was not with
the permission of prelates and Earls of this realm?
Do you know that alien merchants stay as long as
they like in England and they make the Englyshe buy
their goods at outrageously increased prices? This is
damaging to your Royal Highness and the whole
community. These alien merchants are affecting the
livelihood of the Englyshe, who have rights enshrined
in the Great Charter. Let these alien merchants live in
the house of good people of the city, and not live in
their own houses. It will be good to have these
merchants eating at the same table as a freeman of
our city again.

11. Why was the Alien Subsidy
introduced?
• Did you find any of the following factors in the two
documents?
– Economic hardship
– Competition from foreign traders and merchants
– Discontent against the monarch
– Wanting to control the seas
– Not allowing foreigners to have their own homes
– Restricting the business activities of foreigners

12. Some useful extra background…
• Turbulent times ….
– England was at war with France from 1337-1453. Historians call it
The Hundred Years War.
– Wars were (and still are) very expensive.
– Monarchs paid for the war through taxes.
– Turbulent times brought discontent among the population.
– There was a distrust of aliens in the country, particularly London.
– There was resentment of the freedom aliens had in the city.
– There was unrest in the Netherlands, Ghent, Cologne and other
areas which was bringing more aliens into the country.
• Have any of these points changed your views or strengthened your
views?

13. Why was the Alien Subsidy
introduced?
• After looking at the documents and the extra background,
have your views changed? Time to vote again

14. How did the Alien Subsidy work?
• The monarch decreed there would be a subsidy
• Government officials sent instructions (writs) to local
officials
• Local officials asked reliable local men to identify aliens
• Aliens were recorded on lists
• The tax was collected from these aliens

15. How did it affect people and how did
they respond?
• Most aliens just paid the tax.
There was not much they could
do about it!
• Some avoided the tax by
paying for ‘Letters of
Denization’ like the one below
• Think back to the earlier
document – what can we
tell about this one just by
looking at it?
• Speculate: What do you
think it might say?

16. Letter of
denization
for Gervase
le Vulre and
his wife,
1441
The king knows all about the gracious service that his loyal
servant Master Gervase de Vulre has given him. The king hopes
Gervase will continue to provide this service both to himself and
to his successors. The king wants everyone to know that from
now on Gervase and his wife, who came originally from France,
should now be considered to be natives of this realm of England,
and shall be treated as true English. Gervase is a suitable person
to have jobs given by me the king or by other important people.
Gervase, his wife and their heirs can own land and property, just
like any true born English person for ever. Gervase and his wife
and his heirs can seek justice in the courts of this country, like
other English born and and woman , provided that Gervase and
Joan his wife are loyal and pay homage to us and contribute
taxes and other things just like every other native born English
man and woman
Witnessed this day in Westminster the 21st
day of January 1441

17. Gervase’s denization
• Why has Gervase received his letter?
• How will Gervase and his wife be
treated?
• What do Gervase and his wife gain?
• What do they have to do in return?
• Does it surprise you that Gervase paid
for his letter?

18. Bringing it all together
• So what can we now say about aliens in England in the 15th
century?
– Where did they live?
– What did they do?
– Did they make a contribution?
– Were they accepted? Resented?
– How were they treated?
– What else can we say about them?

19. Your final task
• Choose an alien from the England’s Immigrants database and
write a short account of what it is like living as an alien in
England.
• You can EITHER choose an ordinary alien about whom we do
not have much information and piece together your account
of what you think is likely based on what you have found out.
You will have to use your imagination but not too much. No
dragons – or aliens from another planet!
• OR you can take one of the more famous aliens like Nicholas
Jone and write his or her story.
• You could write your account as a diary or a letter, or some
other way if you prefer.