Migration and citizenship

This 15th-century list of ‘alien’ residents, gathered for tax purposes, gives us a remarkable insight into London’s medieval immigrant population.

Sarah Parker Remond (1826–1894) fought for a more equal world as an abolitionist and suffrage supporter. Why and how did she apply for British citizenship?

In the summer of 1948, neurologist Ludwig Guttmann set up a sporting competition between patients. It was the birth of the Paralympic Games.

In December 1978, Vietnamese refugees seeking asylum aboard the Huey Fong were refused entry to Hong Kong. Records we hold document the 34-day standoff.

How did an Indian prince come to play at the highest level of England’s national sport?

Described by the Birmingham Post as the ‘queen of Jamaican theatre’, Louise Bennett-Coverley (1919–2006) was a poet, performer, folklorist, writer and educator.

Sir Learie Constantine (1901–1971) was a renowned cricketer, author, politician and persistent campaigner for racial equality and justice.

The Imperial Typewriters dispute in Leicester saw over 500 workers, largely from South Asia, go on strike over discrimination in 1974.

Christine Granville, Special Operations Executive agent extraordinaire, was Churchill’s favourite spy. How did this document possibly save her life?

Insaaf was a film made by the government, filmed partly in Urdu, to promote employment rights under the 1968 Race Relations Act.

Passenger lists for the ships that carried post-war migrants from the Caribbean to Britain can be crucial resources for people tracing their family history.