Portuguese in the United Kingdom
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
Portuguese-born residents 92,065 (2011 Census) 107,000 (2013 ONS estimate) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| London, East Anglia, South East England, Channel Islands, Bermuda | |
| Languages | |
| English, Portuguese | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism, Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
Portuguese in the United Kingdom are British citizens and residents of the UK who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, descent or citizenship.
The New Christians, who had converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism to avoid persecution but many of whom continued to practise their previous faith, began to migrate in small numbers to Britain in the late 15th century. As a result, by 1550 there were approximately 100 Portuguese Jews in London. Because England's religious status was unsettled at the time, the community remained secretive. The community centred around the Anes family, who provided a physician, Rodrigo López, to Queen Elizabeth. The community was expelled in 1609, although some members were able to remain. In the 17th century, more Portuguese Jews fled to England from the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Many of these came from the Canary Islands. With the readmission of Jews to England, from 1656 onwards the community was able to practise its beliefs. The Bevis Marks Synagogue, constructed in 1701, has traditionally been attended by members of London's Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community.Fried fish, which forms part of the classic British dish of fish and chips, was introduced to Britain by Jewish migrants fleeing Portugal and Spain.
Some Portuguese emigrated to the UK in the 1950s and 1960s, when guest workers left Portugal for other Western European countries in search of employment opportunities. However, the scale of migration to the UK during this period was small in comparison with Portuguese migration to France and Germany. Some Portuguese migrated to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, when Portugal was amongst the poorest countries in Europe. Young males also left Portugal at this time in order to avoid being conscripted to fight in the Portuguese Colonial War. More significant migration flows did not start until the late 1990s, and coincided with a significant rise in the Portuguese unemployment rate in the early to mid-2000s. While different sources disagree on the total size of the Portuguese population of the UK, they agree that there has been a significant increase in migration from Portugal since 2000.
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