Expulsion England's Jewish Solution

The first Jewish communities in the British Isles were established following William of Normandy's conquest of England in 1066. The Jews settled in London and were at first courted by their Christian hosts. However, at a time when wider European attitudes to the Jews were hardening, it was not long before the English approach began to change. The twelfth century saw the development of the myth of ritual child killing by Jews, and in the 1190s anti-Jewish riots broke out across England. In a course of events that frighteningly mirrors that of Nazi Germany over seven centuries later, statutory regulations against the Jews, culminating in the Statute of Jewry of 1275, became increasingly harsh and punitive.

Richard Huscroft is a History Master at Westminster School, London. He graduated from Oxford University with a First in History and was awarded his PhD from King's College London. His other books include Ruling England 1042-1217. He lives in London.