Migration to London and transatlantic emigration of indentured servants, 1683–1775

Large-scale migration to London was a central feature of pre-industrial England, enabling the city to grow to a considerable size and preventing over-population in marginal areas of the country, but little is known about the geographical pattern of migration because data are difficult to obtain. It is argued here that 75% of indentured servants bound in London for service in the colonies in America and the West Indies in the period 1683–1775 were two-stage emigrants and their records can be used to establish the pattern of migration to London in the century preceding the industrial revolution. It is shown that London's migration field in this period was very extensive, more than half the migrants coming from areas over 130 km from the city, and more than 21% coming from large towns. The migration pattern of women differed from that of men, in accordance with the principles identified by Ravenstein. It is also shown that the average distance travelled by migrants from England and Wales declined from 166 to 145 km between 1683 and 1775 although migration from Scotland and Ireland increased and the migration field expanded to include America and Asia. For many servants, emigration was simply a further stage in the migration process.