Bangladeshi Community
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated, poorest countries in the world with an economy reliant on agriculture; the majority of its citizens are Muslim.
British rule in India ceased in August 1947. Following independence, the Muslim majority states of West and East Pakistan were created in 1947 when India was partitioned. However, there was conflict between West and East Pakistan over governance and in 1971 East Pakistan became the Republic of Bangladesh.
Early History with Britain
There is evidence from paintings and literature that Bengali children were used as servants in London from the mid-17th century. The first major British influence in the area of present Bangladesh began in 1690 when the East India Company began trading from the region.
In the 1850s the region of Sylhet in Bangladesh began to be developed by the British as a major tea growing district. Muslim Selheti-speaking women worked as tea-pickers on the British tea plantations. The men worked on the boats on the Jumna, Meghna and Hooghly Rivers, transporting the tea downriver to Calcutta from where it was shipped to Britain.
Through the 19th century seamen from the Bengali region called ‘lascars’ began arriving on ships to Britain.
1950s Arrivals
In the 1950s and 1960s the Sylhet area was targeted by British officials seeking workers in London’s post-war boom.
In Hertfordshire workers from Sylhet were actively recruited to work in the manufacturing and electrical factories of St Albans as unskilled and semi skilled labour. Also at this time air travel was becoming more affordable which encouraged people to make the journey. Bangladeshi workers and ex-seamen encouraged their families and fellow villagers to Britain. Hertfordshire became an attractive place to settle because of its proximity to London. Many people who work in the ‘Indian’ restaurant trade in Britain originate from Sylhet.
Bangladesh Community Today
The largest numbers of Bangaldeshi settlers in the UK are in Brick lane London sometimes termed ‘Bangla Town’. In 2001, 3426 people of Bangladehi decent lived in Hertfordshire and almost half of the Bangladeshi population of Hertfordshire live in St. Albans.
