South Shields
South Shields is a port town in the northeast. It has a long and interesting history reaching back thousands of years.
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Its strategic location meant that it has been a home to Romans and a port used by Europeans for hundreds of years.
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As many other parts of the northeast Shipping and Coal have meant that it has attracted people to migrate there for centuries.
Diverse Community
With this past it is no surprise that it could boast one of the largest Muslim communities in Britain by the 1930's.
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The town had grown massively during the 19th Century. The town's whole population had grown to 122,000 by 1921.
South Shields fostered a large Somali and Yemeni population, starting in the 1860's.
Many who came stayed. And many of those served in Britain's armed services during the First World War.
Growing resentment
By the end of the First World War there was growing resentment by white dock workers towards the Somali and Arab workers as jobs became harder to come by.
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This culminated in a pre-meditated attack on the Somali and Yemeni communities in January 1919. This discrimination continued in February 1919 when Yemeni sailors were prevented from getting on board their ships. This turned into a larger attack back at their boarding houses. The sailors retaliated and police again had to get involved and break up a large disturbance.
Twelve Arabs were arrested and sent to court. Nine were imprisoned. One white person was also arrested and was bound over to keep the peace.
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This was first time in British history that there was a large scale attack on immigrant communities. Sadly, there were others in many other parts of the country.
Today
South Shields today is considered a gem of the region.
It has a thriving community made up of many communities, including a large Asian community.
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It has a fun seaside town vibe and miles of beaches to explore.
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It is an example of how migration can be part of a town's history for centuries and how even when there are negative parts of its history, it can overcome and thrive.
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Over to You!
History Detective challenge
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