Question

In which year more than three-quarters of the adults living in Manchester were migrants from rural areas?
A) 1850
B) 1851
C) 1852
D) 1853

Answer 1

Hint: With a rich industrial background, Manchester is one of the most major cities in the United Kingdom. The city has the United Kingdom’s fifth-largest population and is the second-largest urban area after London in the country.

Complete answer:
Manchester, in the northwest of England, is a big city with a rich industrial background that dates back centuries.
- Manchester, known for its industrial development, started having excessive migration into the city as migrants from other countries were fleeing their respective nations due to problems such as war, poverty, civil strife and unemployment.
- Manchester in the early days saw huge development. The advancement of the world’s first modern railway took place in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool and by the 1850s the railway station at Manchester was fully completed. By 1850, the entire economic, social and political scenario changed in Manchester. Such infrastructural development was the leading factor for the excess migration in the city.
- Migrants from European nations, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, the Caribbean and Hong Kong majorly moved to the city of Manchester.
- In the year 1851, the Irish population was estimated to be 15% of the total population and hence, it was noted that three-quarters of the population living in Manchester were rural immigrants.

Therefore the correct answer is option (B) and hence, it can be concluded that in the year 1951, more than three-quarters of the adults living in Manchester were migrants from rural areas.

Note: During the 18th century, the city was considered to be a textile powerhouse and it was the first city to be fully industrialised in the world. Since the creation of Manchester, the city has attracted citizens from outside, but the industrial revolution initiated large-scale immigration, with Irish migrants starting to work in the mills and then Jewish migrants escaping oppression present in the eastern part of Europe.