The Fabric of The First Refugees

The first group of people in the world to be called refugees were deeply tied up with the production of luxury cloth. In the 17th and 18th century a small corner of east London became a byword for some of the best woven silk in the world.

Spitalfields silk was worn by some of history's most famous people. George Washington, despite fighting a war against the British, had a waistcoat made from it, and his wife, Martha, had an entire dress made from the silk designed in London and woven by hand on the draw looms of Spitalfields. Queen Victoria wore it on her wedding day, and Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, wore it deliberately, to champion British industry.

There are estimated to be over 40 million refugees in the world today and they are often seen as a drain on the societies that shelter them and are subjected to hatred and harassment. But this episode looks at what the first group of people to be known as refugees – the Huguenots of France – contributed to the country that gave them shelter and how they made British silk textiles famous.

For more information about this episode and pictures of the people and places mentioned in this episode please go to https://hapticandhue.com/tales-of-textiles-series-8/

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