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THE WELSH IN LONDON IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES (i) THE primary purpose of this paper is to project into history a contemporary concern of social geography, namely the study of the distribution in the city of London of certain groups within society. Much of this work is currently focussed on the distribution of racial and ethnic groups, their relative segregation being seen as the outcome of certain social processes which are only partially understood. For a long time it has been apparent that in North American cities, where most research has been done, the degree of concentration or dispersal of such groups is partly a function of their assimilation into the host society. l A study of the Welsh community in Utica, a city in upper New York state, showed that its residential distribution at various points in its history corresponded with the degree to which it became Americanised2; this process did not become apparent until the flow of new migrants became a trickle and eventually dried up. 3 It could be assumed that there is little of significance or of interest in the distribution of the Welsh in London simply because they have always seemed to be ubiquitous. But this in itself distinguishes it from other 'ethnic' groups and tells us something about the social process of adaptation to city life; it is of considerable interest if the problem is looked at historically. The further back we go in history the more we may be justified in dealing with the Welsh in London as a distinctive social group with its own language and culture; and a knowledge of their distribution would be one further facet in understanding their part in the social and economic life in London in the past. In assessing the place of the Welsh in London's life, there is a tendency to base our conclusions on evidence concerning comparatively few people whose contribution is recorded, and to infer group characteristics from their behaviour. Although the part played by individuals is extremely important, the approach in this paper seeks to broaden the base and to make generalisations S. Lieberson, Ethnic Patterns in American Cities (New York, 1965). 2 E. Jones, Human Geography (London, 1964), pp. 204ff. 3 E. Jones, 'Some aspects of change in an American-Welsh community', Trans. Hon. Soc. Cymmrodorion, 1957.