This was a time when many people left Britain and Ireland to settle in new a colonies in America and elsewhere, but others came to live in Bratain. The first Jews to come to Bratain since the Middle Ages settled in London in 1656. Between 1680!and 1720 many refugees called Huguenots came from France. They were Protestant and had been persecuted for their religion. Many were educated and skilled and worked as scientists, in banking, or in weaving or other crafts.