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5. The International Bourgeoisie

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Migrant City
This chapter is in the book Migrant City
113Looking back to that time I have often asked myself: ‘From where did I get the courage to open a business in London’ and after taking stock of my assets at that period, I come to a most remarkable conclusion.I had no capital to speak of, I had no personal knowledge of the London Bourse, I had only an imperfect knowledge of the language: I had hardly any connections worth mentioning but plenty of enemies. Not real enemies of course. But many who wished to deny me the right to join the ranks of their competitors. Even those who were personally quite friendly, gave me the cold shoulder in the beginning. It was a terrible expe-rience; it was as though I was trying to climb a wall and having already placed my hands fi rmly on the top, someone came from the other side to beat me off.1London is regarded throughout the British empire as the fountain of the civilization with which British administrators have sought to endow the colonies; it is the Mecca of every ambitious colonial and the infl uence and opinions of visitors and students when they return to their native homes is out of all proportion to their numbers.2THE ANATOMY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOURGEOISIEThe sheer number and diversity of hawkers, shopkeepers and other relatively small-scale businessmen in London point to a unique aspect of its history. An examination of more established members of the middle classes points to another unique aspect in the history of London in the form of the centrality of 5 THE INTERNATIONAL BOURGEOISIE
© Yale University Press, New Haven

113Looking back to that time I have often asked myself: ‘From where did I get the courage to open a business in London’ and after taking stock of my assets at that period, I come to a most remarkable conclusion.I had no capital to speak of, I had no personal knowledge of the London Bourse, I had only an imperfect knowledge of the language: I had hardly any connections worth mentioning but plenty of enemies. Not real enemies of course. But many who wished to deny me the right to join the ranks of their competitors. Even those who were personally quite friendly, gave me the cold shoulder in the beginning. It was a terrible expe-rience; it was as though I was trying to climb a wall and having already placed my hands fi rmly on the top, someone came from the other side to beat me off.1London is regarded throughout the British empire as the fountain of the civilization with which British administrators have sought to endow the colonies; it is the Mecca of every ambitious colonial and the infl uence and opinions of visitors and students when they return to their native homes is out of all proportion to their numbers.2THE ANATOMY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOURGEOISIEThe sheer number and diversity of hawkers, shopkeepers and other relatively small-scale businessmen in London point to a unique aspect of its history. An examination of more established members of the middle classes points to another unique aspect in the history of London in the form of the centrality of 5 THE INTERNATIONAL BOURGEOISIE
© Yale University Press, New Haven

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. List of Plates and Tables viii
  4. Abbreviations x
  5. Acknowledgements xi
  6. Prologue xiii
  7. 1. The Uniqueness of London 1
  8. 2. Ghetto and Suburb 28
  9. 3. Cheap Labour 57
  10. 4. A City of Hawkers, Shopkeepers and Businessmen 86
  11. 5. The International Bourgeoisie 113
  12. 6. Racists, Friends and Lovers 139
  13. 7. Racists, Revolutionaries and Representatives 167
  14. 8. Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs 196
  15. 9. The Restaurant 225
  16. 10. Fighters and Footballers 254
  17. 11. Handel to Tempah 281
  18. 12. Migrants and the Global City 307
  19. Notes 321
  20. Bibliography 386
  21. Index 425
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https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300252149-009

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. List of Plates and Tables viii
  4. Abbreviations x
  5. Acknowledgements xi
  6. Prologue xiii
  7. 1. The Uniqueness of London 1
  8. 2. Ghetto and Suburb 28
  9. 3. Cheap Labour 57
  10. 4. A City of Hawkers, Shopkeepers and Businessmen 86
  11. 5. The International Bourgeoisie 113
  12. 6. Racists, Friends and Lovers 139
  13. 7. Racists, Revolutionaries and Representatives 167
  14. 8. Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs 196
  15. 9. The Restaurant 225
  16. 10. Fighters and Footballers 254
  17. 11. Handel to Tempah 281
  18. 12. Migrants and the Global City 307
  19. Notes 321
  20. Bibliography 386
  21. Index 425
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