[13] By the late sixteenth century hundreds of Turks were to be found in England who were freed from galley slavery on Spanish ships by English pirates.

[16] Two decades later, an allowance of 6 pence per diem was paid to a Turkish captive who embraced Christianity in England and assumed the name John Baptista.

This period saw rapid changes in Ottoman administration including numerous high-ranking officials receiving their higher education and postings in the Western nations.

[20] Many of these intellectuals escaped to London (and to Paris) in June 1867 where they were able to freely express their views by criticising the Ottoman regime in newspapers.

[20] Once Cyprus became an independent state in 1960, inter-ethnic fighting broke out in 1963, and by 1964 some 25,000 Turkish Cypriots became internally displaced, accounting to about a fifth of their population.

[20] Furthermore, Turkish Cypriots continued to emigrate to the United Kingdom during this time due to the economic gap which was widening in Cyprus.

[24] Thus, the political and economic unrest in Cyprus after 1964 sharply increased the number of Turkish Cypriot immigrants to the United Kingdom.

[29] Turkish Cypriots were concentrated mainly in the north-east of London and specialised in the heavy-wear sector, such as coats and tailored garments.

[34] Once the Greek military junta rose to power in 1967, they staged a coup d'état in 1974 against the Cypriot President, with the help of EOKA B, to unite the island with Greece.

[36] Due to these economic and political issues, an estimated 130,000 Turkish Cypriots have emigrated from Northern Cyprus since its establishment to the United Kingdom.

The majority of these people are now of pensionable age, with little English language skills, given their lack of formal education and their insulation within the Turkish Cypriot community.

Finally, there is a small third group of settlers who came to the UK for educational purposes, and who then settled, in some cases being ‘overstayers’ and took up professional posts.

However, in the 1980s, intellectuals, including students, and highly educated professionals arrived in the United Kingdom, most of which received support from the Turkish Cypriot community.

[40] Mainland Turks settled in similar areas of London in which the Turkish Cypriots lived in; however, many have also moved to the outer districts such as Enfield and Essex.

[39] More recently, ethnic Turks from traditional areas of Turkish settlement, especially from Europe, have emigrated to the United Kingdom.

[54][55] According to the Office for National Statistics, the estimated number of British residents born in Turkey was 72,000 in 2009,[56] compared to the 54,079 recorded by the 2001 UK Census.

[61] There is a growing number of Turks from countries other than Cyprus and Turkey who have emigrated to the United Kingdom, mainly from Algeria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Macedonia and Romania.

These populations, which have different nationalities (i.e. Algerian, Bulgarian, German, Greek, Macedonian or Romanian citizenship), share the same ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious origins as the Turks and Turkish Cypriots and are thus part of the Turkish-speaking community of the United Kingdom.

[70] Many of the Turkish-speaking communities have successfully settled in different parts of the capital,[70] notably in Hackney and Haringey, but also in Enfield, Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, Islington, Kensington, Waltham Forest, and Wood Green.

[68] As for the Cypriot-born residents, two areas of Manchester – Stretford and Moss Side – have the largest Cyprus-born (regardless of ethnicity) clusters outside London.

The first generation and recent migrants often speak fluent Turkish and women within the community are particularly constrained by language limitations.

[76] The vast majority of the Turkish community are Sunni Muslims, whilst the remaining people generally do not have any religious affiliation.

[75] However, the majority of young Turks still believe in Islam and the basic principles of the religion as it has more of a symbolic attachment to them due to traditional Turkish values.

[80] Thus, there are many Turks, especially the younger generations, who do not abstain from eating non-halal food or drinking alcohol, whilst still identifying as Muslim.

[87] Activities are held in many Turkish mosques in order to retain an Islamic identity and to pass these traditional values onto the younger generation.

These mosques have introduced new policies and strategies within their establishments as they have recognised that traditional methods are not very productive within the British context.

There is also a Turkish Cypriot Embassy which represents nationals of Northern Cyprus located at 29 Bedford Square, London.

[90] Organisations were first set up during the 1950s and 1960s mainly by Turkish Cypriot students who had met and studied in cities in Turkey, such as Istanbul and Ankara, before moving to the United Kingdom.

[91] Organisations such as the "Turkish Cypriot Association" were originally set up to preserve the communities culture and provide meeting places.

[92] Turkish Cypriot organisations which engage in the Cyprus issue can be divided into two main groups: there are those who support the TRNC government, and those who oppose it.