Throughout much of its history, Bristol has been one of England's most important ports; on the very edge of England it looks out towards Wales, Ireland, to the Atlantic and beyond. Those who have made Bristol their home range from medieval Jews to modern asylum seekers. Well before the post-war arrival of people of Caribbean and South Asian origin, the city played host to Welsh, Irish and Scottish incomers as well as to Germans, Italians, Africans, Indians and others.

Beginning at the start of the 11th century, and ending in the 21st, Bristol: Ethnic Minorities and the City, 1000-2001 offers new insights into the experiences of foreigners who came to cosmopolitan Bristol. This pioneering study seeks to bear witness to their many stories and begins to piece together how these migrants have affected the city's own sense of itself. Full of archival and visual material, and interviews with Bristolians themselves, the book marks a new departure in local history. It is the first time that immigration and ethnic minorities have been explored in such depth over the entire recorded history of a single city. This story may span 1001 years rather than 1001 nights, but like Scheherazade, the authors intrigue their audience into wanting to know more.