Abstract EN:

Résumé : This subject comes within the scope of a very contemporary issue : the evolution of western societies, which became multicultural and multiracial as a result of the acceleration of migratory movements after 1945. The nature of this thesis is twofold. It is historical in certain respects. Indeed, the status of Bristol as a port, her geographic closeness to the continent, her implication in transatlantic trade, made it compulsory to turn to history, so as to highlight both continuities and changes in her attitude to religious and ethnic minorities. In other respects, this thesis' content is also sociological. It is in keeping with the tradition of the sociology of communities (whose object are human groups in transition),a tradition started in the early 20th century by the pioneers of the Chicago School of sociology. Indeed , the second half of the thesis is the outcome of two phases of fieldwork. The first, whose scope was general, was carried out between 1995 and 1997. The second which was carried out i 2000, was more specific and was circumscribed to a Bristol inner city, namely Easton.