post colonial ties 1947-67

• The 1948 British Nationality Act gave everyone in the Commonwealth the right to live and work in Britain
• Britain had severe labour shortages after World War 2 and migration was desired by the government
• The new National Health Service and London's improved transportation system were 2 government-funded areas in dire need of more workers
• 500 settlers from Kingston, Jamaica had moved to the UK, responding to the call
• After the second world war, migration to Britain from the former colonies was actively encouraged to bolster the workforce, bringing diversity to Britain on a scale previously not seen
• Who migrated to Britain after WW2?

  • 1/3 of the migrants on the Empire Windrush were RAF fighters or RAF veterans, many of whom had fought for Britain in World War Two.
  • Many people migrated from Ireland and by 1971, 12% of British nurses were Irish nationals.
  • Enoch Powell, Health Minister, recruited 18,000 doctors from India and Pakistan in the 1960s.
  • By the year 2000, 73% of the NHS' General Practitioners in Wales’s Rhondda valley were south Asia
• Reaction to immigration

  • Immigrants were initially welcomed. The government had asked that they come and many had served for Britain in the war.
  • Enoch Powell made a u-turn on his views towards immigration, which is a clear sign of the inconsistency with which Britain treated immigrants.
  • As migration to the UK rose, some white British people began to feel threatened. Some people feared that they would lose their jobs to migrants. Some people disliked people who looked or acted differently to them. Some people welcomed migrants. Some people were intolerant. Some people were racist.
• Ireland was the most represented foreign country among migrants to England


  1970s
• 358,000 more people moved from the UK to other countries than arrive in the UK


  1950 - 1955
• Immigration to Britain peaked

  1960 - 1962
• Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 introduced more constraints on immigration


  1962
• 50,000 immigrants arrived per year


  1962 - 1965
• Britain's non-white population was under 20,000 people


  1950
• According to the 2011 census, there were 1.9 million black people in the UK


  2011
• The influx of black immigrants angered some people in Britain who held racist attitudes. Many aspects of British society exhibited racist and xenophobic views.

  Oswald Mosley and racist attacks

  • In 1948, Oswald Mosley founded the Union Movement on an anti-immigration platform. Mosley's movement never received mainstream support.
  • The Teddy Boys were violent groups of youths. In 1958, they launched prominent racist attacks in Notting Hill
• North London survey revealed hostility towards "coloured people"


  1965
• Hostility towards "coloured people"

  • 20% of people refused to live next door to a "coloured person"
  • 90% of people disapproved of mixed marriages
• Hostility towards "coloured people"

  • Bengalis in London's East End subjected to violence
  • "P**i-bashing" (attacking anyone with non-white skin, but especially those of south Asian descent) became common in Bradford and Luton
• Made illegal to discriminate against other people based on 'colour, race or ethnic origins' under the Race Relations Act


  1965
• The phrase "coloured people" has come to be considered offensive in modern times, in part due to the fact it was used widely to refer to non-white people in the segregation era in the US
• 
  

  Hostility to Irish people

  • Racism in the 20th Century in the UK does not seem to have been primarily against Irish people.
  • However, when the IRA was bombing prominent sites in the UK, the Daily Mail requested that "Irish people to be banned from UK sporting events and fined for IRA disruption to public transport"
• The Commonwealth Immigrants Act was an attempt to control the scale of immigration into the UK.

  Measures to control immigration in 1962

  • The Commonwealth Immigrants Act tried to curb immigration into the UK.
  • Immigration for 'former colonial subjects' stopped, even if they were holders of British passports.
• Classifying immigrants

  • Immigrants were divided into three groups:
  • Those with employment in the UK already arranged.
  • Those with ‘in-demand’ skills or qualifications.
  • Others (who were put on a waiting list).
• Impact of the act

  • The act had the effect of discriminating against black and Asian workers. A higher proportion of white immigrants already had the skills listed on the 'in-demand' list.
• Reaction to the act

  • The act was unfair but received support from 70% of the British public.
  • Mainstream British society at that time could be considered racist, despite no segregation laws being in place as they were in the USA at the time.
• Nostalgia for the Empire

  • The UK believed that, as one of the only Western European powers unconquered by Hitler, the Empire had single-handedly defeated Hitler.
  • Therefore the Empire was framed through fondness as victors over 'evil' in World War Two, rather than framing it through the cost to the millions of people living lives with no self-government and few rights under British rule in the Empire.
  • Expat communities are still strong in cities like Hong Kong.
• British culture

  Enforced (often violently) in its territories as it was a prevailing view that indigenous languages, customs and religions were savage and uncivilised
• Legacy of British culture in former African colonies


  • Churches
  • Stations
  • Languages
  • Flags
  • Sport
  • Last Night of the Proms
• The Anglican Church has more members in Africa than in Britain
• To this day, football remains the national sport of many countries that were part of the British Empire
• Legacy of the Empire in Britain

  • British language absorbed some terms from the native languages of states under its control, such as:
  • Pyjamas, jungle, and khaki (from India),
  • Safari, jazz, zebra, and zombie (from Africa)
• Films

  • Some films began to portray the complexities of decolonisation.
  • Guns at Batasi (1964) is an exploration of the decolonisation of an unspecified British Colony in Africa. It tracks the country's transition to independence and the rifts in its post-colonial political system.
  • Typical of films of this period, British characters are central to the narrative. The main character is the British officer who has been charged with overseeing the political transition.
• Books

  • Comics–Eagle (1950-69):
  • These children's comics were produced by Marcus Morris. Morris was a vicar in the Church of England.
  • Fed up with the messages in children's literature of the period, he decided to make his own comic which would better promote good morals to children.
  • He tried to challenge racial prejudice by making sure the comics did not fall into traditional literary tropes of villainising foreigners.
  • He also promoted diversity in his comics, ensuring there was always at least one ethnic minority character.
• 'That was the week, that was'

  1. Satirical sketches

  2. Monologues

  3. Discussions attacking contemporary political figures

  4. Lampooning a variety of targets including the British Empire
• Some shows ridiculed immigrant communities
• 'Till Death us Do Part' (1965-1975)


  • A BBC1 series that featured a racist, right-wing character called Alf Garnett
  • The creators claimed the sitcom was satirical, but there was public outcry over the extremely racist content of some episodes
• Plays

  • Angry Young Men
  • This theatrical genre was developed by British playwrights in the 1950s.
  • Their work tapped into the feelings of a generation of young people who were disillusioned with society.
  • The plays were about young, white, working-class men who were conflicted by the opportunities presented to them by social mobility and their grammar school education.
  • This genre also extended to novels, such as John Braine's Room at the Top (1957) which sold 34,000 hardback copies within a year of publication.