1900-2010(4.3 Post-war Commonwealth) Flashcards
When was the Nationality Act and what was it?
The 1948 Nationality Act affirmed the legal right of Commonwealth citizens to settle in the UK
Who came and why?
> British gov invited people to work in essential services and industries
conditions were bad in New Commonwealth countries with high unemployment and low wages
all citizens of the UK and Commonwealth were entitled to enter the country
Why was there a labour shortage after WW2?
> WW2 deaths
NHS formed in 1948 but there was a shortage because drs, nurses, porters, cleaners were needed and there wasn’t money for that
transportation (more jobs were needed)
increase in emigration to Australia, Canada and New Zealand
How did Brtain’s relationship with the wider world affect immigration?
> 2 major developments-the outcome of WW2 and the decline of the British Empire
these caused mass migration from the ‘New Commonwealth’, Britain’s former colonies in Africa, Asia and the West Indies
What was their impact?
finish
Myth: Black immigration started with the Windrush in 1948
Reality: black immigrants came before the windrush eg John Blanke was a trumpeter in the court of Henry the 8th
Myth: Only men arrived on the Windrush
Reality: men and women arrived and many were ex-servicemen and women with happy memories of wartime Britain returning with high hopes
Myth: The British government expected the arrival of the Windrush
Reality: they did but they didn’t expect that many
Myth: The arrival of the Windrush opened the door to huge numbers of immigrants from the Carribean into Britain
Reality: after the WIndrush, migration from the Caribbean slowed down and most West Indians headed for the USA until 1952 when the USA imposed immigration controls
How many Black immigrants had come to the UK by 1960?
100,000
What sort of work did Black immigrants do?
> factories, nurses, bus conductors
Describe 4 examples of discrimination/persecution faced by Black immigrants in this period
> many hotels, restaurants and dance halls refused entry to black people
in the mid-1950s less than 20% of landladies and only 15 out of 1,000 in Birmingham said they would let their rooms to non-white people
‘no blacks, no dogs, no irish’
although most West Indians were skilled, they were given menial jobs
In which areas did most immigrants settle in London and Manchester? Why?
> rents were cheap and for safety and security they settled in Tottenham, Paddington, Handsworth, Chapeltown and Manchester
What happened to Britain’s economy by the end of the 1950s?
> Britain’s economy was in trouble so there was stiff competition for jobs
What effect did this have on immigrants-2 examples?
> immigrants were often balmed for the fact that migrant labour was no longer needed in such large numbers
non-whites were singled out for attack by fascist groups
in 1958 there were serious riots in Nottingham starting with an attack on a White woman and a Black man in a pub
major violence in Notting Hill when a gang beat up 5 black men with metal bars causing them serious injury
Describe how some politicians and the press stirred anti-immigrant feeling
> Daily Sketch said ‘for years white people have been tolerant. Now their tempers are up’
Labour MP Maurice Edelman wrote in the Daily Mail ‘should we let them keep pouring in?’
the Daily Mirror called for greater powers to deport immigrants
Describe what happened to Kelso Cochrane
> in May 1959, Kelso Cochrane a 32-yr-old Antinguan was walking home after having a thumb that had been fractured at work treated at a hospital
he was attacked by a White gang and stabbed to death
over 1000 people white and black lined the streets for the funeral
killer’s name was an open secret and was finally named publicaly in 2011 but no one was charged with the murder
What were the terms of the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act and what was its unintended outcome?
> holders of Commonwealth passports no longer had the right to live and work in the UK and had to apply for a limited number of employment ‘vouchers’ which went to White Australians, Canadians or New Zealanders
immigration shot up because men wanted to bring the rest of their families here before the 1962 Act had passed
How many West Indians came on the Windrush?
492
What happened in the ‘beat the ban rush’ between 1960 and 1961?
> number of Commonwealth immigrants rose from 58,000 to 136,000
What does the term ‘salt, soap, soy’ mean?
Chineses workers went from seafaring to the laundry business and then to the family-run takeaway restuarants that spread from town to town across the UK
What is chain migration?
Why did many people emigrate the UK during this period?
> in the 60s, half a million emigrated to Australia
What did the Royal Commission on Population
> in 1949 the Royal Commission on Population recommended that the UK should take in 140,000 young adults to prevent a decline in population
