British attitudes to Empire c.1947-67

Question 1

Political?

Answer 1

Strog ties with former colonies through the Commonwealth
Former colonies adopted Britain system of ministries, wigged judges and general legal system.
Colonial administrators stayed on as advisors in colonies
Regular Commonwealth conferences took place every 2yrs

Question 2

Economic?

Answer 2

City of LDN remained one of the world’s major financial centres, HQ of banking, insurance and investment companies
Conventions of international trade, created by years of imperialism, created many multi-national countries

Question 3

Emigration?

Answer 3

Post-war surge to former dominions (between 1946-57, 1m left)
25% of people had contact with relatives in Dominions
Continued to be a flow of civil servants who had experienced Empire first hand

Question 4

Experience of Empire for lower classes?

Answer 4

Direct contact mainly through National Service (Br men 17-21 had to undertake military service for 12 months)

Question 5

Immigration?

Answer 5

British Nationality Act 1948 gave full Br citizenship (inc right of free entry) to every empire inhabitant

Question 6

Effect of BNA 1948?

Answer 6

In 1956, LDN transport took on nearly 4k employees, mostly from Barbados
In 1958, 115k West Indians, 55k Indians and Pakistanis and 25k West Africans CAME

Question 7

Opposition to immigration?

Answer 7

Initially majority accepted immigrants but minorities made noise about them diluting Br culture
Teddy boy youth gangs attacked blacks
Oswald Mosley’s anti-immigration Union Movement increased activities (founded in 1948)
Alf Garnett racist in ‘Til Death Do Us Apart’ (running from 66-75)

Question 8

Stats re Br attitudes to immigation

Answer 8

In 1962- 90% of Brits supported legislation curbing immigration
1965- survey in N LDN: 1/5 objected to working with black people and 9/10 disapproved of mixed marriages
Issues of race featured strongly in 1964 election

Question 9

Peter Griffiths 1964 Tory slogan?

Answer 9

‘If you want a nigger for your neighbour, vote Labour’

Won the Smethwick seat against shadow foreign sec

Question 10

1967 black population in Br?

Answer 10

nearly 1m

Question 11

Legislation re Empire in 60s?

Answer 11

1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act- an attempt to control escalating immigration- free imperial immigration ended and discriminatory work permit system put in place; children over 16 couldn’t enter as a family members
1965 Race Relations Act- forbade discrimination in public places but inciting racial violence wasn’t made illegal

Question 12

Was 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act well recieved?

Answer 12

V popular- opinion polls suggested 70% supported it

Question 13

Anti-empire during this period?

Answer 13

1962- Empire Day abolished
Interest in remnants of Empire rare- Sharpeville Massacre (S Africa 1960) where 69 black protestors were killed changed attitudes to empire
TV replaced radio and there was a satirising of imperial ideas in the 1960s eg That Was The Week That Was
BUT immigrant communities were also ridiculed on TV eg Lance Percival’s ‘Maharajah of Brum’ or ‘Black and White Minstrels’ Show’

Question 14

Pro-empire during this period?

Answer 14

Commonwealth games brought nations together, and the Union Jack was retained in the corner of many flags
Boy’s comic ‘Eagle’, published between 1960-9, informed its writers that foreigners were not to be depicted as villains or enemies
Fewer films used the Empire as backdrop, but some did eg Lawrence of Arabia (1962) or Guns at Batasi (1964)