Chapter 23 - Post-colonial Ties Flashcards
Who did B still have strong ties with?
Former colonies
What stayed on in these new ‘nation states’?
Parliaments
Ministries
Wigged judges
B style legal systems
Some Expats stayed to advise
What took place every two years?
Commonwealth Conferences
Attended by PMs
All in London except 1
What did the Commonwealth help to do?
Reinforce B position
Strong diplomatic network
Helped B be on the UN security council
What was the Commonwealth not?
A military alliance
But B still recruited commonwealth citizens as they were still eligible to serve in B forces
Who remained a symbol of the Commonwealth?
The Queen
She had regular visits
Did Christmas speeches
What were members of the Commonwealth still eligible for?
B honours
What stayed as one of the world’s major financial centres?
London
What did B come out of the empire with?
Multi-national countries
Overseas investment portfolio
Trading links
What did the B govt attempt to do?
Keep ex-colonies in the Sterling Area
What encouraged migration away from B to countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand?
Continuation of rationing until 1954
Demand for labour elsewhere
Between 1946 + 1957 how many people left B for the dominions?
1 million
How much of the pop were in contact with relatives in the Dominions?
25%
How were men further down in society only likely to experience the Empire + Commonwealth?
Through National service
Could be in Suez, Kenya or Malaya
What slowed down migration away from B?
By late 1950’s:
Improved living standards
Full employment
What in 1960 closed off an outlet of travel to the ex-Empire?
Abolition of National service
Why had there been little direct exposure of the Empire to the B?
Only small numbers of colonial immigrants settling in B
What was passed as recognition of the Empire’s war-time contribution?
B Nationality Act 1948
Gave full citizenship + entry to all in ex-Empire + Commonwealth
As the B economy was recovering what was there a lot of?
Well-paid work for the unskilled in factories
B govt encouraged migration for this
What sectors took these unskilled workers?
Public transport
NHS
How many employees did London Transport take in 1956?
4000
Mostly from Barbados
What did people do with the money?
Some brought the rest of their family over
Some earned enough to return home
What was no action taken in?
Stopping immigration
Helping migrants settle
What was a significant event of migration?
The Windrush
Where did most migrants come from?
India
Pakistan
West Africa
Cyprus
Where did most of them stay?
London
Birmingham
In Oldham where they needed labour for textiles
Why did prejudices and anxieties grow?
Post-war boom slackened
People were worried that B cultural + national identity would be diluted
Wanted to protect houses + jobs
Where did many of the immigrants live?
The poorest houses in the least desirable parts of town
Who increased white extremism?
Mosely
Union Movement
Spread leaflets + spread scare stories
Had 8.1% of the vote
What gang was youths attacking black people in Nottingham + Notting Hill?
Teddy boys
In a survey in 1962 what percentage of people said there were too many immigrants in B already?
80%
How many people came in each year between 1962 + 1965?
50,000
By 1967 what was B black pop?
Nearly 1 million
What effort was made to encourage groups to mix socially?
Notting Hill Carnival
Bands, costumes, dancing, Caribbean food
What did a survey show in North London in 1965?
Many refused to work or live near immigrants
9/10 dispproved of mixed marriages
What TV series characterised extreme racists?
Till Death Do us Part
What did Conservatives from the West Midlands encourage?
Pressure Groups like the Birmingham Immigration Control Association
What acts of violence did mostly working class communities do?
Girls kicked going to school
Stone, eggs + tomatoes thrown
‘paki-bashing’
What was created to control escalating immigration?
The 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act
Work permit scheme put in place
Irish exempt
Who found it most difficult to gain these permits?
Unskilled black workers
12 months following only 34,500 arrived
What did the Act encourage?
Immigrants to put down roots as they feared they couldn’t return
What did the new labour govt do?
Reduced vouchers
Barred children from under 16 entering B
What attempt was made to reduce tensions?
1965 Race Relations Act
It forbade discrimination excluding in housing + workplaces
As race discrimination was not a criminal offense, where could people be tried?
Race Relations Board
What did the Race Relations Board do?
Made statistics + reports
Held hearings
Out of the 982 complaints how many were dismissed through lack of evidence?
734
What was very positive about this immigration?
Made B into a more multi-cultural society
What were becoming part of B culture?
Asian corner shops
Chinese take-aways
Black actors
What TV dramas featured black actors?
Emergency Ward 10
Z Cars
Why did English speaking West Indians find it easier to be accepted?
They were mostly Christian
Why did Muslim Indian, and Pakistani people find it harder?
They were often very hard working
Didn’t consume alcohol - pub culture
When was ‘Empire day’ abolished?
1962
What was a sign of solidarity with B?
Australia + Fiji still had union jack in the corner of their flags
What had been lasting effects of the empire?
Church more Christians in Africa than in B
Scouts
Poker
Snooker
What sports were shared?
Football
Racket sports
Rugby
Cricket
What brought the nations together every 4 years?
The Commonwealth Games
What words had entered the English language?
Bungalow
Pyjamas
Zombie
What honours still gave a British Empire medal?
Imperial royal hours
E.g. DBE, MBE, OBE
What also kept reminding B of it’s imperial past?
The Proms
Sang songs like ‘Rule, Britannia!’
What did the children’s comic Eagle specify to do?
Foreigners weren’t to be enemies or villains
At least one child in each group should be from an ethnic minority
What were the limited films that still had imperial themes?
North West Frontier
Guns at Batasi
Lawrence of Arabia
What replaced radio as a more popular source of media?
TV
What helped people to become more aware of other countries and cultures?
Documentaries
What shows still highlighted imperialist racist views?
That Was the Week
Till Death us Do Part
Black and White Minstrels’ show
