Post Colonial Ties 1947 - 67 Flashcards
What political ties remained?
Political institutions - parliaments, legal system, some british officials remained behind as advisors
How did the British military influence ties?
military reach was wide - recruitment from commonwealth countries into british army e.g Gurkhas from Nepal
How was Britains international position bolstered by the commonwealth?
diplomatic ties remained - GB place on the UN Security Council owed to their status
How did the Queen remain influential in symbolising British status?
Christmas Day broadcast remains - royal honours - OBE, MBE, titles (Dame and Sir)
How did the commonwealth maintain relations as a body?
Commonwealth meetings every 2 years (Economic conference 1952)
Was GB dominance reinforced at these meetings? and how?
Yes, as they took place in London and not distributed around Commonwealth countries
How did these ties influence Empire overall?
Maintained an informal Empire - change from formal - good relations, allies etc
What three main cultural ties remained? STD
Sports - commonwealth games, rugby, football, cricket
Titles - royal honours
D - dance, music, literature, proms pomp and circumstance
Where cultural ties more formal or just symbolic
Symbolic
When did migration to Britain start to increase?
1950s
What were the main source countries for immigrants?
1950S - Caribbean
1960s - India and Pakistan
What happened in 1948?
The first arrival of the windrush generation - 429 men
What act was passed in 1948 to encourage immigration?
The British Nationality Act
What did the Nationality act provide?
Free citizenship to all members of empire - free entry to UK
Why did the British want immigration from West Indies etc?
Post war reconstruction - high number of low skilled jobs e.g transport, cleaning
1965 - London Transport took 4,000 new employees from Barbados
What were initial reactions to immigration from informal empire?
Indifference and curiosity - however no govt effort to provide good housing or encourage intergration
What did these interests change to in the late 1950s?
Resentment towards immigration - racism, discrimination
What group revealed racist ideas and attitudes?
Teddy Boys 1958 - white youth groups who roamed London and attacked Black people unprovoked
What British political figures encouraged racism against immigrant population?
Oswald Mosely - had been head of british fascist movement in 1930s
- campaigned to become MP
- stirred up racial tensions
Enoch Powell
- Tory MP
- 1960s
- argued that immigration = overcrowding and loss of jobs for white brits
How many immigrants were from the West Indies by 1958?
115,000
How many from India and Pakistan by 1958?
55,000
How many from West Africa and Cyprus?
25,000 and 10,000
How many brits supported anti-immigrant legislation in 1962?
90%
What other social reaction in housing occurred in 1969?
The Race Relations Board Advert - housing discrimination against immigrants
What anti immigrant legislative measure was taken by the GB Govt in 1962?
Commonwealth Immigration Act - ended free immigration granted in 1948
An example of negative political reaction?
Smethwick Election - midlands
- 6,000 / 7,000 were immigrants
- Tory MP used racist slogan for campaign and WON
What cultural/social event was a positive reaction to immigration?
Notting Hill Carnival 1966
- cultural assimilation
Emmigration to Commonwealth - why did they leave GB?
The standard of living dropped
Between 1946 - 57 how many went to former Dominions?
1 million (Canada, New Zealand, Australia)
Who emmigrated?
Administrators
Senior army officials
Civil servants
- the favoured empire and were upper society
By the 1950s, was there an increase or decrease in emmigration?
Decrease - by then many were returning back to GB and non upper class people didn’t come in contact with empire
How many emmigrants resided in Australia 1967?
87,000
How many Brits in Canada 1967?
65,000
