1900-Present: Modern Britain Flashcards
How did the First World War create opportunities for migration?
-Over 3Million men from the British empire, including 1Million from India, served on the Allies’ side, mainly on the western front
-Thousands of Lascars worked on merchant navy ships, especially on Atlantic convoys, bringing food an supplies to Britain, which released men to join the navy
How did the Second World War create opportunities for migration?
-About 8Million men from the British empire, including 2.5Million from India, served on the Allies’ side. most fought in the far east and Africa
-Thousands of migrant seaman worked on merchant ships bringing food to Britain
-Cities and ports, factories and houses, as well as road and rail links throughout Britain, were all bombed and destroyed
How did the end of Empire affect Britain?
-In the years 1700-1900, the British empire had been strong, but after 1945, it became clear that Britain could not retain large parts of its empire
-Britain’s economy was shattered, it could not afford to spend money on maintaining an empire, decolonisation had to begin
-Many colonies had been developing their own independence movements, India gained independence in 1947 and was followed by many countries in the ’50s and ’60s
What was the Commonwealth and the European union?
-In 1949, the Commonwealth of nations was formed
-Membership meant countries that had gained independence could keep links with Britain and other countries
-In 1973, Britain joined the European Economic Community (EEC), it had 9 members; by 2007, there were 23 members and the EEC came the EU, in 2016, Britain voted to leave the EU
What is a legislation within the 20th century?
-Some English people felt that too many migrants were arriving, in response, Parliament passed some acts to prevent this
What were the legislations that Parliament passed to prevent migration?
-1905: Aliens Act: Only people with jobs or money could migrate to Britain
-1948: British Nationality Act: Millions of people in the British colonies and former colones were given the right to enter Britain and stay
-1962: Commonwealth immigration act: A voucher system was introduced, only those with a valuable skill pr who could get a job were there was a shortage of workers were able to get a voucher and so permission to migrate
-1968: Commonwealth Immigrants Act: The number of vouchers were reduced, applicants had to have been born in Britain or have parents or grandparents born there
-1971: Immigration Act: Vouchers were replaced with work permits for specific time periods, these did not apply to people with British-born parents or grandparents
-1981: Nationality Act: The automatic right to stay in Britain was no longer possible for non-British citizens
How did seeking safety from war affect migration after 1900?
-During the First World War 250,000 Belgians fled to Britain, as did 160,000 Polish people during the Second World War, as they regarded Britain as a place of safety
-The 1905 Aliens act was suspended to allow them into the country
-Most Belgians returned to Belgium in 1919, but many Poles decided to remain after 1945 as Poland became a communist state
-There is a large Polish community in Bradford
How did encouragement to migrate affect migration after 1900?
-There were not enough migrants coming from Europe to help rebuild, therefore, the government started to encourage people from the colonies, particularly from the Caribbean, to migrate to Britain
-As well as for rebuilding, this was also for working on the busses and trains in the London Transport System and working in the NHS
-The third ship to bring migrants is known as the Empire Windrush, it docked at Tilbury in Junes 1948, with over 800 migrants
How did looking for work affect migration after 1900?
-Following the second World War, there was plenty of work available in Britain, rebuilding everything that bombing had destroyed, people from all over Europe travelled to work in Britain bombed cities
How did seeking safety from persecution affect migration after 1900?
-Between December 1938 and September 1939, over 8,000 Jewish children travelled to safety in Britain on their own
-The children were escaping Nazi persecution and the rescue mission was called ‘Kinder Transport’
-They were due to return home after the war, but most of their relatives perished in the holocaust
How did the empire and commonwealth affect migration?
-India and Pakistan: 1947: Independence caused terrible violence when the country was partitioned into India and Pakistan, thousands migrated to Britain
-Kenya: 1967: Kenya had a large asian population, for years after independence, President Joao Kenyatta asked all Asians in Kenya to choose between being Kenyan and being British -95,000 chose to remain British. All non-Kenyans could remain on a temporary basis. By 1968, 20,000 migrated to Britain and settled, mainly in London and Leicester
-Uganda: 1972: The asian community played a huge part in creating their county’s prosperity. Idi Amin first ordered their expulsion, but then insisted the professionals had to stay, after failed negotiations, the British government offered the Asians either an Indian or British passport if they wanted to leave: 27,000 chose to go to Britain, thousands settled to Leicester
What were other reasons for migration after 1900?
-The EU: Britain’s membership of the EU gave EU citizens the right to enter Britain, after 2004, nine Eastern European states joined. Thousands migrated to Britain to find work that was better paid than in their own country
-Ireland: After 1900, migration from Ireland continued at comparatively high levels, Irish citizens were exempt from the 1905 Aliens act and were allowed to migrate after the Republic of Ireland became independent in 1922, most came for the work opportunities in Britain and to join family and existing Irish communities
-Asylum seekers and refugees: In 1951, Britain signed the United Nation Convention on refugees, agreeing to offer Asylum to people facing persecution, migrants came to Britain to avoid dangerous situations in their home countries, some refugees resorted to paying smugglers to enter Britain illegally
What was the suspicion and support like before 1945?
-In 1914-15: Belgians were welcomed. Many set up small businesses, about 90% returned to Belgium
-In 1914: Germans in Britain were declared ‘enemy aliens’ and were interned, people attacked German shops and businesses
-In 1918: Sailors who had joined the royal navy couldn’t return to their old jobs on merchant ships, the shipping companied continued to employ lascars who would work for less money, there were riots in the docks
-In 1936: The British Union of Fascists, held a march through an are of London with a large Jewish population, fighting broke out in cable street between the marchers, supports of the Jewish community and the police, in the end the police diverted the march elsewhere. This became known as the battle of cable street
-In 1939: Jewish children arriving via Kinder transport were welcomed
-Between 1939 and 1945: Most Germans living and working in Britain were not interned; many gad fled to the safety of Britain from Nazi Germany
-In 1940: the BUF was disbanded when Britain was at war with Germany
What was the suspicion and hostility like after 1945?
-In 1947: The Polish resettlement act gave poles the right to remain, Polish communities grew in many towns and cities and gained wide acceptance
-In 1967: The National Front was founded to oppose immigration, members believed only white people should be British citizens
-In 1968: Enoch Powell made what was later called the ‘rivers of blood’ speech, he criticise immigration, especially from the Commonwealth and called for immigrants to be ‘sent back’
-In 1982: The British national party was founded, members opposes non-white migration to Britain
-1981: Brixton: Riots, which lasted for 3 days, were triggered by accusations of police against migrants
-2001: Burnley: A weekend of rioting was triggered by a dispute between Asian and white drug gangs
What was the timeline for race relations legislations?
-1965: Race Relations Act: The first act to make some types of racial discrimination illegal
-1968: Race Relations Act: Discrimination in housing and employment were made illegal
-1976: Race Relations Act: This set up a commission for Racial equality to use the law to prevent racial discrimination and raise public awareness of racial injustice, many migrants and some white English people campaigned for more equal relations for non-white people.
-1998: Crime and Disorder Act: Introduced more severe punishments if a crime was seen to have been aggravated by racism
