power and the people - chapter 12

Question 1

when did the ship, Empire Windrush, dock at Tilbury, near London

Answer 1

22nd June 1948

Question 2

how many people were on the Empire Windrush ship and where were they coming from

Answer 2

492
from the Caribbean

Question 3

what was the Caribbean region part of

Answer 3

the Commonwealth

Question 4

what had the Caribbean region done for britain

Answer 4

had fought for britain in the first and second world wars

Question 5

when was the British Nationality Act passed

Answer 5

1948

Question 6

what was the British Nationality Act

Answer 6

gave all 800 million Commonwealth citizens the chance to come to the ‘mother country’ and gain full British citizenship
-> many decided to take this opportunity

Question 7

why were immigrants encouraged to come to britain

Answer 7

loans for transport
- it was easy for people to emigrate to Britain: their governments gave out interest-free loans so they could afford the ship fare

shortage of labour
- there was a shortage of labour for low paid and unskilled jobs in Britain
- the British gov was trying to rebuild the country after the war, and needed people to fill these jobs
- one example is London Transport, which recruited people from Barbados and Jamaica to drive buses and trains
- the job opportunities were not always there in their home countries
- also, Britain wanted to secure the loyalty of these countries in case they were needed again

opportunity
- British companies help recruitment fairs
- this meant that, before even leaving home, many immigrants had secured a job

Question 8

where were the new immigrants mostly placed

Answer 8

in areas where they were needed for work

Question 9

who were early immigrants from the Caribbean

Answer 9

mostly young men, who had planned to make money to send home to their families

Question 10

what did the surge of young black men into communities cause

Answer 10

• some resentment
• most white people moved into other areas
  -> a reaction called ‘white-flight’
• in many areas where the white residents remained there was segregation
• resentment boiled between young white and black men
• groups of young white men, such as the Teddy Boys, felt that the young immigrants were stealing ‘their women’
• this tension exploded in 1958 with the Nottingham Hill Riots in London

Question 11

what were many immigrants

Answer 11

highly educated but were forced to take low paid, unskilled work, as their qualifications were not recognised in Britain

Question 12

many immigrants were highly educated but were forced to take low paid, unskilled work, as their qualifications were not recognised in Britain.
why was this not the case for all immigrants

Answer 12

there were many doctors who arrived from the Indian subcontinent who were employed in the new NHS

Question 13

why was the experience of Asian immigrants different to those from the Caribbean

Answer 13

language barriers and religious differences often meant many Asian immigrants formed their own communities and started their own businesses

Question 14

what was a big problem for all immigrant communities

Answer 14

overcrowding

Question 15

why was overcrowding a big problem for all immigrant communities

Answer 15

• many landlords refused to let them rent their accommodation
• local authorities tried to stop black and Asian people renting houses in particular areas
  -> a high-profile case of this was in Smethwick, Birmingham
  -> the black and Asian residents got the support of Malcom X, who visited the area in 1965 as a protest against the housing policy towards immigrants

Question 16

when were the Notting Hill Riots

Answer 16

1958

Question 17

why was government intervention needed

Answer 17

• after the Notting Hill Riots, relations between immigrant groups and white residents were not good
• factory owners were increasingly reluctant to employ black workers, and segregation became an even bigger problem in housing, employment and even the social lives of this new community
• the general feeling was that too many immigrants were settling in major cities and that this needed to be stopped

Question 18

what were the governments two main aims in responding

Answer 18

• one was to curb the number of immigrants coming into the country
• the second was to tackle the racial discrimination that had developed

Question 19

what was th governments first response

Answer 19

the Commonwealth Immigrants Act

Question 20

when was the first Commonwealth Immigrants Act

Answer 20

1962

Question 21

what was the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962

Answer 21

• controlled the immigration of all Commonwealth passport holders, except the British
• controlled the movement of people by stating that immigrants now needed to apply for a work voucher before they came to Britain
  -> they could only get a voucher if the skills they had were in demand in Britain
  -> this had an effect on many Commonwealth doctors and nurses: they could not find employment in their chosen professions as their qualifications were not recognised

Question 22

what happened in the 1964 general election

Answer 22

• MPs had been divided over the Commonwealth immigration controls
• but in the election those who had been against immigration reform were not re-elected
• the people wanted change

Question 23

when was the second Commonwealth Immigrants Act passed

Answer 23

1968

Question 24

what did the second Commonwealth Immigrants Act do

Answer 24

• put even tighter controls on immigration, by extending restrictions to those who were part of the Commonwealth but held British passports
• if these people did not have a parent or grandparent who was born in, or was a citizen of, the UK, they could not move there
• this act confirmed to many immigrants that non-white immigration was the problem the gov was really trying to stop
• the gov reforms were perceived as racist and unfair

Question 25

what was the 1968 act a reaction to

Answer 25

- was a reaction to the new politics in Kenya after its independence from Britain in 1963 - it had gained independence under Jomo Kenyatta, who had started a policy of Africanisation - many Asians living in Kenya felt this policy would discriminate against them - some historians have argued that it was the potential arrival of 200,000 Asian from Kenya that prompted the passing of the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1968 - it seemed clear that the motivations behind the act were racism and discrimination

Question 26

when was the Immigration Act passed

Answer 26

1971

Question 27

what did the Immigration Act of 1971 do

Answer 27

- this act replaced employment vouchers with work permits; these permits only allowed temporary residence in Britain - there was also an aspect of the act that encouraged voluntary repatriation; this meant the gov would assist people in moving back to their country of origin and in changing their citizenship from British to that country - this act still allowed for chain migration; this meant families could join those who already had citizenship

Question 28

Enoch Powell:

Answer 28

- the feeling that these acts were fuelled by racism was further supported in people’s minds by politicians such as Enoch Powell - he was a Conservative MP in 1968 when Labour was in power - he made a speech which became known as his ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, for the way it highlighted the race issue - he said that immigration posed a threat to British identity and that the future would be violent for a multiracial Britain if immigration was not stopped - although his views were shocking, Powell represented a large section of society with similar views - he was not the first politician to try to harness support with these views

Question 29

Powellism:

Answer 29

- the politics of Enoch Powell received a lot of support, especially from the working class - this support for Powell (known as Powellism) was based on a type of extreme nationalism that viewed white British people as superior to people who were non-white - even if they had been born in Britain - some people felt that Powellism fuelled the rise in popularity of a group called the National Front - this group wanted all non-white immigrants to Britain to return to their country of origin - or the country of origin of their parents or grandparents - many members identified strongly with the Nazi party

Question 30

Race Relations Acts:

Answer 30

- the gov introduced some laws that were intended to improve relations between different communities - they would have to reform both society and politics if they were to succeed - the existence of Powellism and the National Front meant the black community would need reassurance that the government represented them as well

Question 31

when were the race relations act

Answer 31

1976

Question 32

when was the Battle of Lewisham

Answer 32

a year after the 1976 Race Relations Act (battle was 1977)

Question 33

what was the Battle of Lewisham sparked by

Answer 33

- sparked by a National Front march through the borough - the black community felt let down by the police, as they had allowed the march to happen

Question 34

why were the relations between the black community and the police disintegrating further

Answer 34

the black community were being blamed for crime in the area

Question 35

what did the black community being blamed for crime in the area further fuel

Answer 35

the National Front’s hatred for the black community -> they claimed, ‘a multiracial society is wrong, is evil and we will destroy it’

Question 36

when were the Brixton Riots

Answer 36

1981

Question 37

what were the Brixton riots seen as

Answer 37

a continuation of the situation in Lewisham, as the role of the police and their poor relations with black communities provide the sparks for the riots

Question 38

what happened in the late 1970s that added to the tension

Answer 38

- the late 1970s was a time of recession in the UK - the resulting economic hardships hit black communities the hardest with high unemployment, poor housing and higher crime rates

Question 39

why did many young black men in Brixton and other immigrant communities feel they were being discriminated against

Answer 39

due to the law that allowed the police to stop and search people they suspected were about to commit a crime - known as the ‘sus law’

Question 40

what did the ‘sus law’ lead to

Answer 40

led to what many described as racial profiling; they believed black people were being stopped simply because of the colour of their skin

Question 41

what did Operation Swamp 81 mean

Answer 41

meant Brixton was filled with plain-clothes police officers from other districts, using ‘sus law’ as a way to prevent street crime

Question 42

how many people were stopped in 6 days due to the ‘sus law’

Answer 42

over 1000 people were stopped in 6 days, further increasing tensions as young black men felt attacked in their own community

Question 43

when did the simmering tension boil over

Answer 43

- when rumours of police brutality to a black man led to an angry crowd confronting police officers - the arrest of a young black man on 10th April 1981 saw the start of the riot, where for 3 days young black people fought the police, and set fire to vehicles and buildings

Question 44

the Scarman Report:

Answer 44

- Lord Scarman was asked to write a report on the events in Brixton - before his report was published, similar riots had taken place in Handsworth in Birmingham, in Toxteth in Liverpool and in Manchester - the Scarman Report found that institutional racism did not exist within the Metropolitan Police Service - however the report did suggest making racially prejudiced behaviour an offence - the report also led to the end of ‘sus law’ and the creation of the Police Complaints Authority - these measures improved relations between the police and black community

Question 45

what racial related event happened in 1993

Answer 45

- Stephen Lawrence, a young black man, was murdered in London - it was a racially motivated attack - an investigation showed that the Metropolitan Police Service had not responded appropriately due to institutional racism