Humanities Core Course

Nation and Empire

Professor Haynes

Week V, Lecture I

I. Remaking Post-War Britain: West Indian Perceptions and Realities in the Mother Country

A. From A Warm to Cool Reception

1. World War II intensified historical pattern of travel from the Caribbean and India to Britain:

a) students completing university or professional training; seamen serving in the merchant fleet; activists seeking relief from contradictions of colonial rule

b) recruited heavily, especially in Caribbean and India, to serve in the military and/or military related industries

c) welcomed as defenders of Britain during national emergency, but expected to return home

2. Post-war period conveyed conflicting messages about the place of people of color from the empire and its successor states:

a) Parliament passed the 1948 National Act which entitled all subjects to enter Britain as well as extended rights of citizenship

b) recruited to staff the various public services associated with the nascent social welfare state, i.e., regional hospitals of the National Health Service, London Underground, etc.

c) campaign to keep Britain “white”

B. Creating A Sense of Place

1. chain migration established a pattern of mobility from the Caribbean to Britain:

a) circulation of information through letter writing, newspapers, and word of mouth kinship networks

b) content of information ranged from availability of work, housing, location of family/friends, preparation/provision for voyage and arrival in London, appeals for money or to return

c) station serves as a node in a network of relations that link the West Indies to Britain, i.e., family, friend, opportunists (newspaper reporters and tenant solicitor).

2. adjusting expectations to experience of living in the city:

a) becoming independent through inter-dependence

b) creating community out of individual experiences