History - Migration to Britain 1750-present - GCSE - OCR B

Asian seamen, Jews, Irish, West Indian, German, Belgian, Serbian, Polish, Commonwealth

Talk about how the industrial revolution changed life in Britain.

• Next 100yrs after 1750 were the Industrial revolution

• Population rocketed to 37 million by 1900

• Industrial cities other than London emerged

  • Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow

• Lots of urbanisation

• Life for labouring poor was grim

• Railways and steamships revolutionised travel and connected Britain with many other parts of the world

How did parlimentary reform link to changing attitudes?

• Until 1832 only 5% of the population could vote

• People campaigned for parlimentary reform in the early 19th century

• Change came with the 1832 reform act, extending the vote to men who owned property and allowed larger towns to have 2 MPs each

• In the 19th century, new laws were introduced to improve lives:

  • 1807 - slave trade abolished

  • 1829 - Catholic emancipation act removed restrictions on roman catholics

  • 1830s - restrictions on Jews lifted

  • 1858 - Jews allowed to become MPs

1750 - 1900 —> Britain was seen increasingly as a land of freedom, where people could follow their own religion.

What migration did Britain’s war with Napoleon and France cause?

Men from asian ports were hired as seamen to replace the British seamen drafted into the Navy

After the abolition of slavery, who recieved financial compensation from the british government? How much?

Slave owners recieved £20 million for the ‘loss’ of their slaves

What was the triangular trade, and how did it function?

It was the system of slavery that relied on enslaved Africans being transported across the atlantic.

Slaves were taken from West Africa in horrendous conditions across what was known as the ‘middle passage’ to the West Indies, where their labour was used on plantations to produce raw materials such as sugar, rum and tobacco, which was then transported to England where it was manufactured and sold.

When was slavery abolished in England, and then on British plantations?

1807 in England, 1833 on plantations owned by the British

Which community settled around scotland road in Liverpool?

Irish

Talk about the negative experiences of Irish Migrants.

• English workers sometimes believed that Irish workers were stealing their jobs or driving wages down

• Poverty and desperation sometimes drove Irish migrants into crime or they turned to drink, increasing prejudice against them

• Irish workers on the railroads and canals - often caught up in violence with English and Scottish gangs

• New industrial towns —> poor housing, overcrowding and terrible sanitary conditions

• Heavy manual work of the industrial revolution —> dangerous, tiring, poorly paid

• There were large-scale anti-Irish riots in Cardiff in the 1850s and 1860s

Why did the Irish migrate to Britain?

• Many poor Catholics lived in poverty on English-owned estates in Ireland, paid high rents and were treated badly

• Protestant settlers were encouraged to emigrate to Ireland in the 16th and 17th C. and were given land at expense of poor Catholics

• The British government gave little practical support to help the starving Irish, even allowing grain to be exported that could have fed the hungry

• Potato Blight

What was the impact of Irish labourers on the industrial revolution?

• Irish navvies provided the manual labour that built the railways and canals of the Industrial Revolution

• Many Irish migrants arrived in Liverpool and settled in the industrial towns of the North West and Scotland

• Revitalised the Catholic Church in England

When and how did the EIC take control of most of India?

• In the 18th century, Mughal power disintegrated, and the EIC stepped in to fill the gap

  • 1757 - Bengali & French forces defeated at battle of Plassey, so EIC gained control of Bengal (the richest region)

  • From 1750 - 1900, exploitation of India was an important factor in Britain’s growing wealth & power

How did the empire support Britain?

• Between 1900-1948, the empire contained 1/5 of the world’s population

  • People worked all over to produce raw materials for Britain’s factories, bringing it much financial gain

Talk about the treatment of German migrants to Britain in WW1.

• Britain joined the war in 1914 when her ally belgium was invaded by Germany

• Many Belgians were forced to flee their homes, so cartoons appeared in Britain to foster sympathy for them

  • A german soldier resembling their leader Kaiser Wilhelm II stands over a dead belgian mother + child

• Previously, Germany and Britain had been close friends over the past 50 years, so many Germans migrated to Britain, however when WW1 broke out, they quickly became the enemy, and those living in England were treated poorly

  • They came due to rising population in Germany

  • England was more tolerant than Germany

• Germanophobia was rife

  • They had to register at Police stations and show evidence of good character and knowledge, otherwise they would be deported (just under 29000 were)

  • Hatred grew after 7 May 1915 when a german sub torpedoed a british ocean liner

What were internment camps?

• Civilians living in England from enemy nations who were considered a potential threat were put there

• Biggest was Knockaloe on the Isle of Man

  • 1914 - 1919 held over 30 000 German, Austro-hungarian and Turkish civilian men

  • Deemed enemy aliens

What was the Aliens act?

• Prior to war in 1905

• Restricted immigration to people with money or jobs

• All others were undesirable aliens

• (Did not apply to belgian refugees)

Talk about the treatment of Belgian refugees in WWI.

• Were not affected by 1905 Aliens act

• 250 000+ Belgians

• Greeted warmly at first, but attitudes changed over time, as some resented their presence as the war dragged on

• All were expected to leave after the war ended, and most did

Talk about the treatment of Serbian refugees in WWI

• Hundreds of thousands fled Serbia after the military defeat of their country early in the war

  • Estimated 18-27 thousand died on journey to temporary freedom in Greece 1915

  • 3000 children went to France

    • There was opposition from the British gov, meaning only ½ of what should have been 600 children were allowed to England, of which almost all were boys for hope of Serbia’s future manhood

How were Jewish refugees treated in England prior to the war?

• Had to flee due to anti-semitism and persecution rising in Germany

• Difficult for them to find new homes away from Germany due to strong anti-alien mood

How were Jewish refugees treated in the late 1930s?

• Almost 2.2 million Britons were unemployed in 1933, so there were many fears (fueled by the press) that refugees would steal jobs

• However, Kristallnacht was a turning point for british sympathy

  • Kindertransport

Kindertransport

• Rescue efforts to send Jewish children below age 17 to Britain for safety, as long as someone would take financial responsibility for them

• Organised in Germany by leaders of the Jewish community

• The plan was to send them home after the crisis

• Trains helped evacuate 10 000 unaccompanied Jewish children

Kristallnacht

• 9-10 of November 1938

• A wave of extremist attacks on Jewish communities

Talk about the experience of Polish refugees coming to britain after 1939

• They came due to the Nazi invasion of Poland

• Overall positive experience since they were allowed to join our pilots and were liked since they were of assistance to us, however they were sent back to Poland after the war

Refugee

• Have escaped war/conflict in their own country

• Arrived looking for safety, can stay here long term or indefinitely

Asylum seeker

• Fled homeland, and arrives whatever way they can, then makes themselves known to the authorities

• They submit an asylum application, proving there is risk in their home country

• Has a legal right to stay while awaiting a decision

Economic migrant

• Comes for work

• Can be either a legal or illegal resident, depending on how they entered the country

• May or may not have a legal work permit

What was the 1948 Nationality Act?

All citizens of the commonwealth had the right to hold passports and enter Britain

What was the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act?

Ended the automatic right of Commonwealth passport holders to live and work in Britain.

Instead, they had to apply for a limited number of employment vouchers

What was the Commission for Racial Equality?

• A body set up by the government in 1976.

Its purposes were:

• to encourage better relations between ethnic groups

• to use the law to prevent racial discrimination

• to promote racial equality and equal opportunity

• to raise public awareness of racial injustice.

What was the public response to migrants post-WWII?

• Not very friendly

• Often racist + hostile

• Race riots occured

What was the National Front?

• Founded in 1967

• A far-right, neo-fascist, white supremacist group

When was Enoch Powell’s rivers of blood speech?

• 1968

What did the 1981/82 riots coincide with?

• Economic downturn

• Unemployment

• Conservative govt seen as unsympathetic on issues of race

What was the experience like of commonwealth migrants post WWII?

• Britain was cold and grey

• Children bullied at school

• Six or seven migrants living in one house was typical, many built lives and settled in well

• Following Enoch Powell’s speech, they felt unwelcome for the first time

What was the 1965 Race Relations Act?

Made it an offence to refuse service to someone on grounds of race

What was the 1968 Race Relations Act?

Dealt with loopholes from the 1965 act and made it an offence to refuse housing and employment on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins

What was the commonwealth migrants’ impact like post WWII?

• By 1960 total of west indian migrants to britain reached 100,000

• Large impact helping with NHS, rebuilding England post WW2, brought food, such as national food: Chicken Tikka Masala

• Impact infrastructure, economy, jobs

• Notting Hill Carnival

• Growing multiculturalism in Britain in spite of fears caused by 9/11 and radical islam terrorism

What was Rock Against Racism?

• Started in 1976

• To oppose racism by bringing people together through music

• RAR brought Black and White bands to share the same stage

• Fans danced together to each other’s music and anti-racism became fashionable

• In 1978 100,000 people marched from Trafalgar Square to hear RAR bands in Victoria Park, Hackney.

What was the Grunwick Strike?

• (1976–78)

• Developed mutual respect between Asian and white workers

• A workforce of mainly Asian women carried out this industrial action, demanding the right to have a trade union in their workplace, the Grunwick photo processing plant in north London

• Their strike failed but their determination won support from the labour movement

Talk about the significance of the no blacks, no dogs, no irish signs

Dehumanised people and compared them to animals, they were hung in many pubs, restaurants and hotel windows and demonstrated the hostile attitude that was rife in England in the time in opposititon to black and irish immigrants

In a survey done in the late 1950s, what percentage of people ‘Would want restrictions on numbers of non-white migrants’?

55%

In a survey done in the late 1950s, what percentage of people would ‘Disapprove of marriages between white and coloured people’?

71%

In a survey done in the late 1950s, what percentage of people did not want ‘coloured people’ to have the same rights to council housing as people born in Britain?

54%

In a survey done in the late 1950s, what percentage of people would move home if ‘coloured people came to live in their area in great numbers’?

61%

In a survey done in the late 1950s, what percentage of people would object to ‘coloured children’ being in the same class as their own children at school?

7%

What happened in 1958 in Notting Hill?

A gang beat up five Black men with metal bars, causing serious injury.

What happened in May 1959 in Notting Hill?

Kelso Cochrane, a 32-year-old Antiguan, was stabbed to death by a white gang in Notting Hill, London. Over a thousand people, White and Black, lined the streets for Cochrane’s funeral and contributed to a collection that was sent to his mother in Antigua.

Who was Claudia Jones?

• She was an activist, feminist, and journalist who advocated for civil rights

• She was born in trinidad before moving to Harlem in the USA

• Deported from the USA to the UK in 1955 due to political persecution

• Founded the first major black newspaper in the UK

  • The West Indian Gazette

  • Afro-Asian Carribean News

What is the notting hill carnival?

• Takes place over the August bank holiday in London since 1966

• Created in response to race riots in Notting Hill in August 1958

• Has become the largest street festival in Europe

What was the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act?

Prohibited entry to anyone without a father or grandfather born in the UK

What was the 1971 Immigration Act?

Replaced vouchers with work permits for specific time periods

What was the Anti-Nazi League?

• A prominent British anti-fascist organization launched in 1977 by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP)

• To oppose the rise of the far-right National Front (NF)

• Supported by trade unions, politicians, and celebrities

• It ran campaigns, organized "Rock Against Racism" festivals

• Held 250+ branches to challenge fascists on the streets