interwar - new - immigration and attitudes to ethnic minorities 1918-39 - NEW

Tightened Border Controls

• 1914 British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act introduced the first modern passports (not previously required).

• Made compulsory during WWI to prevent espionage.

• 1919 Aliens Act:

• Immigrants needed a work permit before arrival.

• Required to register with police.

• Had to maintain lawful behaviour or face immediate deportation.

Impact of WWI

• Black and Asian communities grew due to seamen, labourers and soldiers stationed in Britain.

• Over one‑third of Britain’s WWI manpower came from colonial troops/labourers:

  • 1 million Indian soldiers (Europe & Middle East)

  • ~500,000 African troops

  • West Indian volunteers in labour battalions.

• Post‑war influx of “coloured” sailors/workers into port cities.

• These groups faced popular and official racial prejudic

CPGB Membership & Role

• Founded 1921; had a high proportion of minority ethnic members (Caribbean, Indian, Irish, Jewish).

• Unattractive to most white workers → became a political home for many radical immigrants.

• Included key figures such as Shapurji Saklatvala (Indian‑born radical leader

Racial Diversity

• Very few non‑white people in Britain pre‑1950s.

• Most white Britons only encountered racial minorities through Empire‑era images and stories, reinforcing a sense of racial superiority.

• No major “colour problem” outside small areas in London and port cities (Cardiff, Newcastle, Hull, Liverpool).

• Around 74,000 black and Asian people lived in Britain, mostly UK‑born children of earlier migrants.

• led to white racist viokence

Working Rights & Union Hostility

• 919 race riots in Cardiff, Newport, Glasgow, Salford, Hull, South Shields and London.

  • Limehouse (London): four days of attacks on black residents.

  • Cardiff: three deaths and £3,000 property damage.

• National Union of Seamen (NUS) demanded white‑only jobs.

• 1919 Liverpool strike against working with black workers → 120 black workers sacked.

Alien Orders Act, 1920 - 25

• Required migrant workers (“aliens”) to register with police before seeking work.

• Non‑compliance → deportation.

• In practice, applied only to black and Asian people, many of whom were British citizens or Empire citizens.

• Assumed black and Asian people were automatically “aliens”.

Special Restrictions Act, 1925 (Coloured Alien Seamen Act)

• Forced “coloured” seamen to prove British citizenship or face deportation.

• Assumed they were non‑British unless proven otherwise.

Resistance

• N. J. Upadhyaya founded the Indian Seamen’s Union (1926) to protest discriminatory treatment.

• Public rally in Liverpool supported the campaign.

• India Office criticism led to Indian residents being allowed to apply for a Special Certificate of Identity and Nationality to revoke alien status.

discrimination

The Colour Bar

• In theory, all British citizens had equal rights; in practice, a colour bar excluded black and Asian people from:

  • Employment

  • Theatres, hotels, restaurants

  • Wage inequality:

    • 1919 report (Neil Maclean): Asian chefs paid £5/month, white chefs £20/month

• Cardiff, 1935: race riot.

• Local police collaborated with white workers to block black British sailors from working, declaring them non‑British under the Aliens Orders Act.

White Anti‑Racist Support

• Not all white Britons were hostile to racial minorities.

• 1931:

  • Joint Council to Promote Understanding Between White and Coloured People

  • League of Coloured Peoples
    Both aimed to challenge the growing “colour problem”, support victims of discrimination, and provide financial aid to struggling black and Asian families.

• Their efforts were sometimes criticised by radical pan‑African activists, who argued only black people could resolve black issue

Anti‑Fascist Campaigns

• Mid‑1930s: CPGB organised resistance to the British Union of Fascists (BUF).

• BUF incited anti‑Semitism in London’s East End, including fire‑bombings and “Jew‑bashing”.

• CPGB and the Jewish People’s Council (JPC) organised a 10,000‑strong demonstration to block a BUF march.

• Led to the Battle of Cable Street: violent clashes between BUF and anti‑fascist groups → BUF forced to abandon the march.

Kindertransport (1938–40)

• Many Jews fled Nazi persecution; by 1939, 300,000 Jews lived in Britain.

• Settlers were selected for wealth and skills, yet still faced anti‑Semitic hostility.

• Common accusations: raising rents and unemployment for native residents.

• British Union of Fascists (BUF) provided a platform for racist and anti‑Semitic views, though never widely popular.

• Cable Street, 1936: BUF march through the East End met with local resistance; violence erupted as residents erected barricades.

• Despite widespread anti‑Semitism, Britain posed no threat comparable to persecution in continental Europe.