Hello and welcome to this lesson on the end of empire, the Commonwealth and changing patterns of migration.

This lesson is part of a broader inquiry looking at how far migrants were welcomed in modern Britain.

But for this lesson, we're just going to be focusing on those main areas that I just mentioned, the end of the British Empire, the growth of the Commonwealth, and the consequential changing patterns of migration.

Now in order to do that, you're going to need a piece of paper and a pen.

If you don't have one, absolutely fine.

Just pause the video now, get everything you need, and then come back and press play when you're ready to get started.

Great, now you've got everything you need, let's have a look at our lesson outcome, and I'm hoping that by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say that you can explain how the end of the British Empire and the emergence of the Commonwealth led to changing patterns of migration.

Now in order to do that, we're going to need some keywords, and for today, we've got just two, decolonization, which is the process of freeing a nation from colonial rule, but also Commonwealth, and that's an international community made up of Britain and many of its former colonies.

Now we've got those two keywords, we can get started on today's lesson, and we're going to be starting off by looking at the end of the British Empire.

As a result of growing protests for independence and the detrimental cost of the Second World War, the British government was forced to let their global empire come to an end.

On the 15th of August 1947, British rule over India ended and the colony was partitioned into the independent nations of India and Pakistan.

This would mark the beginning of an era of decolonization across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, which would last until 1980 with the decolonization of Zimbabwe.

In this same period, the British economy began to thrive, at least partly as a result of post-war migration and successful post-war recovery.

This meant that Britain became an increasingly attractive destination for migrant communities in search of work.

As a result, in the 1950s, there were large numbers of migrants from India, East and West Pakistan, Ghana and Nigeria who settled in Britain and made significant contributions to the economy, as they met the demand for more workers.

Many settled in the north of England where they found work in textile factories in cities such as Leeds and Manchester.

Now before we go on to look at why and how this migration continued, just a couple of questions.

Which of the following events marked the beginning of an era of decolonization? Is it A, the declaration of Ghanaian independence in 1957? B, the declaration of Indian and Pakistani independence in 1947? Or C, the end of the Second World War in 1945? Just pause the video, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you have an answer for me.

Brilliant.

We know that the answer is B.

It was the declaration of Indian and Pakistani independence that marked the beginning of an era of decolonization.

Now Andeep has said that "In the 1950s, there were large number of migrants to Britain from former colonies." Now I'd like you to give me two details to explain why Andeep's statement is correct.

So pause the video now and jot down at least two key ideas to explain why he is correct.

Brilliant.

Hopefully you mentioned that the British economy had begun to thrive due to post-war migration, and that therefore, migrants from former colonies, such as India, Pakistan, Ghana, and Nigeria, were attracted to Britain by opportunities for work.

Really great if you made sure to include those specific examples of former colonies.

Now many of these migrants from former colonies chose to migrate to Britain in the 1950s, not just because of the opportunities available, but also because of the continued economic relationship between Britain and former British colonies.

We can see here a graph showing Britain's migrant population proportion over time.

And right in the middle, we see a line that marks the 1948 British Nationality Act, that purple line, and this act was introduced as a result of the relationship that Britain had maintained with many former colonies through the Commonwealth.

Although many of these colonies had achieved their independence, their membership of the Commonwealth allowed them to benefit from continued trade with Britain.

And it was the 1948 Nationality Act that recognised Commonwealth subjects as British citizens that gave them the opportunity to migrate to Britain.

Hence, why we can see a rapid increase in Britain's migrant population from the 1950s.

Now before we go on to look a little bit more about this Commonwealth that I've just started talking about, remember one of our keywords, the international community made up of Britain and its former colonies.

Before we go on to look at that in more detail, I've just got a quick question and then our first practise task.

So true or false? The only reason for increasing migration from former colonies was because the British economy was already thriving.

This should be super easy, so just take a couple of seconds and decide whether this is true or false.

Brilliant.

Hopefully you said this is false.

But where I need you to do the work now is to explain why it's false.

So pause the video, jot down a quick sentence just to explain why this statement is false, and then come back and press play.

Brilliant.

So hopefully you said that the Commonwealth meant that many former colonies maintained an economic relationship with Britain which encouraged migration and the 1948 British Nationality Act gave Commonwealth citizens the opportunity to migrate.

Really well done, especially for using that keyword, which I hope you did, in your response.

Now I'd like you to put this into practise.

We've got three students here, Sofia, Andeep, and Alex.

I'd like you to read each of their statements and decide which of the following students most accurately describes how the end of the British Empire led to increasing migration to Britain? So pause the video, give yourself a moment, and then come back and press play when you have an answer.

Brilliant.

I hope you said Alex.

Because Sofia says, "As many countries in Africa and Asia were free from British rule in the 1950s, many decided to migrate to Britain." That doesn't actually describe how the end of the British Empire led to increasing migration.

Just says that it happens.

Andeep says, "As a result of the thriving British economy, many people from India, Pakistan, Ghana and Nigeria settled in Britain." He's getting there.

He's closer.

But Alex is definitely the most accurate description.

He says, "Due to the continued economic relationship with Britain and their thriving economy, migration from former colonies increased." It's important that we don't just rule out all the other reasons and pick the one we remember.

It's about trying to present as accurate a picture as possible, and that often means including multiple reasons for the increase in migration.

Now what I'd like you to do is to take Alex's statement and explain fully why he has most accurately described how the end of the British Empire led to increasing migration to Britain.

I've done a bit of the work for you just now, so I really hope you were listening.

But now if you take five to 10 minutes to write up a response explaining why his was the most accurate description, but trying to use the following in your response.

Decolonization, textile factories, and Commonwealth, two of which are our keywords.

So pause the video now and give the task a go.

Brilliant.

So hopefully your answer looks a little something like this.

Alex presents the most accurate explanation, as he acknowledges that, after decolonization, the increase in migration from former colonies happened for two main reasons.

Firstly, in the 1950s, Britain's economy began to thrive, partly as a result of migrant contributions after World War II.

For instance, migrants from Nigeria, Ghana, India, and Pakistan migrated to Britain at this time to meet labour shortages and worked in places like textile factories.

Secondly, migration increased as a result of the Commonwealth, which saw many former colonies join post-independence and continue their economic relationship with Britain.

This encouraged migration from former colonies, as they sought better paid work and opportunities in Britain.

So if you've got those details down, really, really well done.

If not, you can pause the video now and just add them to your response.

So in the second part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at the Commonwealth.

Prior to the wave of decolonization that swept across Africa and Asia in 1947, there had been other colonies in the British Empire that had become independent earlier in the 20th century.

For instance, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia had gained some degree of independence in earlier years, as they had large populations of white people and the British government considered them capable of running their own affairs.

They were given dominion status.

This meant that they were able to rule themselves within their own government but still had some ties to Britain.

For example, the British monarch remained their head of state.

These nations agreed that they would give their allegiance to the British Crown, but they would not be ruled by the Crown.

As a result, they were sometimes called semi-independent.

So remember, this was something that was reserved for populations that were made up of mostly white people because at the time, the British government believed that it was only those colonies who were capable of running their own affairs.

And it was in 1926 that Britain and her dominion states came together to agree that they were all equal members of an international community, and this was formally declared in 1931 in what became known as the Commonwealth.

So that is why in our keywords, we talk about the Commonwealth being an international community made up of Britain and its former colonies.

So this was how it began in the early 1900s.

And as countries across the British Empire gained independence, they were also encouraged to join the Commonwealth.

This was because the British government hoped to keep a position of authority over the former colonies to continue to benefit from the resources they produced and to maintain a positive and favourable trading relationship with these nations.

From 1950 to 1970, half a million people left their homes in the Commonwealth to settle in Britain in search of better paid work and more opportunities, with many migrants coming from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, and across West Africa.

So remember, it started off in 1926 with a collection of countries that were given dominion status, also sometimes called semi-independent countries with large white populations.

That's why those countries received some independence earlier.

But later, post-war, as we've already looked at, there were many countries across Africa and Asia and the Caribbean who would gain independence and were encouraged to join the Commonwealth.

So I'd like you to answer this question for me.

Which of the following statements explains what dominion status means? Is it A, former colonies that were able to rule themselves with their own government but still had some ties to Britain? B, former colonies that were unable to rule themselves and were still ruled mostly from Britain? Or C, colonies that were allowed their own government but still remained official colonies? Pause the video now, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you have an answer for me.

Brilliant.

Hopefully you said A.

That former colonies were able to rule themselves with their own government but still had some ties to Britain.

For example, the British monarch remained their head of state, as we looked at earlier.

Now I'd like you to tell me which of the following statements explains why former colonies were encouraged to join the Commonwealth? Is it A, Britain hoped to maintain positive and favourable economic links with their former colonies? B, Britain hoped to be able to compensate their former colonies for the suffering caused by the British Empire? Or C, Britain hoped to keep political control over the former colonies to stop them gaining full independence? So again, pause the video, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you have an answer for me.

Brilliant.

Hopefully you said A.

We know that they were encouraged to join the Commonwealth because Britain hoped to maintain positive and favourable economic links with their former colonies.

Now what I'd like you to do, putting this into practise.

To put this into practise is to complete this table.

So for each of these five statements, I'd like you to decide whether it's true or false.

Give yourself about five minutes and then come back when you're done.

Brilliant.

Hopefully your table looks a little something like this.

No British colonies had become independent before 1947.

Well, we know that's false because we know that dominion status was given to colonies with large white populations because of the racist beliefs of the British government that only they were able to rule themselves.

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa were given dominion status.

We know that is true.

Colonies given dominion status were fully independent nations.

Oh, you know that is not true because we know they still had some ties to Britain.

In 1962, Britain and her dominion states came together to form the British Empire.

We know that that is not true.

And finally, former colonies were encouraged to join the Commonwealth to help Britain maintain economic authority.

We know that that is true.

Now what I would like you to do is to have a look at these three false statements and rewrite them for me, making sure that they are now correct.

Pause the video.

Again, give yourself about five minutes to rewrite these three and then come back when you're done.

Brilliant.

So hopefully your completed statements look a little something like this.

Some British colonies had become independent before 1947.

For example, Canada.

Colonies given dominion status were considered semi-independent nations.

And in 1926, Britain and her dominion states came together to form the Commonwealth.

So hopefully you now have five correct statements there for me.

Really, really well done.

And in the final part of today's lesson, we're going to be looking at changing patterns of migration.

Now initially, the end of the British Empire and the emergence of the Commonwealth led to an increase in migration to Britain.

This only increased in the 1950s, as the British economy began to thrive, partially as a result of migrant contributions and Britain's efforts to maintain economic relationships with former colonies.

In 1953, there were only 3,000 Commonwealth migrants settling in Britain each year.

But by 1961, this had risen to 136,400 each year.

While Commonwealth migrants continued to make a positive contribution to the economy, attitudes towards them became increasingly hostile, although it was largely Black and Asian Commonwealth migrants who faced the greatest hostility from both the government and local communities.

This increasing hostility led to laws being introduced which directly impacted patterns of migration.

This would not only change the numbers of people migrating from the Commonwealth, but also who could migrate from the Commonwealth.

Now before we go on to look at the laws that were introduced, I've just got a quick question for you.

Which of the following statements explains why new laws were introduced to control Commonwealth migration? Was it because A, there was increasing hostility towards Black and Asian migrants? B, attitudes towards Black and Asian migrants were increasingly welcoming? Or C, the government wanted to encourage more migration from certain countries? The answer is A.

You know that there was increasing hostility towards Black and Asian migrants.

Now the first Commonwealth Migrants Act was introduced in 1962 by the Conservative government to target and limit the migration of Black and Asian Commonwealth migrants.

The act introduced a voucher system which limited the number of migrants entering Britain to find work by placing all Commonwealth migrants into three categories.

Category A was for migrants who already had a job in Britain prior to arrival.

Category B was for those who had special skills that were in short supply in Britain.

And category C was for anyone else, usually unskilled workers.

The strictest limits were placed on category C, as it was assumed by the government that white migrants would fall into categories A and B and Black and Asian migrants would fall into category C.

However, there were still many Black and Asian migrants who fell into categories A and B, and therefore, the act did not stop migration in the way that the government predicted.

Despite this, it did succeed in decreasing some migration from the Commonwealth, but it was as a result of the continued migration of Black and Asian Commonwealth citizens that the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act was introduced by the Labour government.

It declared that those who held a British passport could still be subject to restrictive immigration controls unless they had a father or grandfather born in the United Kingdom.

This act now drastically limited the migration of not only Black and Asian migrants but also settled Black and Asian British subjects who did not have a parent or grandparent born in the UK.

Subsequently, this act significantly decreased migration from many Commonwealth countries.

So before we get into our practise task for today, I'd like you to tell me what did the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act do? Did it, A, place all migrants into three categories, A, B, and C, depending on their skill level and job availability? B, limit Commonwealth migration to those with a mother or grandmother born in the UK? Or C, did it end all migration from Commonwealth nations regardless of the race of the migrants? Pause the video now and make a decision for me.

Brilliant.

Hopefully you said A.

And our last question before our final task today.

What did the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act do? Did it place all migrants into five categories, A, B, C, D, and E, depending on their skill level and job availability? Did it limit Commonwealth migration to those born? Did it limit Commonwealth migration to those with a father or grandfather born in the UK? Or was it C, that it ended all migration from Commonwealth nations regardless of their race? Pause the video and make a decision very quickly, please.

Brilliant.

We know that the answer is B.

That in 1968, Commonwealth Immigrants Act limited Commonwealth migration to those with a father or grandfather born in the UK.

Now our final task for today requires you to have a look at this statement.

"The growth of the Commonwealth led to increasing migration to Britain through the second half of the 20th century." And I'd like you to tell me how far you agree with this statement, making sure that you state how far you agree or disagree, back up your judgement with evidence, consider the evidence for a counter-argument, but ultimately explain the reason for your judgement.

So give yourself 10 minutes to complete this task and then come back when you're done.

Brilliant.

So hopefully your completed answer looks a little something like this.

I disagree with this statement, as the British government made several attempts to reduce Commonwealth migration in the second half of the 20th century.

The first was the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act which placed migrants into three categories, A, B, or C.

Category C was for unskilled workers, and as British authorities believed that most Black and Asian migrants would fall into this category, they placed the greatest restrictions on category C.

However, as many African and Asian Commonwealth migrants were in fact skilled workers who had jobs on arrival, further laws were introduced.

The second Commonwealth Migrants Act was passed in 1968.

It reduced Commonwealth migration, as it restricted migration to those who had a father or grandfather born in Britain, a requirement which would not apply to most Black and Asian Commonwealth migrants.

This demonstrates that Commonwealth migration actually decreased from the late 1960s.

However, it could be said that migration initially increased in the second half of the 20th century as a result of the 1948 Nationality Act and the growth of the Commonwealth.

These changes meant that in 1953, only 3,000 Commonwealth migrants settled in Britain each year.

But by 1961, this number had increased to 136,400 each year.

Yet this was only true of the 1950s and therefore the statement is too broad.

So really well done if you were able to make a clear judgement and explain what evidence could be presented to challenge your argument, but ultimately, why yours is still more convincing.

So before we finish up for today, we're just going to have a quick look at a summary of what we've learned.

Although decolonization spread across the British Empire from the 1940s, starting with the declaration of an independent India and Pakistan in 1947, we know that many colonies did go on to join the Commonwealth after becoming independent.

We also learned that migration from the former colonies increased in the 1950s, as Britain maintained an economic relationship with Commonwealth members and introduced the British Nationality Act in 1948, which made Commonwealth migration much easier.

And finally, we learned that Commonwealth migration was met with increasing hostility and new laws in the 1960s which intended to limit the migration of Black and Asian Commonwealth citizens.

Really, really well done today.

You've done some brilliant work.

I'm super impressed with what you've done and you should be too.