They hoped for better opportunities for themselves and their children. Some came to work for a while, save money and return to the Caribbean. Many were responding to the British Government’s call for workers in the transport system, postal service and health service.
Why did the Jamaicans come to Britain?
Most first-generation immigrants moved to Britain in order to seek and improved standard of living, escape violence or to find employment. Almost half of all the men who came from the Caribbean to the UK throughout the 1950s had previously worked in skilled positions or possessed excellent employment credentials.
When did the Caribbeans come to Britain?
Between 1948 and 1964 an estimated 300,000 West Indians had come to Britain, a number which exceeded the previous large-scale migrations to Panama, the USA and other countries in the Caribbean where an estimated 200,000 – 250,000 moved.
Why did people leave the Caribbean for the UK?
People from the Caribbean made the choice to migrate to the UK for a variety of reasons, including: Unemployment and underemployment in the Caribbean since Emancipation. Service at the end of World War II and the need for workers to help with the post-war reconstruction of Britain.
Why were Caribbean Africans brought to the UK in 1948?
Following World War Two, there was a serious shortage of labour in Britain. To help rebuild the economy, an estimated 1.3 million workers were needed. The British Nationality Act 1948 allowed those from Jamaica and Barbados, and others living in Commonwealth counties, full rights of entry and settlement in Britain.
What did the British want from Jamaica?
Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was primarily used for sugarcane production, and experienced many slave rebellions over the course of British rule. Jamaica was granted independence in 1962.
Why did people come to Britain Windrush?
After WWII, Britain encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries. To a large extent this was to help rebuild the country as there was a shortage of labour at the time. Windrush carried 492 migrants who were coming to a country promising prosperity and employment.
What did Britain get from the Caribbean?
Profits from tropical crops. In the 17th century sugar cane was brought to British West Indies from Brazil. At that time most local farmers were growing cotton and tobacco.
What did the British call the Caribbean?
The British West Indies
The British West Indies (BWI) were the British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Why did people migrate to Britain?
People migrated to Britain for many reasons. Many were refugees fleeing persecution and seeking asylum and safety. Some were forced to come here against their will, kidnapped or enslaved. Most, however, were economic migrants looking for work and a better life.
What did Britain do to Jamaicans?
Jamaica was a centre of the slave trade, with the Spanish, then the British, forcibly transporting Africans to work on plantations of sugar cane, bananas and other crops that created fortunes for many of their owners.
Why were immigrants invited to Britain in the 1950s?
Migrants from Commonwealth countries began to come to the UK in increasing numbers in the late 1940s and 1950s. They came because there were not enough jobs in their own countries and because Britain desperately needed workers.
Did the British take over the Caribbean?
In 1623 the English occupied part of Saint Christopher (Saint Kitts), and in 1625 they occupied Barbados. By 1655, when Jamaica was captured from a small Spanish garrison, English colonies had been established in Nevis, Antigua, and Montserrat.
Why did Africans migrate to the UK?
Africans were brought to London in the late 16th century because of Britain’s role in the slave trade.
Why did Africans migrate to Britain?
The small number of free Africans in England were joined by others who arrived as a result of enslavement. Some came directly from the West African coast, while many came from the Caribbean and North America as servants to ship’s captains or planters’ families visiting England or settling permanently.
Why did the Africans come to Britain?
They arrived in England largely as a by-product of the slave trade; some were of mixed-race African and Spanish, and became interpreters or sailors.
Does Britain still rule Jamaica?
The island remained a colony of Britain until 1962, after a decadeslong independence movement by Jamaican leaders.
Who introduced slavery to the Caribbean?
French institution of slavery
In the mid-16th century, enslaved people were trafficked from Africa to the Caribbean by European mercantilists. Originally, white European indentured servants worked alongside enslaved African people in the “New World” (the Americas).
Who is Jamaica owned by?
In 1958 Jamaica became a founding member of the Federation of the West Indies, from which it seceded in 1961, after a referendum. On August 6, 1962, after 300 years of British colonization, Jamaica became an independent nation with full dominion status within the Commonwealth.
What is Windrush and why is it important?
The ‘Windrush’ generation are those who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1973. Many took up jobs in the nascent NHS and other sectors affected by Britain’s post-war labour shortage.
Why do so many Indians come to the UK?
South Asian migrants to the UK after 1947 come from different countries and for different reasons – to escape civil war, to seek better economic opportunities and to join family members already settled here.