Britishness

-crucial factors of a nation: percentage of ethnic diversity, traditions, religion

-nation-states (eg. Hungary)
Nation state is one where the great majority are conscious of a common identity and share the
same culture
- cultural boundaries match up with the political boundaries
- single ethnic stock
- product of the 19th century
- nationality is the bond through which people get political, social and ethnic rights

connecting concepts: hybridity, devolution, ethnicity, race, exclusion, outer Britain, crisis of
national identity, multiple identity
20th c great immigration into GB
ethnicity: cultural distinctiveness
being black and white are not discrete categories (pp. 115) : not only biophysical aspects
can be hybrids
hybridity: transcultural contact zone between societies , constant biological and cultural
crossing over (multi-cult. Britain since 1870)
race: biologically distinct groups
devolution: a form of decentralization, granting powers to subsequent state-levels.
George Cuvier: made distinctions the following way: white, yellow and black people
pure and mixed races
Ashcroft et al.: racism produced race-----racial thinking, hierarchization of human types
(primary mover of imperialism)
You know who you are by knowing who you are not.
immigrants redefined Britishness

class antagonism: the upper and middle class that ruled the empire effectively
1965: race relations act
1968/76 subsequent acts
Enoch Powell: Rivers of Blood speech.
Powell was against the antidiscrimination law, wanted to suspend immigration, wanted
equality at law and encouraged re-emigration. He was well supported in the late 1960s
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WW I. : Jews were under pressure joining the British army to prove their Britishness
major waves of immigrants in GB : right after WW II. (lot of Polish)
1940s, 1950s, 1960s Black and Asian immigration
same time -> white Britons emigrating
late 19th c. immigrants: Irish and east European Jews (due to the WW)
religious difference (catholics vs. anglicans)
Irish and Jews formed the major groups of immigrants however there were Italians, French,
Spanish, Greeks, Indians and Africans too. (the variety of reasons for immigration is huge)
In some places they formed groups(/quarters). Elsewhere they mixed
riots against Germans in GB during WW I. and against Russian Jews who refused to fight
against Russia
The Second World War and the national community:
nazi murder camps were being publicised to the British citizens
great depression and unemployment followed by another WW
whiteness has been associated with ruling whilst dark skin with the working class
aim to labour for a welfare state after the war
West Indians arriving with the Empire Windrush in 48 who served in the British army during
the war
Numbers and the other in affluent Britain:
Britain let in too many migrants by the 70s -hybrid race
6.6% of the people were born elsewhere
In 15-20 years there will be 3-3,5 million immigrants in GB. (Enoch Powell)
the solution was presented as the restriction of numbers
constructed British identity and the other
Keeping Britain White:
there aint no black int he Union Jack
1905 : Aliens Act (preventing Jew immigration)
-in the post-war period: neo-fascist and racist organisations terminated non-white immigration
- Enoch Powell : Rivers of Blood speech
- Margaret Thatcher: citizens are afraid that immigrants may swamp the country