Who migrated to Britain in the modern period, and what was their experience c.1900 to present?
Modern migration including post-war Commonwealth migration and the Windrush generation, refugees, European and other migrants, the role of war, empire and labour shortages, the experience of integration and discrimination, and changing immigration laws.
A focused answer to the modern section of OCR's Migrants to Britain thematic study, covering post-war Commonwealth migration and the Windrush generation, refugees, European and other migrants, the role of war, empire and labour shortages, the experience of integration and discrimination, and changing immigration laws.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the final period of the Migrants to Britain thematic study. You need to explain who came in the modern period (the Windrush and Commonwealth migrants, refugees, and European and other migrants), how war, empire and labour shortages drove migration, the experience of integration and discrimination, and changing immigration laws. You should set modern migration against the whole 750-year story for the 16-mark essay.
Who came, and why
War, empire and labour shortages
The Windrush generation
Experience and changing laws
Try this
Q1. What does the "Windrush generation" refer to, and from what year? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Caribbean migrants who came to Britain from 1948, named after the ship Empire Windrush.
Q2. Explain why Britain recruited Commonwealth migrants after 1945. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Post-war Britain faced severe labour shortages and needed workers to rebuild and to staff the new NHS, transport and industry, so the government and employers recruited Commonwealth citizens, who had the right to come under the 1948 British Nationality Act.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR SHP 20204 marksDescribe two features of Commonwealth migration to Britain after 1945.Show worked answer →
The thematic study opener (4 marks, two features, 2 marks each). Reward two distinct, developed features.
Feature one. Migrants from the Caribbean, South Asia and elsewhere in the Commonwealth came to fill post-war labour shortages, invited to work in the NHS, on the railways and buses, and in factories, beginning with the Empire Windrush in 1948.
Feature two. They had a legal right to come as British subjects under the 1948 British Nationality Act, until later laws (from 1962 onwards) progressively restricted Commonwealth immigration.
Top marks. Two separate features, each with a precise supporting detail.
OCR SHP 20228 marksExplain why large numbers of migrants came to Britain after the Second World War.Show worked answer →
The thematic study "Explain why" question (8 marks). Reward two or three developed, supported reasons.
Reason one. Labour shortages: post-war Britain needed workers to rebuild and to staff the new NHS, transport and industry, so the government and employers actively recruited from the Commonwealth.
Reason two. Empire and citizenship: the 1948 British Nationality Act gave Commonwealth citizens the right to live and work in Britain, so people from the Caribbean and South Asia came as British subjects, beginning with the Windrush.
Reason three. Refuge and later European migration: refugees fled conflict and persecution, and later (especially after 2004 EU enlargement) many Europeans came for work.
Top band. Link each reason to post-war migration and judge which was most important.
Related dot points
- Migration in the age of empire and industry, including Irish, Jewish and Black migrants and people from across the Empire, the role of industrialisation and empire, their contribution to towns and industry, and the experience of poverty and prejudice.
A focused answer to the industrial and imperial section of OCR's Migrants to Britain thematic study, covering Irish, Jewish, Black and imperial migrants, the role of industrialisation and empire, their contribution to industry and towns, and the experience of poverty and prejudice c.1700 to 1900.
- Early modern migrants including Huguenot refugees, the Dutch, the readmission of the Jews, and the beginnings of a Black presence, the reasons they came, their economic and cultural contribution, and the experience of refuge and prejudice.
A focused answer to the early modern section of OCR's Migrants to Britain thematic study, covering Huguenot and Dutch migrants, the readmission of the Jews, the early Black presence, the reasons for migration, the economic and cultural contribution, and the experience of refuge and prejudice.
- Medieval migrants including Jews, Flemish weavers, Italian bankers and Hanseatic merchants, the reasons they came, their contribution to the economy, the experience of welcome and hostility, and the expulsion of the Jews in 1290.
A focused answer to the medieval section of OCR's Migrants to Britain thematic study, covering Jewish, Flemish, Italian and Hanseatic migrants, the reasons they came, their economic contribution, the experience of welcome and hostility, and the expulsion of the Jews in 1290.
- The economic, cultural and social impact of migration across the whole period, the factors that shaped migrants' experience, change and continuity in attitudes to migration, and how to weigh interpretations of migration's significance.
A focused case study within OCR's Migrants to Britain thematic study, examining the economic, cultural and social impact of migration across the whole period, the factors shaping migrants' experience, change and continuity in attitudes, and how to weigh interpretations of migration's significance.