The Empire Comes Home: Commonwealth Migration to Britain

This chapter looks at the reversal of the colonial encounter through black and Asian migration to Britain and the impact of this migration on metropolitan culture and identity. It sets the history of Commonwealth migration to Britain not only in the context of colonial history and decolonisation but also in the context of the wider history of twentiethcentury migration to Britain including migration from Ireland and continental Europe. It considers how far imperial connections and colonial mentalities were significant in shaping official and popular responses to white, black, and Asian Commonwealth migrants and migrants' diverse expectations and experiences. In considering responses it traces some of the diversity of racial thinking in a culture that was never monolithic or singular.