From Global Power to Existential Anxieties: How Colonialism and Migration Shape the UK

 

After World War II, Western Europe experienced one of the most remarkable recoveries in modern history, often referred to as a “Golden Age”. Rapid economic growth and social progress helped mitigate the devastation of war within a relatively short period. Among the key drivers of this recovery were population growth and mass migration, as labor shortages were addressed by recruiting workers from former colonies to help rebuild war-torn economies. This article discusses the role of colonialism and migration in Britain’s post-war recovery and reflects on how their legacies continue to shape British society today.

Migration in Post-War Britain

After World War II, labor shortages in key sectors such as transport, healthcare, manufacturing, and construction prompted the British government to turn to its colonies to rebuild infrastructure and maintain essential services. Caribbean migrants—from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago—were recruited to staff public transport systems and the newly established National Health Service. South Asians migrants—primarily from India, Pakistan, and later Bangladesh—significantly contributed to the textile industry, steel production, and various public service roles. In smaller numbers, African workers from Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, among others, were recruited for dock work, road building, and urban construction projects.

Prior to the postwar migration wave, Britain had already relied heavily on its colonies to support both World Wars. During World War II, colonial mobilization reached unprecedented levels, with over five million troops recruited from across the British Empire—including India, Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. Unlike the known contributions of male soldiers, the vital roles played by colonial women in non-combatant capacities—such as in auxiliary services, nursing units, and munitions factories—remain largely undocumented and marginalized in official narratives.

"These migration patterns, rooted in Britain’s colonial history, played a crucial role in rebuilding the nation and continue to shape British society today.

 

After the war, many of these servicemen and women remained in Britain, contributing to postwar reconstruction. Between the late 1940s and the early 1970s an estimated 500,000 immigrants lived in Britain. A significant proportion were women who worked in health services, textile and electronic industries, and domestic service and childcare—often as voluntary and informal labor as they lack legal access to formal employment. These migration patterns, rooted in Britain’s colonial history, played a crucial role in rebuilding the nation and continue to shape British society today.

Global Economic Dominance

Britain is widely recognized for its economic transformations and social progress throughout history, most notably as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. As the largest colonial empire of its time, Britain was also the first nation to industrialize on a significant scale. Yet the historical connection between colonialism and industrialization has often been downplayed in official narratives. Recent scholarship, however, has brought this link into sharper focus. Heblich, Redding, and Voth (2022) find that “… greater slavery wealth promoted local economic growth and led to a reallocation of economic activity away from agriculture, and towards manufacturing …”, suggesting “... that slavery wealth contributed causally to Britain’s Industrial Revolution, accelerating growth and facilitating the escape from Malthusian constraints.” (pp. 41–2).

India offering pearls to Britannia, the symbol of British power

Furthermore, British industrial expansion depended heavily on access to raw materials sourced from its colonies, often through systems of coerced labor and exploitative trade arrangements. This demand for resources intensified colonial extraction and facilitated the geographic and administrative expansion of imperial control. As production in Britain grew, so did the need for external markets—leading to the transformation of colonies into consumers of British manufactured goods. The profits generated through this imperial circuit were then reinvested in the empire’s technological innovation and industrial development, reinforcing Britain's global economic dominance (Historical Encyclopedia, 2024).

Another pivotal transformation in British history was the Victorian Boom (1850–1873), often regarded as a golden age of British capitalism and imperial expansion. Marked by imperial ambitions, it was an era of rapid industrial growth, dominance in global trade, and economic prosperity.

Colonialism and Migration

As we can see, Britian’s history of migration is inseparable from its colonial past, but more broadly, form the legacy of European colonialism. During the imperial era, regions of the world were carved up by European powers, while ignoring existing geopolitical, ethnic, and cultural realities. Territories were distributed among European colonial powers of the time—later reallocated among them—to suit changing political interests. Agreements took place between European counterparts and other regions without much participation of the latter, setting the course for future conflicts. The Sky-Picot agreement (1916) and Balfour Declaration (1917) are examples of what would lay the groundwork for future disputes in the Middle East. Arbitrary borders drawn across the African continent and their subsequent reconfiguration after World War I all contributed to enduring conflicts, wars, and migration challenges that Europe continues to face today.

"During the imperial era, regions of the world were carved up by European powers, while ignoring existing geopolitical, ethnic, and cultural realities.

 

In terms of social hierarchy, post-World War II migration to Britain mirrored the hierarchal relationship between colonizer and their colonies. Migrants from former colonies faced discrimination and structural barriers. In the 1960s, amidst the rise of civil rights movement across the West, the British government adopted a racial equality framework and embraced a multicultural approach. By the 1990s, policy discourse shifted toward an integration model, but immigrant women continued to face exclusion from formal employment. This model was introduced in response to an increasing migration flow that raised concern over cohesion and national identity.

Integration policies emphasized national identity, security, and social cohesion. However, underfunding, poor interagency coordination, and a narrow focus on language and civic tests hinder the successful implementation of integration policies. Nevertheless, some attribute the failure of integration to migrants’ lack of cultural compatibility, unwillingness to assimilate, and economic inactivity. This view not only overlooks technical challenges in policy implementation but also ignores structural barriers, such as systematic racism and patriarchal policy frameworks, as among the underlying causes of integration failures.

“Take Back What Once Was Rightfully Yours”

For many, migration raises emotionally charged questions of identity and security—specifically, who belongs and who is entitled to access resources. Throughout history, the question of entitlement often resurfaces as tensions intensify during periods of economic downturn, when previously privileged groups face growing competition over housing, employment, and public services. To delegitimize these perceived deprivations, nationalist values are promoted and gain traction, frequently fueled by populist discourses that lament the loss of cultural identity, economic agency, and sovereignty. At its core lies the self-righteous rhetoric “take back what once was rightfully yours.”

Recent studies highlight the rise of populist movements in Europe and North America, driven in large part by white working-class men who feel increasingly marginalized by shifts in employment and labor conditions, as well as by transformations in family life and gender politics that have reshaped the social status of women (Turner, 2024).

Old Father Thames, the symbol of London's power

This sense of marginalization aligns with what sociologists refer to as aggrieved entitlement. This concept describes how privileged groups in multicultural Western societies—especially white middle- and working-class men—feel that they are losing the social dominance once ascribed to them due to changes in the population, economy, and in the family. Privileged groups may feel disadvantaged by changes that have redistributed social and economic privileges they believe were exclusively enjoyed by their families for generations.

Moreover, shifts in gender roles have disrupted traditional masculine roles—such as those of breadwinner, worker, and father—undermined by economic instability, automation, and evolving cultural norms. As a result, feelings of injustice and resentment, particularly among white working- and middle-class men, extend beyond economic loss to encompass cultural disempowerment and identity erosion—sentiments that, in turn, foster ethnocentrism and misogyny.

From Global Power to Existential Anxieties

Migration is an intrinsic part of British history, shaped by its colonial past and the enduring impact of unresolved conflicts in former colonies. Although Britain has historically benefited from migrant labor, economic downturns and demographic changes have fueled anti-migration sentiments that often target ethno-religious migrant groups and deflect attention from failures of the system. Nevertheless, with declining fertility rates and an aging population, the UK increasingly relies on immigration to sustain its working population and labor market.

"Migration is an intrinsic part of British history, shaped by its colonial past and the enduring impact of unresolved conflicts in former colonies.

 

Meanwhile, emerging pronatalist discourses in UK politics—driven by concerns over cultural decline and the shrinking labor force—echo postwar propaganda that sought to reinforce the patriarchal nuclear family and cast reproduction as a civic duty. While pronatalism potentially exacerbates gender inequality, it also raises concerns about xenophobic and exclusionary policies, particularly when demographic decline is framed as a threat to national identity. How the UK navigates the intersecting challenges of migration, demographic shifts, and existential anxieties remains to be seen.

Images: "The East Offering Its Riches to Britannia" by Spiridione Roma (1778), provided by the British Library from its digital collections. Catalogue entry: IOSM F245, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31452944

Read my other blog for topics on history and countercultures

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