Putting the British Empire into perspective

Windrush Generation

After World War II ended, Britain developed polices to encourage people from the Caribbean colonies to immigrate to the UK because the country needed labour force. These immigrants came to be known as the Windrush Generation, after the name of the first ship with immigrants that reached the UK. These policies were implemented between 1948 and 1971 when the UK gave all immigrants that arrived until then the right to become permanent residents of the country.

However, this also had some negative effects because many children of these immigrants could not actually become UK citizens even after having lived for decades in the country. In 2018, the British Prime Minister issued a formal apology to these people for being discriminated against and for not being allowed to apply for UK citizenship despite paying taxes and living in the country for so long.

Historical legacy of the Empire

Being under British rule for decades or centuries meant that Britain and its colonial culture has had a strong influence over many former colonies. For example, throughout its territories, the Empire’s official language was English. Many of the former colonies, therefore, retain English as a second official language - and even ...