Commonwealth diaspora

The Commonwealth diaspora is the group of people whose ancestry traces back to countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, a group mainly consisting of former British colonies.

History

Colonial era

Post-war era

In the aftermath of World War 2 and the rapid breakup of the British Empire, Britain invited Commonwealth citizens to immigrate to Britain as part of the post-war rebuilding of the nation. Many of these immigrants faced significant racism. Restrictions on Commonwealth migration to Britain later emerged with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962.

Recent decades

The Commonwealth diaspora in Britain in particular has been identified as a potential asset, allowing Britain to make economic and other connections to other Commonwealth countries, which has been a particularly relevant topic of discussion as Britain charts its post-Brexit future and decides which groupings of countries to focus on working with (such as with the European Union).

Immigration between Commonwealth countries, which makes up half of all Commonwealth migration, has played a significant role in linking Commonwealth countries together economically and culturally.

Sports

Various groups in the Commonwealth diaspora, such as Caribbean diasporas, have been noted for being bound together by the sport of cricket, as well as introducing cricket to a number of countries, such as Canada and the United States.

See also

• British diaspora
• Colonial diaspora

References

Further reading

• Creese, Gillian Laura (2011). The New African Diaspora in Vancouver: Migration, Exclusion, and Belonging. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-1159-7.