Abstract
This thesis examines how Caribbean leftists in Britain participated in West Indian national movements between c. 1945-75. Across this period, a political diaspora provided vital political, economic, and logistical support to their peers in the Caribbean. These activists transformed Britain into a vital hub of Caribbean decolonisation, in addition to laying the foundations of a ‘Black British’ society.This thesis is split into 3 parts. Part 1 (chapters 1-2) contextualises Caribbean migration to Britain in the history of Caribbean labour and nationalism after 1834. Chapter 1 traces the history of Caribbean labour organising and anti-colonialism after emancipation. Chapter 2 outlines the migration of Caribbean labour and nationalist politics to Britain after 1945.
Part 2 (chapters 3-5) focuses on Caribbean leftism and nationalism in Britain between 1945 to 1962. Chapter 3 explores how, between 1945 and 1953, as far-left nationalists were increasingly repressed in the Caribbean, their peers in Britain transformed the metropole in Caribbean leftist ‘stronghold.’ Chapter 4 is a case study on the political and personal entanglements between London and the Guyanese national movement between 1951 and 1964. Chapter 5 explores how Caribbean leftists in Britain responded to the rise and fall of the West Indies Federation.
Part 3 (chapter 6) traces how Caribbean leftists responded to growing Caribbean discontent following independence, and the subsequent rise of Black Power in the region.
This dissertation illuminates the entangled histories of Caribbean nationalism and post-war British politics. It expands the history of decolonisation, showing how Britain was a key frontier of Caribbean anti-colonial politics. And it demonstrates how, from the period of the Federation to the 1970s, West Indian emigré radicals contested the emerging West Indian post-colonial order. Their activity challenges contemporary understandings of ‘Black British’ politics in the post-war period.
| Date of Award | 1 Mar 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Richard Drayton (Supervisor) & Sundeep Lidher (Supervisor) |