Postcolonial Literature and the Windrush Generation
First of all, we can briefly define postcolonialism as a form of literature related to the history of colonialism and its consequences, which include the process of decolonization and the development of the colonies’ independence.
Besides, the prefix “post” has a causal connotation; it means “because”. In fact, a central idea in postcolonial theories was the need to rewrite literature from a local perspective and distance it from the English model taught in colonial education systems.
Moreover, some postcolonial authors are from newly independent nations, such as Samuel Selvon, a Trinidad-born writer and a representative figure of the West Indian Literary Renaissance, and Chinua Achebe, whose work discusses the impact of colonialism in Nigeria, where he was born.
However, there are postcolonial writers who are actually British-born and descendants of immigrants, including Hanif Kureishi, whose father was from Pakistan, but his mother was English. These authors write from a particular, different perspective.
On the other hand, postcolonial writing decenters English Literature, since England ceased to be the literary central point, and literature starts being written in other parts of the world.
The Fall of the British Empire and Postcolonialism
Furthermore, it is known that the 19th century was the golden age for Britain, since a quarter of the globe belonged to them and they were considered the most powerful Empire in the world. However, the fall of the British Empire created the conditions for the emergence of Postcolonial Literature, for the colonies became independent during the post-war period. The first country to achieve its independence was India, in 1947, and then Nigeria and the Caribbean were also led to sovereignty in the 1960s.
Consequently, the British Commonwealth was constituted in 1949. In other words, this was an organization to which the self-governed colonies belonged. Still, this was more of a symbolic institution, representative of the bond between the motherland and its colonies.
Not only did the nationalistic movements contribute to the colonies’ independence. As a result, the UN was created to maintain peace. The United States was also anti-colonial, and, in general, the post-World War II period can be seen as anti-colonial altogether. Besides, colonies were very hard to maintain economically; they were expensive and didn’t give any profit, and the European market was more important.
Decolonization and Education
Territory independence was a trivial element amidst the process of decolonization, as the latter had to eliminate the ideology and culture of the colonizers. Under these circumstances, the education system in these countries, which was mainly British, had to change if their aim was to overcome the binary thinking reflected in the enduring colonial ideology and legacy.
The Windrush Generation
This is formed by the Caribbean writers who were part of a large migration from the colonies to England, their mother-country, in the post-war period. Consequently, the term “Windrush” refers to the name of the ship in which the first wave of immigrants arrived in London.
One of the major causes for this mass migration was that England needed labor, so they invited people from the colonies to essentially reconstruct the country after the war, and these immigrants became British citizens, due to the Nationality Act of 1948. Besides, we can say that this migration wave partly explains England’s multicultural society today.
The first people to migrate were the Caribbeans, and later came Indian and Pakistani citizens. These immigrants had already received an English education, so naturally, they were convinced they had a very strong historical and cultural bond with Britain.
Reception of Immigrants in England
Nevertheless, colonial migration was seen as a racial problem by many who didn’t expect to see such a big scale of migration. Therefore, the English government was worried about too many non-white people living in the country. Immigrants were seen as a danger that could affect England’s racial composition, which was white. Consequently, some politicians with very conservative policies received attention. However, writers had a better reception in England, because people thought they were offering something new.