Migrants of the British diaspora since the 1960s

This is the first social history to explore the experience of British emigrants from the peak years of the 1960s to the emigration resurgence at the turn of the twentieth century. It scrutinises migrant experiences in Australia, Canada and New Zealand alongside other countries. The book challenges the assumption that the ‘British diaspora’ ended in the 1960s, and explores its gradual reinvention from a post-war migration of austerity to a modern migration of prosperity. Building on previous oral histories of British emigration to single countries in post-war years, it offers a different way of writing migration history based on life histories, but exploring mentalities as well as experiences against a setting of deep social and economic change.

The book charts the decade-by-decade shift in the migration landscape, from the 1970s loss of Britons’ privilege in destination countries and the 1980s urgency of ‘Thatcher’s refugees’, to shifting attitudes to cosmopolitanism and global citizenship by the 1990s. Key moments are the rise of expatriate employment, changing dynamics of love and marriage, the visibility of British emigrants of colour, serial migration practices, and ‘lifestyle’ change ambitions. These are new patterns of discretionary and nomadic migration, which became more common practice from the end of the twentieth century.

The book will appeal to students and teachers of migration history for its unique coverage of modern migration and its novel treatment of migrant mentalities. Its engaging style will also appeal to general readers, especially former and current British migrants, who may well recognise themselves in some of the compelling migration stories.