Built by migrants, not druids
Bubble — By Tom Fowler on March 17, 2010 7:00 am
Henry Bruce's plundering of Nigeria earned him commemoration in Cardiff. Yet we deny his and others' legacy in our attitudes to modern immigration
MIGRATION is one of the most contentious issues of modern times. Add the “im-” prefix and it’s practically a swear word in some circles. If public debate around the issue is ever given any lip service, it generally has a whiff of racism, or more increasingly the stench of fascism about it.
The right-wing gutter press have managed to file ‘bogus asylum seekers’ and ‘illegal immigrants’ into the same category as child killers and sex offenders. There is so much that can be said to counter tabloid lies on immigration that it would be easy to fill a whole article with facts refuting them. But that may not be necessary when a simple sketch of a rarely-articulated history of Wales serves so much better to undercut the dominant right-wing discourse on migration.
Opponents of immigration often fix upon the notion of an indigenous culture that requires defending from outside influence, a ‘way of life’ that is under attack from foreigners. The ‘shared identity’ of the nation-state is appealed to, promoting the idea that the interests of all indigenous people are separate to those of ‘foreigners’.
This imagined community of a country is a construct. Even in a small nation like Wales most people never know, meet, or even hear of most of their fellow countrymen. Any concept of national identity is not innate and unchanging, but fragile, contested, and constructed over time. The hegemonic concept of national identity serves as a means of social control to dissuade the working people of one country from making natural alliances with the global multitude.
British imperialism led to the colonisation of over 57 countries (mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries), and the economic opportunities offered by the sprawl of empire meant that many ambitious Welshmen were able to make fortunes as slavers and plantation owners. By the late 18th Century this wealth began to be brought back to Wales, and financed the foundations of the industrial growth that was to follow. From the ironworks at Cyfarthfa in Merthyr Tydfil to the harbour of Port Penrhyn at Bangor, industrial infrastructure was built on the profits of imperial conquest and slavery.
The industrial revolution affected the culture of Wales to such a point that we can almost consider anything before it as mere preamble. For the vast majority of its history the population of Wales never rose above half a million. It was only with the onset of industrialisation and the mass migration of workers to fuel the new industries that our population rose.
The size and scale of this population explosion cannot be underestimated. The figures tell their own story: by the time of the economic crisis of 1921 the population had grown by over two million. This movement into Wales was out of step with the rest of Europe. Between 1846 and 1914, 43 million people left for the United States, every European nation was seeing an outward flow of workers to the new world. Every nation except Wales. In the decade before the First World War, the rate of immigration into Wales was second only to that of the USA.
Although much of this inward migration was from other parts of Britain and from Ireland, many came from much further afield. It was not until 1905, under the weight of xenophobic agitation against Eastern-European Jews, that the UK passed the first “Aliens Act”, which enshrined the ability of the state to reject the pleas of people fleeing persecution or seeking a better life. The entire current migration-management system, with its web of detention centres, checkpoints and army of agents, can be traced back to this one piece of anti-Semitic legislation.
Without the mass migration that resulted from industrialisation, and fuelled by the wealth of imperialism, Wales as we currently understand and experience it simply would not exist. Any recognisably separate identity to that of England would have disappeared into the footnotes of history. Over a period of four generations, from the late 18th to the early 20th Century, these immigrants were thoroughly absorbed, creating a melting pot that gave birth to a unique culture. A culture which defines “Welshness” far more keenly than any bardic ceremony.
The movement of people generally follows the movement of wealth. It is no surprise that while the British ruling class conquered and exploited much of the world, people living in these impoverished and plundered areas followed the wealth to the UK. In the same way that the straight lines that divide so much of the world were drawn by Western statesmen as arbitrary divisions of colonial “possessions”, the infrastructure of border control acts as a clumsy attempt to avoid the payback of imperialist conquest.
The failure to give any realistic form of reparation to former colonies has created vast numbers of dispossessed people. Modern travel now means that these people are able to move to the former imperial states and work to send money home. This migrant work has become the bedrock of many economies where the “brightest and best” are encouraged to work overseas to simulate the domestic situation. People dispossessed by imperialist domination during the age of empire, and more recent neo-colonialism, fully deserve the opportunity to enjoy a share of the wealth that was taken from them.
We in the Welsh working class need to recognise migrant workers for what they are: fellow exploited people, shaped and buffeted by the same forces that created our own unequal economic position. Migrants are not a separate social group, they are labour on the move. As such they are fellow-competitors for the crumbs from the rich man’s table, and also potential allies in the struggle for an equal society.
Tags: immigration, industrial history, journalism, racism
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85 Comments
“If that’s your idea of a working-class utopia, you can stick it. I’m all for STRONGER borders. Rebuild Offas Dyke, put passport booths on the Severn Bridges.”
Al – you really should write a piece for us
There is a sneering contempt towards those of us who don’t speak ‘the mother tongue’ in these comments. You can taste the snobbishness in the air when Newport is mentioned.
We in south east Wales are as Welsh as any Cardigan farmer. DEAL WITH IT.
“We in south east Wales are as Welsh as any Cardigan farmer. DEAL WITH IT.”
A point more often than not made by Welsh nationalists who support bilingualism and want independence.
Is it not notable how conservative many Nationalists are. Take Al for instance: he is all for culture, and celebrates the changes in Welsh culture over the years. He now wants it to stop immediately no change ever again. He can cope with that Jethro Tull and his new fangled seed drill, but anything beyond that has to stop immediately.
heheh.. on the contrary, I am involved in social media and networking, and am pushing for high-speed broadband roll out faster. And better rail links. And a place in Europe. And a seat at the UN. But these have to be things we consciously work towards, rather than things that just happen when we’re not looking, that we sleepwalk into, then turn around and say “wow… when did they build that Starbucks? That was the National Museum last time I drove past”.
There is change that enhances our lives, our culture, our country. Then there is change that happens to the detriment of the above, and happens just for the sake of happening.
“Wales played a full role in British imperialism, to the point where six of the 10 most common African-American surnames in use today are Welsh in origin. That suggests a disproportionately high proportion of plantation (and therefore slave) owners came from this country.”
No it does not. Not all slaves took the names of their former slave owners. The former slaves took the names of famous people etc. generals, politicians and preachers, they also took place names.It was also common in the African American community to change the surname if it was one the newer generation did not like. This pracitice came to an end when social security was brought in around the time of the first world war.I do accept that there were slave owners who came from Wales, equally there was also Welsh involvement in the abolition movement.
Yes we participated in empire building but mainly as soldiers,citing barons lords and englishman, Richard Pennant, as examples of how the Welsh fully participated in Empire somewhat weakens the argument I feel.
However, enough nit picking!
The abandonment of communities once the wealth had been extracted, and the cavalier attitude to what happens to the people in these communities is global.The working class everywhere have been shafted and I include Wales. The working class in Britain who want better opportuntities and a better quality of life emigrate to various countries, and no one seems to question their right to do so. I absolutely support peoples right to come here without any qualification.History has shown that immigration into south Wales has on the whole been positive.
Oh dear. Obviously Tom has taken my comment about “middle class” angst a little too personally. I didn’t mean to belittle his “right on” working class credentials.
In any case Tom goes on to cite yet another Toff – Baron Aberdare – as somehow representative of Wales’ “participation” in the British Empire. Which just backs up my point. Wales’ involvement in the growth of the empire was largely driven by a particular class of people – call them the Crachach if you like.
They are the descendants of the colonial class imposed on this country by Norman-English rule. They owned most of the land. The Capital, on the other hand, at least for the early stages of the Industrial revolution, was provided by English entrepreneurs on the lookout for a quick buck. The Crawshays, Guests, Hills – all English.
I think maybe what Tom and some other posters are referring to in their critique is Cultural Nationalism.Is this type of nationalism representative of Wales? Not necessarily. Immigration certainly helped to create a distinctive culture in South Wales towards the end of the 19th/start of the 20th century.
I think it likely for example that Spanish and Italian immigration brought syndicalist ideas current in Europe into parts of the valleys – these ideas formed elements of the radical philosophy of documents like “The Miners Next Step”. It was still a product of the distinctly welsh culture of south wales, but it’s likely that immigration helped to bring in new strands of thinking that fed into the radical ferment of a working class culture that was struggling to redefine itself in the face of rapid change.
“They are the descendants of the colonial class imposed on this country by Norman-English rule.”
So, in summary: the only Welsh imperialists were in fact English. I think we could perhaps invent a new nationality test here. If you’re bad, you’re English, but if you’re good you can be Welsh.
That would make the whole thing a good deal easier.
Suz – good contribution.
I feel the majority of the comments miss the point of this article. Shame that so many would rather discuss history over immigration.
Oddly enough I thought this article was a history lesson. My response, so what? What happened 100 years ago is not my responsibility.
The article surely was a discussion in how concepts of National identity can cause us to oppose immigration. In my view opposing immigration is bad for Wales.
Michael (obviously another one who would have thought it) The problem is we have not learned the lessons of history so what happened 100 years ago is crucial. It is easy to dismiss events if you were not the victims.
Would one of you two Michael’s mind differentiating yourself from the other please? Thanks.
While the arguments this article has provoked are interesting, I believe the main theme has been mostly bypassed. I thought it was generally conceded that Wales (particularly the South) as we now know it was built upon the Industrial revolution, which of course brought around mass migration in the search for work. Fundamentally Tom’s argument on the public perception of “immigrants” is agreeable. Through the mass media, the colonisers who in times past have done everything possible to destroy cultures and national identities different to their own, now show people the contempt of using them as a tool to evoke some ill perceived mentality of British national pride.
Where does this type of Nationalism end?, undoubtedly at the least with some diluted version of Fascism. It is a tragic state of current affairs that the Welsh Defence League had enough support to stage two demonstrations in Wales last year – which would have been three, were it not for the people of Newport and various support groups efforts to send a message to the W.D.L. that they embrace living in their multi racial communities, and were willing to fight to defend them. The fact the W.D.L. managed to attract people to their cause (I use the term lightly), is mainly down to the influence of television and the press, hand in hand with grim economic futures and genuine fear.
While cultural identity is important and sacred it is also history. We cannot change the past or right the wrongs of the imperialists. What we can hope to do however, is shape the future. In today’s world, communities are ever changing and evolving, this is natural. People have been segregated and alienated from each other by the use of divide and rule and fear for far too long. Why do some people have the right to go anywhere in the world and others not?. Talk of reparations is farcical as people can’t even get apologies let alone dues. Why shouldn’t people want better lives for themselves?, especially when they are coming from countries used as battlegrounds by the elite, who show no regard for human life.
The Immigration system is fundamentally flawed and institutionally racist (as the recent expose from the U.K.B.A. in Cardiff reaffirms). What the world needs is humanitarianism not patriotism. I also agree that the workers of the world are our natural allies rather than the corrupt governments that pretend to have our interests at heart (while repeatedly reducing public funding to increase military prowess).
Happy to Adam I will mow use Michael T.
I made all the Michael comments except comment 11.
” Oddly enough I thought this article was a history lesson. My response, so what? What happened 100 years ago is not my responsibility.”
tks
The WDL was outnumbered in both Swansea and Wrecsam by anti-fascist demonstrators, with many Welsh flags being present amongst the Swansea anti-racists.
Its worth properly analysing the WDL and looking at how they failed to rally any new support to their cause.
In Swansea, a group of far-right football hooligans (locals) were joined by racsists bussed in from England. According to anti-fascists the local racists were less in number than the bussed in ones. A genuinely community-based demonstration stood their ground and opposed the WDL/EDL, defeating them. People in Swansea did not rush out to support the Nazis, they came out with Welsh flags and stood alongside Muslims in opposing them. Swansea was united by that.
In Wrecasm the EDL came down with Bolton FC flags, St George’s flags and Rule Britannia chants. It isn’t even clear that any local racists came out to support them. They got blanked and abused by local people and had to leave for their own well-being.
The story of the EDL trying to enter Wales is one of modern Welsh communities completely rejecting the anti-Muslim message and driving the racists off the streets. In the whole of Wales less than 50 people from Wales actually felt strongly enough to support the anti-Muslim groups.
Far more important is the fact that it was ordinary Welsh people that stood their ground and defended their communities against these vile ideas.
Yes and will use my name and status to differentiate myself from my namesake. No, I do care about immigrants and how they are treated.
However, anyone who has done some history in school, or watched Gandhi or read “Heart of Darkness” know about the evils of colonialism.
It’s not me you need to convince that what is printed in the gutter press is not true. Its the millions of those who would not in their worse imaginations would see themselves as BNP supporters, however they say “if they dont like it here, why dont they just go back?”
The fact that certain individuals of Welsh extraction (such as a certain Mr Stanley of Congo fame) were nasty characters should not be identified with Welsh nationalism or even Wales itself.
I agree with Tom’s article on the evils of racism, but I think we have to deal with the now.
Xenophobia is universal and knows no borders.
When “Michael the immigrant” writes …
The fact that certain individuals of Welsh extraction (such as a certain Mr Stanley of Congo fame) were nasty characters should not be identified with Welsh nationalism or even Wales itself.
… does he urge the writers of history to create lies for the future, our past is just that, our past, and as such we owe it to the future to be honest?
Welsh ramblings
I was present at the Swansea demo. While the anti fascists clearly outnumbered the W.D.L./ E.D.L. they used the same tactics as the W.D.L. (obviously to better affect). Are you trying to suggest that everyone there was from Swansea?, The U.A.F. bussed in people from all over the country also. The local people I came into contact with all commented that if Swansea F.C. had not been away that day, the racists numbers would have been dramatically higher. As for the Wrexham protest I can not really comment as I was not present. It is perhaps worth noting that the W.D.L. posted on their website, that they were unwilling to come to Newport because the anti racist feeling there was too strong and they did not want the confrontation. The fact that they showed up in Swansea and Wrexham suggests they did not feel those places were as opposed to their teachings of hate as they did Newport.
To dismiss racism in Wales is totally ubsurd. I used the W.D.L. as an example of how racist sentiments are growing (they were not getting any publicity in mainstream media two years ago), Obviously I can only speak from personal experience but people I come into contact with all have the same misconceptions of immigrants (which is a point Tom was trying to raise I believe), that they come over here abuse our benefits system, take our jobs so on and so forth. Unfortunately I think it’s fair to say this is not a massive generalisation. Whether the W.D.L./ E.D.L. had 5000, 500 or 50 is missing the point. In this day and age, in a country where the people are as tolerable as any other in the world I believe, this should not even be an issue let alone an event. But it was and thats down to the mainstream media filling peoples head with pure lies. It is in Governments interest to promote this and break solidarity betweeen people who may join together to make this world a place where people are put before profits.
I assume that Wrexham was chosen because it is full of migrants – isn’t that what you call people who have come from other countries? Do people from merseyside count? And Cheshire, Shropshire, and so on – because Wrexham has a huge population of residents with their roots in English counties. And many of these complain about migrant workers. Oh the irony!!
Matthew A, we are singing from the same hymn sheet. I am a Welsh blogger and blogged about the WDL/EDL protests quite alot, and about the BNP. I would be the last person to play down the problem of fascism and racism- and also the fact that Wales is potentially among the most fertile places in western Europe for fascism to get a foot hold. But when fascism is defeated, we surely also have a duty to report that and celebrate it. A narrative of paranoia and fear will do us no good.
“It is in Governments interest to promote this and break solidarity betweeen people who may join together to make this world a place where people are put before profits.”
I agree, one needs only to look at the statements made by Labour UK Govt Ministers in ‘getting tough on immigration’. I made the point on my blog before that this doesn’t neutralise the BNP it legitimises them and allows them to claim that they’ve forced concessions on the government.
However, I believe the Welsh Government’s approach is completely different, and several of its members including Ministers were attending the same demos we have been discussing and confronting the fascists. Nor has the Welsh Government ever made any statement about migrants or asylum seekers other than positive ones, as anyone involved in Tom Fowler’s No Borders South Wales group could attest. You only have to look at Edwina Hart (Labour Health Minister)’s anger over the removal of Ama Sumani by UK border forces (beyond her control or influence) from Welsh hospitals, or Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru)’s campaign for the Azerbaijani poet whose campaign i’m sure you were also involved in.
In terms of government attitudes towards refugees and migrants, we have a completely progressive and socialist government on our hands when it comes to Wales.
Everyone should recognise the difference between 1) and 2)
1) “Although much of this inward migration was from other parts of Britain and from Ireland, many came from much further afield.” ie mostly internal migration
2) “Because of the Pakistani population’s desire to create “ethnic colonies”, he said, the best Bradford could hope for in the long term was accommodation rather than integration.”
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Fascism-and-Islamism-thrive-in.3810805.jp
I used to live in Birmingham.
Obviously the city grew very fast during the 19th century – lots of inward migration for instance from Wales and Ireland, and from all over England. Industrialisation enabled a higher population level to be sustained. Generally speaking what cultural difference that existed was fairly compatible – the Irish would get pissed in Sparkbrook and fight, but so what?
There was great pride in the metal bashing, the 1000 trades, the local clubs and societies and pubs, the Villa, the Blues and so on.
Beyond that there would be a lot of friendly banter with Cockneys and “Yam Yams” – but we had/have loads in common. We are part of the same nation, we have a common heritage.
Now inner Birmingham is effectively an Islamic colony. The signs of colonisation are readily apparent to all but the blind
Half our stuff is apparently “haram” – there are Islamic centres, hordes of kids going to madrassas, halal establishments, burkhas, radio masts pointed at Saudi.
There is no synthesis – the Brummies now living in Alum Rock are too old, too poor, too wrecked to leave. It is as simple as that.
The British people owe nothing to anybody; this is because the material condition of most of them was so low historically that it is apparent to all but a swivel-eyed ideologue that they didn’t enjoy the benefit of their own labour, let alone anyone else’s.
And therein lies the problem: business and war (or the business of war) is driving immigration. Social necessities are an afterthought.
Devils Advocate for a minute:
Boat-load of Saxons? Ah, give them a farm in Kent. It’s not like their culture, language and laws are going to spread out throughout the whole of Brittania or anything, is it? But then their land gets bigger. Their language and customs spread. Soon there are laws protecting them. And they spread. Soon the Saxon takes precedent over the Briton in law. And so it spreads. Later laws are cast AGAINST the Britons and their language.. and it spreads. Soon English becomes the official culture of this island. And it spreads. And grows.
Vast tracts of land with freely migrating populations are Empire, and as such is a construct by the few, it isn’t natural. Tribalism is the natural state of human or animal affairs. Assuming we wish to move away from the herd/pack mentality, to “evolve”, how do we do it? A free-for-all?
Even if you go back as far as Rome, and their mass multicultural experiment, it wasn’t a free-for-all, there were a common monetary framework, a lingua franca, a common religious framework, a set of common laws even in the Civitas. During the Byzantine Empire, The Ottoman Empire, the Frankish Empire, the Napoleonic Empire, the British Empire, there was still that common framework that is necessary for people to work together. (Even if you fast-forward to a futuristic utopian “Star-Trek” type Federation, they still all talk the same, dress the same, follow the same laws. Commonality. Integration.)
However, this modern Empire (that only exists in the mind, and in EU border law) has none of those common frameworks. Well, it has the monetary framework, but that’s it. Which is why you get the enclaves Roger talks about. And unless there is a need or compulsion to integrate, then why should they? I wouldn’t.
Assuming that we all agree that empire is a bad thing (mostly for the peoples under occupation) and we remove empire, then what do we do? Build up nation states again? Have one “global empire”? or just let chaos and the free markets run their course?
This is my issue with No-Borders. For there to effectively be “no borders”, when there needs to be empiric control, it won’t work without it. Infact, without the empiric control of the Valleys, for example, without that mixing under one flag and one language, there would probably be Welsh towns and English towns to this day, not the mix that we have. (or worse, the Welsh would have driven the English settlers out long ago).
@Al and @Roger
Do you believe that:
Because the beauty of the Welsh native language must not perish from the earth; we must secure the existence of our people and a future for Welsh children?
@Dai – absolutely, it’s the most important thing there is. Everything else is just frippery, transient
@Al
FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Words
not much of a jump really.
Dai
I’ve approved this comment, despite some anxiety about the direction you appear to want to take this discussion. Please note our Comment Policy: There’s a difference between robust debate and accusing someone of racism. Please make sure you stay the right side of this divide.
Thanks
Adam
@Dai: very clever, but it’s a huge jump actually. You’re missing one part of the puzzle: Wales/Welsh isn’t a bloodline, a race, it is a fellowship, with a common language for all peoples who live within its borders. A beautiful, ancient language and culture. Anyone can be Welsh… whether they live in Wales or not – all it takes is wanting to be it! Wanting to speak it! Then you’re in.
So it’s not the same thing as that page you linked to (I feel dirty for even clicking on it), and I take offence at the accusation.
@Al
Does this mean you would be in favour of abolishing all immigration controls provided it were coupled with compulsory education in the Welsh language for all non-native speakers?
Looking at the issue outside the confines of Wales for a moment, when we sober up from indulging in the lofty ideals ‘free movement of peoples’, we are confronted by the realization that on an increasingly over populated planet, unrestricted movement will result not just in the death of cultures and nations, but the demise of our planet as a whole.
I love my country, regardless of who built it, where we are from. Even if it was the rift valley. I refute the United Kingdom, and the rule of Westminster.
For all those interested in an analysis of fascism and the left, including the State, the EDL, tactics and strategy I have found this ‘talk’ useful:
A large part of the first video is historical which is interesting, more relevant from 25mins onwards:
http://vimeo.com/13131154
http://vimeo.com/13128522
Thanks for the links Richard, some interesting titbits of left wing history but I did find the speaker and jargonistic terminology difficult going. I disagree with a fair bit of it, especially the idea that ‘no platform’ has failed to hold back the far right at all. That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s failings of course.
The speaker is wrong about the nature of the EDL front group in Wales, the Welsh Defence League (WDL) don’t promote a any form of welsh nationalism. The political ideology of the group is very confused, but is definitely loyalist in nature. Interestingly, though they claim not to be linked to any political party, prominent members expressed support for UKIP at the last election (though the same people have previously been members of the BNP).
The WDL a very small organisation that are difficult to take seriously (no matter how many threats they issue). Here’s an article I recently wrote about them:
http://www.radicalwales.org/2010/07/do-you-believe-in-welsh-defence-league.html