The Commonwealth diaspora is the group of people who have emigrated from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, a group mainly consisting of former British colonies. ^[a]

History

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. ^[2] Many of these immigrants faced significant racism. ^{[3] [4]} Restrictions on Commonwealth migration to Britain later emerged with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962. ^[5]

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). ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Sports

Various groups in the Commonwealth diaspora, such as Caribbean diasporas, ^{[9] [10]} have been noted for being bound together by the sport of cricket, ^{[11] [12]} as well as introducing cricket to a number of countries, such as Canada and the United States. ^{[13] [14]}

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.