Post-war Representations of British Caribbean Food Markets
The proverbial “you are what you eat” suggests that what someone consumes is indicative of their overall health and their identity. The expression reflects historical beliefs on nourishment shaping constitution and is an example of the way that language about food has been embedded in social attitudes about identity. When islands of the Caribbean were colonized by European settlers, colonists often expressed anxiety about the potential for an exotic diet to shape their own constitution. Grappling with Britain’s food history is important since a large part of the project of colonialism was to search for, and profit off, “new” food and ingredients.
Caribbean food markets provided not only economic mobility but also space for cultural expression and solidarity. In 2010 Brixton Markets became a Grade II Listed Building in part for recognition as “the commercial and social heart of the extensive Afro-Caribbean community that settled in Brixton after WWII.” Historically Caribbean food markets have served as space for entrepreneurship and resistance for colonial subjects across the British Empire. Today Caribbean food markets remain symbols of community building and cultural expression for Black British people.
The historical roots of Caribbean food markets trace back to the transatlantic slave trade when enslaved peoples adapted markets as spaces for economic autonomy and community building. Enslaved peoples retained land to cultivate food and generate income by selling surplus produce to challenge the plantation system during and after slavery. In addition to providing a means for financial freedom, food markets also became hubs for cultural interaction and expression.
Following World War II, migrants from the formerly colonized British West Indies were invited to Britain to help rebuild the country’s healthcare and transport systems. The British Nationality Act 1948 extended residency and employment rights in Britain to Commonwealth citizens and their families. The Commonwealth of Nations is an international association including many countries that were formerly colonized by the British Empire. The arrival of Caribbean migrants to post-war Britain, often depicted as beginning with the 1948 arrival of the passenger ship HMT Empire Windrush, reshaped the culinary landscape of post-war cities like Brixton.
Located in South London, Brixton emerged as a shopping hub in the late nineteenth century. The district had suffered heavy bombing during World War II and was experiencing urban decay and a housing crisis. Across the 1950s Caribbean migrants were largely housed in the Brixton area. A 1955 Pathé News segment, “Our Jamaican Problem,” provides insight into early perceptions of a growing Caribbean population in Britain. Initially the migration of West Indians was widely seen as jeopardizing the national workforce and state resources. The narrator suggests that Britain appears to provide a solution for those who cannot afford food at home. The next shot is juxtaposed with footage of Brixton market, as a ‘happier place’.
The arrival of Caribbean migrants was sensationalized as a direct threat to local development and resource allocation across the country. National media oscillated between representations of Commonwealth migration as a cultural threat and also an opportunity for cultural enrichment. This uncertainty reflected broader social anxieties surrounding immigration and multiculturalism in the post-war period. Alongside growing concerns about ‘foreign’ people, produce imported from the Caribbean was framed as ‘exotic’ and ‘strange’. Post-war depictions of British Caribbean food markets show the close relationship between food and identity.
By the 1960s Brixton market was considered the hub of Black Britain. In response to heavy policing and limited access to public spaces in Britain, Caribbean migrants began to establish their own food shops. The 1961 Pathé News video “Caribbean Market” portrays the market at Brixton’s Grandville Arcade as a tropical destination that is “flourishing” and they outline the potential “profit” to be gained from the “blending of different worlds” happening at the arcade. Just one year later, the government passed the Commonwealth Immigrant Act 1962 which restricted immigration for Commonwealth migrants.
The 1969 BBC Nationwide segment “Has England embraced exotic food?,” set in Brixton, addressed the “typical Englishman” against renditions of the Rule, Britannia! song. Sweet potato, yam, okra, and cho cho are described as “exotic” vegetables that the British population is adapting to. Market vendors observe that peppers, once favored by “foreigners,” are now gaining popularity among British people. Sonia Nolan, credited as “cook,” demonstrates how to prepare a green pepper, as well as how to peel, and chop yam and sweet potato. Sonia reassures viewers not to judge these foods by their appearance, although they may seem unusual at first. To close the video, the narrator makes reference to the “great” British Explorers, offering nostalgia for a time of colonial rule: “So there you go, typical Englishman. Your illustrious ancestors Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain Cook had adventure on the high seas. And now you also, ever adaptable, typical Englishman, can add spice to your life and adventure to your meals.”
Food has played a pivotal role in shaping identity, heritage, and culture and today food remains a significant feature of material culture in Britain. Food is integral to society, often reflecting norms, values, and beliefs.
This means that studying foodways can be necessary for understanding identity, power and colonial history in the African diaspora. This sheds light on the normalization of responses and opinions about global foods and how consumption choices, in Britain and across its colonial empire, have been intertwined with notions of civilization and citizenship. In attempts to ‘civilize’ populations under Empire rule, colonialism shaped attitudes about culinary habits and conveyed attitudes about culture and identity.
Food imperialism is concerned with restricting people’s food choices and gaining control over a global economic market. British Caribbean food markets can be viewed as sites of both cultural exchange and oppression, revealing complex dynamics influenced by post-war migration patterns and socio-economic disparities. The depictions of Brixton market reflect conflicting attitudes towards multiculturalism in Britain and underscore the tensions surrounding issues of race, citizenship, and economic resources.
In contrast to prevailing media narratives of Britain as both “mother country” and “stable provider,” Caribbean authors offered a counter-narrative to the othering of Caribbean culture by asserting agency in identity formation through food consumption and reporting on the lack of choice in British food. Jamaican poet and playwright Una Marson’s 1937 poem “Quashie comes to London,” expressed dismay at the absence of breadfruit, ackee and saltfish, and dumplings. Jamaican politician Dudley Thompson and poet H.D. Carberry co-authored the 1949 pamphlet West Indian on England, which was distributed by the Colonial Office to Caribbean citizens, included a section for understanding post-war rationing. Novels like Barbadian writer George Lamming’s 1954 The Emigrants and Trinidadian writer Samuel Selvon’s 1956 The Lonely Londoners offered a different perspective on migration to and life in Britain. Both authors depict the challenging processes of migration and settlement in Britain, whilst documenting struggles with housing and employment and early dissatisfaction with the quality and quantity of food available in Britain.
The exploration of post-war representations of British Caribbean food markets offers insight into the complex legacies of colonialism and food as a site of contestation, resistance and cultural expression. By focusing on narratives about Caribbean food markets, we can see how the language used to describe produce reflects certain attitudes about immigration and multiculturalism in Britain. The depiction of Caribbean people and produce as cultural threat sits against the portrayal of diversity as something to be explored for the benefit of the British Empire.
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