Multiculturalism and Magic Realism in Zadie Smith's novel White Teeth: Between Fiction and Reality

Sylvia Hadjetian, born in 1979 in Deggendorf, Germany, studied English, French, Spanish and Intercultural Competences as well as teaching German as a foreign language at the University of Regensburg in Germany. She received her Master s degree and 'Staatsexamen' in 2006. During her studies, Sylvia studied at Royal Holloway, University of London, in the United Kingdom and she also worked at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada. Due to her multicultural family background, Sylvia has always been interested in hybridity and multiculturalism, especially that of London. Today she works as an English and French teacher at a secondary school (known as a 'Gymnasium' in German) and lives in Regensburg in south-east Germany.

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Chapter 2., Britain and Immigration:
Immigration to Britain is not a new phenomenon. The flow of ethnic groups, from which the present British population originates, has a long history. The country has seen waves of immigration of different ethnic groups for centuries. Invaders like the Anglo-Saxons and Normans successively populated the country as well as the Irish, for example, as a result of the famines in Ireland in the 19th century. This has to be kept in mind when talking about immigration to Britain and its population as it is composed today.
The success of the novel considered in this book cannot be understood without any knowledge of the history of immigration and certain ethnic minorities in Britain, especially since the end of World War II , as the themes dealt with in the book are closely interlinked with that period of British history. This chapter will give an overview of selected aspects of this phenomenon.
2.1 Britain and Colonialism:
Because of its period of colonial expansion, Britain has had, for several centuries, a tradition of immigration which is reflected nowadays in its multicultural population . But what happened during the period of colonialism for it to result in cultural pluralism in Britain?
Colonialism refers to the seizure of foreign territories by imperial powers like Britain. The inhabitants of these countries are either expelled or suppressed, the land populated with colonisers and the economy exploited. The political power of the colonisers expands to their colonies and the colonisers decide on political issues, the education system and culture. The traditions of the local people are often forbidden or alienated.
Britain expanded its territories and colonies overseas from the 16th century with a climax at the end of the 19th century . Independence began mainly after World War II when most British possessions were decolonised and then founded their own states . As a consequence, the Empire came to a complete end in the 1960s . But most of the former colonies now belong to the Third World and are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of 49 independent states which has evolved from the former British Empire . Its aims are to aid these countries and to promote international understanding, mutual co-operation and consultation among governments and scientific co-operation . Although there are no obligations concerning the education systems in the former colonies, there is a common tradition of English being the language of instruction at school.