British Empire

The impact of the First World War

The aftermath of World War I saw the last major extension of British rule, with Britain gaining control through League of Nations Mandates in Palestine and Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, as well as in the former German colonies of Tanganyika, South-West Africa (now Namibia) and New Guinea (the last two actually under South African and Australian rule respectively). The British zones of occupation in the German Rhineland after World War I and West Germany after World War II were not considered part of the Empire.

Related Topics:
World War I - League of Nations Mandate - Palestine - Iraq - Ottoman Empire - Tanganyika - Namibia - New Guinea - Rhineland

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But although Britain emerged among the war's victors, and her rule expanded into new areas, the heavy costs of the war undermined her capacity to maintain the vast empire. The British had suffered millions of casualties and liquidated assets at an alarming rate, which led to debt accumulation, upending of capital markets and manpower deficiencies in the staffing of far-flung imperial posts in Asia and the African colonies. Nationalist sentiment grew in both old and new Imperial territories, fuelled by pride at Empire troops' participation in the war and the grievance felt by many non-white ex-servicemen at the racial discrimination they had encountered during their service to the Empire.

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The 1920s saw a rapid transformation of Dominion status. Although the Dominions had had no formal voice in declaring war in 1914, each was included separately among the signatories of the 1919 peace Treaty of Versailles, which had been negotiated by a British-led united Empire delegation. In 1922 Dominion reluctance to support British military action against Turkey influenced Britain's decision to seek a compromise settlement.

Related Topics:
1920s - 1914 - 1919 - Treaty of Versailles - 1922 - Turkey

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Full Dominion independence was formalised in the 1926 Balfour Declaration and the 1931 Statute of Westminster: each Dominion was henceforth to be equal in status to Britain herself, free of British legislative interference and autonomous in international relations. The Dominions section created within the Colonial Office in 1907 was upgraded in 1925 to a separate Dominions Office and given its own Secretary of State in 1930.

Related Topics:
1926 - Balfour Declaration - 1931 - Statute of Westminster - 1907 - 1925 - 1930

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Canada led the way, becoming the first Dominion to conclude an international treaty entirely independently (1923) and obtaining the appointment (1928) of a British High Commissioner in Ottawa, thereby separating the administrative and diplomatic functions of the Governor-General and ending the latter's anomalous role as the representative of the head of state and of the British Government. Canada's first permanent diplomatic mission to a foreign country opened in Washington, DC in 1927: Australia followed in 1940.

Related Topics:
1923 - 1928 - Ottawa - Washington, DC - 1927 - 1940

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Egypt, formally independent from 1922 but bound to Britain by treaty until 1936 (and under partial occupation until 1956) similarly severed all constitutional links with Britain. Iraq, which became a British Protectorate in 1922, also gained complete independence ten years later in 1932.

Related Topics:
1922 - 1936 - 1956 - Iraq

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The last colonial expansion of the British Empire was the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme, begun in 1938 and abandoned in 1963. The last territorial expansion of the British Empire was the annexation of Rockall to the west of the Outer Hebrides in 1955. The Royal Navy landed a party of seamen on the isle and officially claimed the rock in the name of the Queen. The action was prompted by the imminent intention of the Ministry of Defence to test launch a nuclear missile from the Outer Hebrides. It was feared that the heretofore unclaimed island might be used by the Soviet Union as a site for surveillance equipment. In 1972 the Isle of Rockall Act formally incorporated the island into the United Kingdom, although this was not accepted by Ireland.

Related Topics:
Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme - 1938 - 1963 - Rockall - Outer Hebrides - Royal Navy - Ministry of Defence - Soviet Union - 1972 - Isle of Rockall Act - Ireland

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The end of British rule in Ireland

In 1919 Irish guerrillas, known as the Irish Republican Army under the leadership of General Michael Collins began a military campaign against British rule called the Anglo-Irish War. The war ended in 1921 with a stalemate that resulted in the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The treaty divided Ireland into two states, most of the island (26 counties) became the Irish Free State an independent dominion nation within the British Commonwealth; while the six counties in the north with a loyalist Protestant community remained apart of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland.

Related Topics:
Guerrillas - Irish Republican Army - Michael Collins - Anglo-Irish War - Anglo-Irish Treaty - Irish Free State - British Commonwealth - United Kingdom - Northern Ireland

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In 1948 Ireland became a republic, fully independent from the United Kingdom. Ireland's Constitution claimed the six counties of Northern Ireland as a part of the Republic of Ireland until 1998. The issue over whether Northern Ireland should remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland has divided Northern Ireland's people and led to a long and bloody conflict known as the troubles.

Related Topics:
1948 - Ireland - Republic - United Kingdom - Constitution - Northern Ireland - The troubles

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However the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought about a ceasefire between most of the major organisations on both sides, creating hope for a peaceful resolution.

Related Topics:
Good Friday Agreement - 1998

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