British History – maturitní otázka (2)

Otázka: British History

Jazyk: Angličtina

Přidal(a): Ondra

Early 20^th century

1901-queen Victoria died, Edward VII ascended the throne
social movements flourished, attempts to change the society (i.e.Fabiaan Society)
free school meals, pensions for elderly, national insurance for the poor, etc.

great strikes, strong labour unions, the Labour Party was created
1912-1922 – the Irish Revolution – the Irish republicans wanted to gain independence
1916 – Easter Rebellion – an armed uprising in Dublin was brutally suppressed by the British
1918 – Ireland declared Irish Free State
the Irish Republican Army was created
women used civil disobedience to gain suffrage
all of these calmed down when WWI began

the scramble for colonial possessions led to conflicts among the European powers
Triple Entente v. Triple Alliance
1914 – a Serbian nationalist assassinated the Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Britain entered the war after German troops marched through Belgium to attack France
Lloyd George – minister of war and then prime minister – expanded the use of machine guns and tanks
food was rationed, a military draft was introduced (men aged 18 to 41)
trench warfare along the border between France and Germany
1916 – Battle of Somme, 1917 – Battle of Ypres
1919 – Treaty of Versailles – punishment for Germany: reparation payments, limitations on army, loss of colonies

high unemployment (almost ¼ of the working force was unemployed)
1929 – world-wide depression began
by 1935 most sectors of the economy were recovering
Britain’s vast empire became costly and hard to maintain
1931 – the colonies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa became independent countries and formed the Commonwealth
countries – a loose confederation with historic ties to Britain

1938 – Germany annexed Austria, seized the western half of Czechoslovakia and then in 1939 occupied the rest and invaded Poland
Britain and France declared war on Germany
Allied powers (UK, USSR, USA) v. Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan)
American loans allowed Britain to import food and war materials
1940-Battle of Britain (Royale Air force v. Luftwaffe)
1941- Japanese conquered Singapore
1942- Started operations on German territory (Operation Telemark, operation Anthropoid)
1942-Battle of El Alamein (Montgomery defeated Rommel)
1943-Sicily Invasion, and Italy campaign
1943 – the Royal Air Force began bombardment of Germany
1944 – D-Day invasion – Allied troops landed in France – Germany was pushed back
1944- Operation Market Garden (British suffered heavy losses)
May 1945 – the war ended

continuation of rationing
program of nationalization began
UK took advantage of the Marshall Plan – four-year economic program designed by the US to revitalize the economies

UK ended presence in India because of the costs of peacekeeping (Hindus x Muslims)
1956 – Egyptian leader seized the Suez Canal
1961 – South Africa left the Commonwealth
Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya developed into republics

1952 – accession of Elizabeth II
1973 – UK became a member of the European Economic Community (pre-EU)
1979 – Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister
Thatcher’s government started privatizing industry, relaxing government regulations, etc., it caused interest rates and unemployment reach post-war highs
by mid-80’s the interest rates and mortgages were brought down
the Conservative party was divided, 1990 – Thatcher resigned
1997 – Tony Blair became prime minister when the revived New Labour won the election
Blair made the Bank of England independent of government