Otázka: British History
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Ondra
Early 20th 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.
Political Movements
- 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
World War I
- 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
Post-war Situation
- 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
World War II
- 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
Situation after WWII
- 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
Losing the colonies
- 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
From the 50’s to the present
- 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
