The loss of empire

At the end of the First World War, the German colonies of Africa, as well as Iraq and Palestine in the Middle East, were added to Britain's area of control. Its empire was now bigger than ever before, and covered a quarter of the entire land surface of the world.

There were already signs, however, that the empire was coming to an end. At the 1919 peace conference US President Woodrow Wilson's disapproval of colonialism resulted in Britain's latest territorial gains being described as "mandated" from the League of Nations. Britain had to agree to help these territories towards self-government. The real questions were how long this would take, and how much Britain would try to control the foreign policies of these territories even after self-government had been achieved. In fact it took longer than the populations of some of these areas had been led to hope, and by 1945 only Iraq was independent, and even here Britain had a strong influence on its foreign policy.

The United Nations Charter in 1945 also called for progress towards self-government. It seemed hardly likely in this new mood that the British Empire could last very long. This feeling was strengthened by the speed with which Britain had lost control of colonial possessions to Japan during the war.

In India there had been a growing demand for freedom during the 1920s and 1930s. This was partly because of the continued mistrust and misunderstanding between the British rulers and the Indian people, well described in E.M. Forster's novel A Passage to India, published in 1924. But it was also the result of a growing nationalist movement, skilfully led by Mahatma Gandhi, which successfully disturbed British rule. By 1945 it was clear that British rule in India could no longer continue. It was impossible and extremely expensive to try to rule 300 million people without their co-operation. In 1947 the British finally left India, which then divided into a Hindu state and a smaller Muslim state called Pakistan. Britain also left Palestine, where it was unable to keep its promises to both the Arab inhabitants and the new Jewish settlers. Ceylon became independent the following year.

For most of the 1950s Britain managed to keep its other possessions, but after Suez it began to give them up. On a visit to Africa in 1960 Prime Minister Macmillan warned of a "wind of change blowing through the Continent." On his return to London he began to speed up plans to hand over power. This was partly because of the rapid growth of local independence movements, but also because of a change in thinking in Britain itself. Most people no longer believed in Britain's right to rule. Between 1945 and 1965 500 million people in former colonies became completely self-governing. In some countries, like Kenya, Cyprus and Aden, British soldiers fought against local people. Other countries became independent more peacefully.

On the whole, however, the ending of Britain's empire was a highly successful process, carried out in spite of some who opposed surrendering power, however costly this might be. It compared well with the bloody events which occurred when both France and Belgium pulled out of their colonies. This successful retreat resulted partly from the great skill of Prime Ministers and those they chose for the difficult job of handing over power in each colony. But it was also the result of the quality of its colonial administrators, particularly those in junior positions. In spite of the great wrongs of colonial rule, many of these administrators had the highest ideals of duty and service. It was largely due to their work that the newly independent countries felt they wanted to remain on friendly terms with Britain.

Britain tried to hold onto its international position through its Commonwealth, which all the old colonies were invited to join as free and equal members. This has been successful, because it is based on the kind of friendship that allows all members to follow their own policies without interference. At the same time, it allows discussion of international problems in a more relaxed atmosphere than is possible through the United Nations. It was with the help of the Commonwealth that Zimbabwe finally moved peacefully from rebellion by the whites to independence and black majority rule.

Britain also tried to keep its influence by a number of treaties with friendly governments in the Middle East and in southeast Asia. But most ex-colonies did not wish to be brought into such arrangements, either with Britain or with any other powerful country.

By 1985 Britain had few of its old colonial possessions left, and those it still had were being claimed by other countries: Hong Kong by China, the Falklands/Malvinas by Argentina, and Gibraltar by Spain. In 1982 Britain went to war to take back the Falklands after an Argentinian invasion. In spite of the great distance involved, British forces were able to carry out a rapid recapture of the islands. The operation was very popular in Britain, perhaps because it suggested that Britain was still a world power. But Britain's victory made an eventual solution to the problem more difficult, and possession of the islands extremely expensive. The war itself had cost £900 million, but the total cost of defending the island since 1982 had risen to £3 billion by 1987.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 2238