Britain In The 20th Century Flashcards
Indian independence
- 1885: Indian National Congress founded
- after WWI Britain reward India’s contribution by giving vote to 5 million rich citizens but they still controlled taxation
- 1920s: independence under Gandhi created non-violent protests
- 1935: Government of India Act gave them control of everything but army
- Muslim leagues set up to demand a separate country for Muslims
- 1946: UK offered India independence but Muslims didn’t want to live under Hindu control and violence broke out
- Britain split India into 2 states -> India and Pakistan (Muslim) -> 7 million Muslims fled to Pakistan
Suez independence
- 1956: Nasser of Egypt took control of the Suez Canal
- UK and F troops occupied Canal Zone and Israel invaded Egypt
- condemned by USA and UN and withdrew their troops
Independence of the Gold Coast
- 1874 -> UK took over Gold Coast
- 1920s -> national Congress of British West Africa was set up to demand own affairs but were refused
- their independence leader was Kwame Nkrumah. Who became PM in 1951
- in 1956 Nkrumah won another election and so in 1957 Britain made them independent and they changed the name to Ghana
Independence of Kenya
- 1940s -> Kenya African Union formed, led by Jomo Kenyatta
- another group used violence instead of -> the Mau Mau + 100s were killed fighting between them and the British in the 1950s
- Kenyatta was arrested despite not being involved and the Mau Mau rebellion lasted 8 years
- 1963 -> Kenya became independent and Kenyatta was the first PM
Immigration after WW2
- Ireland: came to escape poverty
- Cyprus: tensions between Greeks and Turkish Cypriots -> many fled to escape violence + the Turkish invasion in 1974 made more flee
- Eastern Europe: many fled the Nazis, in 1956 1000s fled Soviet following the Hungarian rising
- Far east Asia: many came to UK from British colonies -> 50,000 had UK passports
- South east Asia: many fled India to escape religious persecution, Asians forced to leave Kenya and Uganda’s in 1960-70s (60,000)
The Commonwealth (Britains empire) during WW2
During WWII people from British colonies were expected to serve in the military -> 16,000 from the Caribbean enlisted
What made Britain appealing to Caribbeans
- the area had been devastated by a hurricane in 1944
- there was a shortage of labour in Britain after WW2 + the working population reduced by 1.38 million
Empire Windrush
- in 1948, a ship named Empire Windrush arrived at London docks carrying 492 people -> this was as a result of the British Nationality Act
Impact of Empire Windrush
- in the 1940s, there were 500-700 Caribbean arrivals to Britain each year which increased to 40,000 by 1960
Racism towards the Empire Windrush generation
- ‘colour bar’ -> only able to get low paid jobs
- 1958: Notting Hill Riots -> white youth attacked black youths
The Commonwealth Immigration Act
1968
- Kenyan Asians with British passports were no longer allowed to enter the country but white Kenyans were
Where are the Falkland Islands
Close to Argentina
-> Britain first claimed them in 1765 but Spain took over them
When did Britain take the Falkland Islands back
1833
Why did Galtieri want the Falklands back
Argentina was in economic crisis and he hoped this would take people’s mind off of it
When was and what happened in the Falklands war
1982
- 12,000 Argentinian soldiers invade
- Margaret Thatcher created a Task Force of 127 ships and a 320km exclusion zone
- Argentina surrendered
