essay- empire

Question 1

To what extent did British policies towards its colonies, mandates and Dominions strengthen the British Empire in the inter-war years?

Answer 1

Strengthened

• The establishment of the commonwealth in 1931 and the statute of Westminister allowed dominions to gradually become fully independent while also retaining a ‘special relationship with Britain’- This strengthened Britain because they no longer have to spend money to keep these countries in the empire instead they can keep good relationships with little to no costs.
• The empire softened the impact of the great depression- This is because during the aftermath of the great depression, a much greater emphasis was placed on the importance of the empire. Most countries of the empire fixed the value of their currency to sterling, which allowed trade with the empire to be a great asset for Britain. British export with the empire in 1913 was 37.7% in 1934 it was 44%.
  The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922 confirmed Faisal I as king of Iraq, due to being a renowned Muslim, this was seen as the ideal compromise. As he was pro-British, Britain could continue their control over Iraqi affairs, while also controlling major military bases and having influence over the Iraqi Army, which Britain trained. This strengthened Britain because it gave them control over a strategically and economically vital region.

weakened

The Balfour declaration in 1917 declared that the British would support Palestine as the British homeland. When the British-sponsored zionist commission arrived in Palestine in 1918, Muslim and Christian Arabs formed the Muslim-Chrstian Association and between 1918 and 1920, there were violent clashes between Arabs and Jews.- This weakened the British empire because due to being financially deprived of the first world war the British struggled to deal with the conflict they had created, ultimately weakening it.
Indian nationalism had become increasingly vociferous and popular in the 1920s and 1930s.In 1919 the British introduced the Rowllat Act, which would allow the authorities the power to arrest and imprison protesters- This had disastrous consequences because it increased protests such as the one at Amiristar which led to the Amiriasr massacre of 1919. - This weakened Britain in the short - term because it caused instability in an economically vital region in the British empire.
However what this argument fails to acknowledge is that in 1939, the British restricted the number of Jew immigrants coming to Palestine to 15,000 per year in order to maintain a Palestinian majority- this helped reduces the tensions that were growing. Also in India when world war 2 started in 1939, protests against the British empire stopped, therefore the Indians were still loyal to the British and wanted British victory, mainly because they would rather be ruled by Britain than another imperial power.