Impact Of Ww1 On Empire (3)

Question 1

What does anathema mean?

Answer 1

Something that is strongly disliked

Question 2

What did British leaders think when Britain declared war on behalf of the whole empire?

Answer 2

-That the war would be short and would end with rapid victory or a negotiated settlement
-They anticipated that the fighting would be done by the British themselves, with limited help from the empire

Question 3

What help did Britain receive from colonies in WW1?

Answer 3

-In practice, the colonies sent approx. 2.5 million men to fight for the Empire between 1914 and 1918, supporting the 5 million men from the British Isles.
-Britain not only called upon Indian and African troops, commanded by British generals, but was also supported by troops from the Dominions which were allowed to control their own armed forces
-The Empire also supplied Britain with vital raw materials and food, which played a major part in ultimate British victory in 1918

Question 4

What did support from Empire in WW1 bring?

Answer 4

-A move towards joint decision-making, to meet pressure from colonial leaders who wanted some say in the direction Britain was taking their troops. The presidents of the dominions and nominated representatives from the Indian colonial administration joined the war cabinet in London in 1917.
-This ‘imperial war cabinet’ seemed to symbolise the union of the British Empire in war; but it only held 2 sessions, mostly represented white and elite opinion, and the British still dominated proceedings

Question 5

What was ‘imperial preference’?

Answer 5

In 1916, Asquith was replaced as prime minister by David Lloyd George at the head of a wartime coalition government. Under Lloyd George a far greater effort was put into the use of resources of manpower and materials from the Empire. ‘Imperial preference’ was introduced for suppliers and schemes for future imperial self-sufficiency discussed

Question 6

What was the involvement of the dominions in the war?

Answer 6

-The settler populations and governments of the Dominions were mostly keen to fight alongside Britain
-Large numbers of volunteers rushed to join the armed forces, although the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand leaders insisted that their forces maintain their distinct national identities.
-There were considerable numbers of indigenous people who served in the Dominions’ forces.
-In Canada, over 4000 First Nations people volunteered, over 50 of whom were awarded medals for bravery. Around 1000 indigenous Australians and 2500 Māori fought in the colonial forces.
-However, the initial wave of enthusiasm dried up after heavy losses in 1915, and conscription was introduced in New Zealand in 1916 and Canada in 1917.

Question 7

What were the Dominions praised for in WW1?

Answer 7

-The Australians and New Zealanders (known as Anzacs) were applauded for their bravery in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign (April-December 1915)
-The Canadians were applauded for their part at the battle of Vimy bridge in April 1917.
-Canada also supplied Britain with munitions (a third of the munitions used by the British army in France from 1917 to 1918) and wheat.

Question 8

What happened in South Africa in ww1?

Answer 8

-In South Africa, General Smuts, who had once fought against the British in the second Anglo-Boer war, formed the South African Defence force, which fought successfully against the German army in it’s colonies
-Smuts was a member of Lloyd George’s Imperial war cabinet and attended the London imperial war conference and even advised on military strategy in Europe.
-136,000 white South African troops fought in the Middle East and on the Western front.

Question 9

What did ww1 demonstrate about the dominions?

Answer 9

-The war demonstrated loyalty in a time of crisis from the Dominions to Britain and the Empire
-It also triggered debate about the Dominions’ relationship to Britain and their long-term future
-The war was not popular everywhere. French Canadians in Quebec regarded the war as a pro British affair, and in March 1918 there were protest riots against conscription in Quebec City.
-Similarly, the Australians rejected conscription in two referendums, in October 1916 and again in December 1917
-In South Africa, a republican movement led by J.B.M Hertzog grew and the Afrikaner movement questioned the imperial connection

Question 10

What were the impacts on the Dominions of ww1?

Answer 10

-Over 60,000 Australians, 16,000 New Zealanders, 61,000 Canadians and 7000 South Africans were killed on distant battlefields, with many more returning home wounded or traumatised
-However, the war also boosted emerging senses of distinctively national identity and pride, affecting the relationship with Britain, as the desire for independence from imperial control increased.

Question 11

What was the involvement of India in ww1?

Answer 11

-India contributed more soldiers to the war effort than any other part of the Empire, with around 1.3 million servicemen enlisting
-Conscription was never introduced in India, with the Indian army relying solely on volunteers.
-Indian troops also made major contributions to the fighting in the Middle East (in the campaign against Turkey in Palestine, Syria and Iraq) and in Africa.

Question 12

What was the impact on India of ww1?

Answer 12

-Over 74,000 soldiers killed in action
-In 1917 the Indian government contributed £100 million to Britains war effort
-In acknowledgement of India’s contribution, and in an attempt to stave off growing support for Indian independence as put forward by the Congress party, in August 1917 the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, promised for ‘responsible’ self government for India.
-This included a measure of democratic representation for ordinary Indians

Question 13

What was the involvement of Africa in ww1?

Answer 13

-Egypt was turned into a protectorate in 1914 and 1.2 million Egyptians were recruited to defend Egypt and the Middle East
-100,000 Egyptian soldiers fought in Europe, of white 50% were killed. Servicemen from East and West Africa, as well as black South Africans, were not permitted to fight in Europe alongside British army as equals, a reflection of the hierarchy of racial prejudice contained within the imperial system
-Black African soldiers fought in the African theatre of war against German led forces, for example in the West India regiment, but in Europe they were only allowed to work as labourers or carriers.
-Some joined the million ‘human porters’, from British East Africa who were forced to serve in the fight against the Germans in Tanganyika (Tanzania) where nearly 100,000 died.
-This experience of war was no coincidence that the first pan-African congress was held in France in 1919 or that a delegation from South Africa attended the post-war Verailles peace conference of 1919 to present the African case,

Question 14

What was the involvement of the Caribbean in ww1?

Answer 14

-In 1915 the British West Indies regiment was formed, and over 15,000 men joined up
-However like the Black African servicemen, they were not allowed to fight in Europe alongside the British and Indian armies ans were relegated to dangerous support roles, digging trenches and working in ammunition dumps. Men from the Caribbean also joined the West India regiment, which fought in Africa against German forces

Question 15

What happened at Gallipoli and Vimy Ridge?

Answer 15

Australian and New Zealand forces (known as Anzacs) played an important role in the 1915 Gallipoli campaign- an attempted invasion of Turkey. Canadian forces fought strongly at Vimy Ridge in Northern France in April 1917.

Question 16

What is a mandate?

Answer 16

A territory allocated by the League of Nations to a particular country to be governed by that country on the league’s behalf; such territories were referred to as mandates, but the word mandate can also be used as a verb to describe the act of passing on authority (to mandate)

Question 17

What was drawn up by the allies following the end of the war in November 1918?

Answer 17

-A series of post-war peace treaties. The treaty of Versailles of 1919 stripped Germany of it’s former colonies, which were in future to be ‘mandates’ administered for the League of Nations for specified allied powers.
-The colonial territories of the Ottoman Empire were subject to the same ruling by the treaty of Sèvres (1920) and the treaty of Lausanne (1923), and distributed among the allied powers by the treaty of San Remo (1920)

Question 18

What was a guiding principle of the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 18

-Self determination. This ideal was especially advocated by the US president Woodrow Wilson, but was at odds with the attitude of countries like Britain and France who possessed global empire.
-However, Wilson, along with the British and French governments, refused a request from the Japanese delegation at the treaty of Versailles to include a clause about racial equality in the principles of the league of nation’s.

Question 19

What is self determination?

Answer 19

The right of a distinct national or ethnic group of people to determine their own nation state and form of government

Question 20

What did the British and French want from the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 20

-They didn’t want to undermine the racial hierarchy implicit in their empires, and racial segregation was still a feature of many southern states in the USA
-They argued that the German and Turkish colonies in Africa, the Middle East and the pacific were politically and economically undeveloped, with uneducated populations.

Question 21

What was decided about these ‘less developed countries’ in the tov?

Answer 21

-They were seen as not yet ready to govern themselves, and as needing guiding hand of countries like Britain and France, which had experience of governing supposedly ‘less developed’ territories.
-Thus the mandate arrangements were supposed to be helping these territories in becoming independent nation’s.
-However in practice, the principal mandated powers, Britain and France, secured virtually imperial control over their new mandates

Question 22

What had to happen under the terms of the mandate system?

Answer 22

-Although the allied powers were given control over the former imperial possessions of the defeated powers, they were obligated to fulfil certain obligations
-The territories were defined according to a system of categories reflecting the extent to which these territories were considered ‘developed’. They also mapped onto social and racial hierarchies

Question 23

What were the categories of the league of nation’s mandates?

Answer 23

-‘A’ category (Palestine and Mesopotamia mandated to Britain; Syria and Lebanon mandated to France)- territories seen as quite developed, so independence might be a viable possibility in the relatively near future
-‘B’ category (the former German colonies of Tanganyika mandated to Britain; Togoland and Cameroon split between Britain and France; Ruanda-Urundi mandated to Belgium)- territories which were considered to require a much longer period of guidance before independence could be contemplated
-‘C’ category (German territories in New Guinea and Samoa mandated to Britain and to Britain in collaboration with Australia and NZ; German islands in the South Pacific mandated to Japan; German South-West Africa to the union of South Africa)- territories where independence was not considered feasible

Question 24

Why was the Palestinian mandate an impact of ww1?

Answer 24

-Britain had been particularly anxious to acquire the Palestinian mandate for economic and strategic reasons.
-The Middle East was crucial to the British, since it incorporated the main overland route to Britain’s Indian and Asian Empire and because of it’s proximity to the Suez Canal. Mesopotamia was also increasingly valued because it was oil rich
-At the end of ww1, Palestine was highly unstable. There had been heavy fighting between British and Turkish forces, and Turkey had enforced conscription on the Palestinian Arabs, as well as seizing crops, thus increasing Arab determination to control their own future
-In 1915, the British and French diplomats Sid Mark Sykes and Georges Picot had made an agreement whereby France would take South Eastern Turkey, Northern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and Britain would acquire Jordan, Souther Iraq and Palestine.
-During the war, both the British and French encouraged Arab rebellions against the Turkish empire and T.E Lawrence played am especially important role in supporting these revolts

Question 25

Who was T.E Lawrence?

Answer 25

He was an archaeologist who became a British army officer. He played an important role in promoting rebellion by Palestinian Arabs and against Turkish rule, especially from 1917 to 1918

Question 26

Who was Arthur Balfour?

Answer 26

He was conservative prime minister from 1902 to 1905, and foreign secretary from 1916 to 1919 in Lloyd George’s coalition government. He was a strong supporter of British backing for Zionism

Question 27

What is a Zionist?

Answer 27

Zionism was a political belief and movement advocating the creation of a Jewish national home in the land of ancient Israel in the Middle East; it arose as a result of the rise of nationalism and the persecution of Jewish people in many parts of Europe

Question 28

How was the Balfour declaration an impact of ww1?

Answer 28

-In 1917, the foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, sent a letter to Walter Rothschild, a member of the prominent banking family and leader of the British Jewish community.
-This ‘Balfour declaration’, which expressed sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations, was released to the press. It promised British support for a ‘national homeland’ for the Jews in Palestine
-However it did so on the understanding that this would not constitute a separate Jewish state and that it did not undermine the rights of the Arab Palestinian population to continue living as they always had done
-The declaration came partly out of genuine sympathy for the plight of the Jews, but also out of an attempt to win the support of the anti-imperialist American public to an acceptance of British influence in this area.
-The contradictory priorities of the Balfour declaration and Palestinian mandate were to prove problematic. When a British-sponsored Zionist commission arrived in Palestine in 1918, Muslim and Christian Arabs formed the Muslim-Christian association and between 1918 and 1920, there were violent clashes between Arabs and Jews, with deaths on each side.
-Increasing Jewish immigration since the 1880’s into Palestine brought the total Jewish population of Palestine to 60,000 or about 9% of the total population by 1918.
-By 1931, it was around 175,000 which was to make it difficult for the British to fulfil their declaration promises

Question 29

What happened to Ireland as a result of ww1?

Answer 29

-It gained independence in 1922.
-It had experienced a vociferous home rule movement throughout much of the nineteenth century, which argued for Ireland to have it’s own parliament responsible for domestic affairs.
-Gladstone had failed to carry home rule through parliament and although Asquith had come close, his third home rule bill (which had been given royal assent in 1913) had provoked a tide of opposition in Ulster, which wanted to remain United with the rest of Britain.
-It was never implemented because of the outbreak of war. During that war, the Irish volunteers prepared an armed rising against the British
-The April 1916 Dublin Easter rising was quickly put down by the British. It was followed by a period of guerrilla warfare that only ended in 1921 when the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed
-A new Irish free state was set up and given ‘Dominion’ status. However, it’s existence was contested was contested by the 6 Northern predominantly Protestant countries, which opted out and chose to remain under British sovereignty
-The Irish free state took the name of Eirr and achieved full formal independence in the 1931 statue of westminister

Question 30

What were the other 2 territorial losses after ww1 for Britain as well as Ireland?

Answer 30

-Egypt
-Iraq

Question 31

What happened with Egypt after ww1?

Answer 31

-In 1922, Egypt, which had been declared a British protectorate at the outbreak of ww1, was granted formal independence-although continuing a longstanding tradition of British informal control, it continued to be a British client state until 1954.
-British troops remained stationed in Egypt until the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty in 1936, under which is was agreed that the troops would withdraw but continue to occupy and defend the Suez Canal Zone. In return, Egypt was assisted to join the league of nation’s.

Question 32

What happened with Iraq (Mesopotamia) after ww1?

Answer 32

-Britain lost control in 1932.
-Britain ruled Iraq as a mandated county for 12 years after 1920, providing British protection for a monarchical rule by the royal family of Hejaz (the Hashemites). However, the country was never entirely stable and conflicting nationalist movements sought independence
-In October 1932, the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence under King Faisal I, although the new government maintained close economic and military ties with Britain, which retained air bases in the country

Question 33

What was the economic impact of the war on Britain?

Answer 33

-As well as costing the lives of almost a million Britons and 200,000 soldiers from across the empire, the war was extremely expensive, requiring the whole economy to be placed on a war footing. Huge amounts of public finances were directed towards the war effort, leaving Britain in severe debt
-Much of Britain’s capital investment overseas had been wiped out
-The pound of sterling had to be removed from the gold standard for the duration, because gold reserves ran so low

Question 34

What was the gold standard?

Answer 34

Since it’s foundation in 1694 the Bank of England had issued notes promising yo pay the bearer a sum of money. For much of it’s history the promise could be made good by the bank paying out gold in exchange for it’s notes. The link with gold helped to maintain the value of the notes and the suspension of this ‘gold standard’ in wartime was considered a measure of last resort.

Question 35

What were the consequences of the war on Some of Britain’s export industries?

Answer 35

-Production for the war was prioritised over making goods for export to traditional overseas markets, and this meant that Britain’s competitors were able to win markets traditionally dominated by British exports.
-Not all of these overseas markets were won back after the First World War. Britain’s traditional industries, such as textiles, shipbuilding, coal, iron and steel, which created income to pay for running and defending the Empire, experienced great difficulties between the wars as they faced new overseas competition, for example from the Japanese in textile production

Question 36

What was the impact of ww1 on Britain’s financial sector?

Answer 36

-The banks and financial institutions, which generated profits from lending money overseas also had these consequences of the export industries. The result was that the economic burden of empire grew, as Britain’s ability to pay for it diminished
-This problem was intensified in the 1930’s by the Great Depression, which saw a collapse of international trade and markets for British industrial exports.
-A financial crisis in 1931 forced the country off the gold standard again. This in turn reduced earnings from overseas investments.
-However, the empire offered economic compensations as well as problems

Question 37

What was the economic impact of the war on India?

Answer 37

-India contributed almost £146 million to the war effort, and the country experienced inflation and shortages during the war as a result. War, however, also brought longer term changes which were not entirely damaging.
-In 1914 two thirds of India’s imports came from Britain, but this started to fall-initially because of wartime disruption to trade, but in the longer term because of foreign competition growing in strength
-India’s own economy partly benefited from this;Indian manufacturers began to capture more of the domestic market.
-After the war, desperate for revenue to help bolster their control in the face of the rising nationalist movement, the British placed high taxes on Indian imports, rising from 11% in 1917 to 25% in 1932. The effect was to give Indian industry protection against it’s competitors, and it grew accordingly

Question 38

What was the impact of ww1 on Canada?

Answer 38

-Canada benefited from the war, emerging as an industrial power. As in India, British manufacturers lost ground here. Indeed, increasingly Canada looked to it’s southern neighbour, the USA, for investment and markets as the inter war period progressed

Question 39

What was the impact of ww1 on Australia and New Zealand?

Answer 39

As exporters of food, relied heavily on the British market, and consequently were hit hard by the disruption of trade caused by the war

Question 40

What were the 2 distinct phases British policy towards imperial trade went through in the inter-war period?

Answer 40

-In the 1920s, Britain tried to recreate the economic system which had existed before 1914 (in which the empire had no special preference). Thus Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925, in order to stabilise it’s international trade. One exception to this policy was the colonial development act of 1929, which provided treasury funds to support colonial development projects
-In the aftermath of the Great Depression a much greater emphasis was placed on the importance of the Empire for British commerce and imports from the Empire increased (although exports to it did not do so well). Britain was again forced to abandon the gold standard in 1931 but trade with the Empire in sterling proved a great asset

Question 41

What was the growth of British control, 1919-20?

Answer 41

-As a result of the post-war peace treaties, the British Empire reached it’s greatest extent with the addition of 1,800,000 square miles and 13 million new subjects,
-The colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire were distributed to the allied powers as League of Nations mandates. Britain gained control of Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, parts of Cameroon and Togo and Tanganyika.
-The dominions themselves also acquired mandates of their own: the union of South Africa gained South-West Africa, Australia gained German New Guinea, and New Zealand gained Western Samoa.
-Nauru was made a combined mandate of Britain and the two pacific dominions