20th Century Britain
1902 – 1910 King Edward VII
Upon the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, her eldest son Edward inherited the throne of England. The Queen had not permitted Edward much in the way of Royal responsibility and he'd been left out of the loop of state affairs for most of his life. With a reputation of being a hedonistic prince, enjoying women, drinking, and socialising, Victoria had refused to fully endorse him. On the contrary to her beliefs, once Edward was king he was able to revitalise the monarchy after Victoria's gloomy last years. King Edward VII held many social occasions which he was seen to publicly enjoy. With an ability for charm and lavishness, Edward was able to sway politicians on all sides of the house. By the time of his death, he'd been nicknamed the "Uncle of Europe" and "Edward the Peacemaker".
1903 – The Labour Party
Working class members of parliament had begun to be elected and they were affiliated with the Liberal party. However when their numbers began to increase, the Labour Party began to operate as a separate body. This can be seen with a pact signed between Herbert Gladstone of the Liberal Party and Ramsay MacDonald, the then Secretary of the Labour Representation Committee. The agreement set out 50 constituent seats in which the two bodies would not compete with each other. This had a dramatic effect on seats won, where no Liberal candidates were standing the Labour representatives won in great numbers. This created a separate party ethic and when the Miner's Federation affiliated themselves with the Labour politicians, they became totally separate.
1903 – 1928 Women's Suffrage
Women's rights had steadily been improving through the latter half of the 19th century. For the first time women could own property, become educated, and have legal representation. The right to vote in an election became the next big change needed to improve gender equality. In 1897 Millicent Fawcett became the leader of an organisation called the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. This group was political in ethic and for some their methods were too slow and cumbersome. Emmeline Pankhurst created the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903 which took a more militant and radical stance. During protests, women known as Suffragettes began to vandalise and commit arson in order to make their voices heard. Those who were arrested began a hunger strike, guards were force feeding them until 1913. The Cat and Mouse Act was a new law meaning that they were evicted from jail so they did not die in state care. The situation was subsided at the beginning of the Great War, and upon its end, Women won the right to vote in part and then in full ten years later.
1912 - The Titanic
The Royal Mail Steamer Titanic was dubbed “unsinkable” and was the largest passenger ship ever built. Owned by White Star Line and built in Ireland, the ship was famous for its luxury. It was on the maiden voyage from Southampton to New York that it ran into an iceberg. This sheared a gash into the side of the ship which made its unsinkable technology fail. Because of a lack of lifeboats, only 706 people survived. The majority of survivors were first class passengers. Many of the boats were also only half filled. Of the 18 lifeboats, only two returned to collect more survivors once their crews had been rescued. In all, 1,517 people drowned. It is seen as a major humiliation and lesson for the British mindset of bigger and better.
1914 – 1918 The First World War
As Germany rose in industrial and military power, France and Britain began to look weaker. In June 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered. As he was the heir to the throne of Austria, this sparked an international outrage. Austria took military action against Serbia, where the murder took place, which in turn activated alliances across Europe. By August of 1914, Britain and France were at war with Germany who had just invaded Belgium. The war was dominated by trench warfare with heavy artillery and machine guns as support. The use of gas made conditions extremely bad which alongside the onset of disease, rats, and wet working conditions, trench life became increasingly miserable. The war stretched across most of Europe and extended into Africa and Asia. Zeppelins were used to bomb Britain and air warfare was used for the first time. Many battles took place which saw the loss of over a million lives. The Americans joined in 1917 and in 1916 the British conscripted all young men. With these extra numbers the allies were able to withstand the massive push by the German forces in 1918. Once the German attack subsided, the new larger army pushed forward and penetrated their lines. On the 7th of November that year,Germany surrendered and on the 11th the armistice took effect.
The Amritsar Massacre 13th April 1919
India had begun to push for independence from the British Empire. Although many home rule laws had been passed, taxation and state affairs were controlled by the British. A new Government Of India Act was instated which handed the keys to governing India to Britain in written law, sparking an outcry. Violence had begun to spread around the nation of India and on the 13th of April, a group of Punjab Indians began a protest to insist on their rights to visit Holy places. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer of the British Army decided to use deadly force on the crowd. They were unarmed and protesting peacefully. 379 men, women, and children were killed by British forces or in the stampede that followed the gunfire. Over 1000 more were injured as a result of the action. The final straw for many Indians, it was the following year in 1920 when Mahatma Gandhi began to campaign for Indian independence.
The Irish Solution 1921
Britain had gained a bad name in recent years with the Irish people and were still largely seen as oppressive overlords. Irish MPs began to protest by refusing to take their seats in Westminster and instead sit in a new parliament in Dublin. The political party Sinn Fein had begun to form a military group called the IRA. Members would use guerilla warfare tactics to frustrate and disempower the British rulers. British soldiers known as Black and Tans fought against the IRA and there are famous accounts of atrocities on both sides of the fighting. In 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty offered limited self governing powers to Ulster and six surrounding counties. The rest of Ireland would receive a status of Dominion and become a free state. This settled the allegiances of many Irish people however some were not content. The fighting has been present since then and although there is an official peace, the Irish would report that it's still not over there.
The Statute of Westminster 11th December 1931
The First World War saw Britain supported by many former colonies. The leaders of these nations had supplied resources and had been present in decision making themselves. In order to reward these nations, the Statute of Westminster was decreed which handed independence to all involved nations and gave them equal standing in the British Commonwealth. This alliance of nations gives strength to the small and diversity for the large, and as the Empire was dismantled each former nation was invited to become a member. India was an exception to this ruling and remained a British state until 1947.
The Second World War 1939 – 1945
Under the control of Adolf Hitler, the German army invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war soon after once Hitler had ignored their ultimatum. At the time, Russia were allied to Germany and with the help of soviet soldiers and tanks occupying Warsaw, Poland surrendered to German forces. Nothing happened in Western Europe for several months while all leaders attempted to agree to action plans. Hitler then invaded Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark. French and British forces were pushed back and France was then invaded.
Winston Churchill became Britain's Prime Minster in1940 and took drastic changes to the way Britain was handling Germany. He formed a coalition government made of all parties. When Germany brought the war to Britain via air attacks, the RAF fought back with fearless vigour. Under Churchill's command, the RAF won several key air victories which are collectively known as the Battle of Britain. As well as many air battles, equally as ferocious fighting took place at sea. With German U-boats taking submarine technology to new levels, the allies had to work hard to defend themselves.
The USA joined the war in 1941 after being attacked by the Japanese. Their war with Japan resulted in Italy and Germany declaring war with them. Meanwhile at Bletchley Park, a team of code experts were working on deciphering the German encryption device. Once they had discovered what is now known as the Enigma Code, it was possible to listen in on encoded German communications. With new intelligence and the American army in tow, Britain launched an attack on German forces in 1944. The D-Day landings saw thousands of allied troops land at beaches in Normandy. Ironically the home land of the Normans who invaded Britain a millennia ago.
Victory was declared in Europe as Allied troops pushed into Germany from the East and the West. Hitler committed suicide along with many of his close supporters. In 1945 Europe became totally liberated from Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party ideology. Japan surrendered to the Americans soon after with the use of nuclear weapons on two of their cities. This brutal exertion of power demonstrated that America would stop at nothing to be the dominant force in global society.
Winston Churchill became Britain's Prime Minster in1940 and took drastic changes to the way Britain was handling Germany. He formed a coalition government made of all parties. When Germany brought the war to Britain via air attacks, the RAF fought back with fearless vigour. Under Churchill's command, the RAF won several key air victories which are collectively known as the Battle of Britain. As well as many air battles, equally as ferocious fighting took place at sea. With German U-boats taking submarine technology to new levels, the allies had to work hard to defend themselves.
The USA joined the war in 1941 after being attacked by the Japanese. Their war with Japan resulted in Italy and Germany declaring war with them. Meanwhile at Bletchley Park, a team of code experts were working on deciphering the German encryption device. Once they had discovered what is now known as the Enigma Code, it was possible to listen in on encoded German communications. With new intelligence and the American army in tow, Britain launched an attack on German forces in 1944. The D-Day landings saw thousands of allied troops land at beaches in Normandy. Ironically the home land of the Normans who invaded Britain a millennia ago.
Victory was declared in Europe as Allied troops pushed into Germany from the East and the West. Hitler committed suicide along with many of his close supporters. In 1945 Europe became totally liberated from Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party ideology. Japan surrendered to the Americans soon after with the use of nuclear weapons on two of their cities. This brutal exertion of power demonstrated that America would stop at nothing to be the dominant force in global society.
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