British History

Part 3 – The 20th Century

The Twentieth Century

Trade Unionism (1911 – 1914) World War 1 (1914 – 1918) The Depression World War 2 (1939 – 1945) Post war Britain The Welfare State End of Empire The 60’s, 70’s, 80’s

Trade Unionism 1911 - 1914

Minimum Wage Act Insurance against

sickness and unemployment.

no arrangements were made for free health care.

Between 1911 and 1914, conditions for workers improved

This was in part because of pressure from striking miners, railwaymen, and dockers

The first major war of the 20th Century

Mainly a European war Immense human

sacrifice Stalemate trench

warfare New, devastating

weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas.

Over 9 million died on the battlefield -15.1 million in total

What Started World War I ? World War I was sparked

by a single event… On June 28, 1914 Serbian

fanatic, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

Archduke Franz-Ferdinand was heir to the Austrian thrown

One month later, on July 28, 1914, Austria declares war against Serbia - igniting World War I

A war between Austria and Serbia, meant a war between Austria and Russia - Serbia's traditional ally.

War between Austria and Russia meant Germany, bound by the Triple Alliance treaty to Austria, was at war with Russia.

Russia at war with Germany, meant France and Britain, bound by alliances with Russia known as the Triple Entente, were also at war with Germany

Italy remained neutral until 23 May 1915, when it entered the war on the side of the Allies.

Britain in World War 1

Many people responded to the war effort.

Women were drafted to produce weapons (guns, bullets, planes).

Civilian life was under threat, especially in London and the south-east,

The entire east coast of Britain was prone to invasion (just as it always had been).

Britain in World War 1

Young men volunteered to fight in the war. Many thought it would be a very short war.

By 1915 whole villages saw their population of young men disappear to fight in the war.

By the end of the war many of those villages were almost devoid of young men. Towns also felt their loss: entire streets mourned sons, husbands and sweethearts.

The Depression (1918 -1939)

There was widespread suffering and deprivation.

The Lloyd George coalition government collapsed and the country's economic crisis continued to worsen.

After World War 1 industrial profits and wages began to fall and demobilised soldiers found it difficult or impossible to find jobs.

By summer 1921 over two million people were unemployed and strikes were on the increase.

Wall Street Crash 1929 The worst period of the

Depression followed the crash of the Wall Street financial markets in 1929.

In Britain, unemployment reached 3 million in 1932.

Slowly, the British economy stabilised under the National Government and unemployment began a steady decline after 1935,

Re-armament before World War Two helped to end the depression

World War 2 World War Two in Europe

began on 3rd September 1939

Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland

Britain and France had guaranteed the territorial integrity of Poland in March 1939.

World War 2

Britain endured the Blitz and feared invasion until the Battle of Britain in September 1940 secured superiority of the skies.

Hitler invaded France and the BeNeLux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), in June 1940.

The Blitz

The Blitz killed ~43,000 people and destroyed over a million houses

It failed to achieve the Germans' objectives of knocking Britain out of the war or rendering it unable to resist an invasion.

The Blitz was the sustained and intensive bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during 1940–1941.

It was carried out by the Luftwaffe against a range of targets across the UK, particularly concentrating on London.

The Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain is the name

for the attempt by Germany's Luftwaffe to gain air superiority of British airspace and destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The Germans didn’t want to invade Britain until the RAF had been knocked out

They also wanted to destroy aircraft production and to terrorize the British people so they would surrender.

The Battle of Britain was the first major battle to be fought entirely in the air.

It was the largest and most sustained bombing campaign yet.

World War 2

Hitler's declaration of war on America was his big mistake.

With American entry, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill felt sure of victory.

In June 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, thereby making war on two fronts.

The war increased in December 1941 when America declared war on the Japanese after they bombed Pearl Harbour.

ChurchillRoosevelt

Stalin

Post World War Two: 1945 onwards

The end of the Second World War brought a new Labour government

Expansion of the welfare state

The establishment of a National Health Service.

Post World War Two: 1945 onwards

India and Pakistan became independent soon after the war

Eventually, almost all of Britain's colonies became independent

Most retain ties with Britain through the Commonwealth.

This is a multiracial community and a means through which Britain maintains its influence in the world

India and Pakistan gain Independence 1947 India was the most valuable part

of the British Empire, its possession was proof of British world power.

The war had strained Britain's ability to govern its empire so it was decided that India would self-govern.

However the two factions in India (the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League) could not agree on a constitution.

As a result, India was divided into the modern states of India and Pakistan.

Post World War Two: The EU

Britain's economic strength declined after the war

External trade is still extremely important to Britain

Britain entered the European Community in 1973

Post World War Two: The 1960’s

The 1960s were an influential decade for Britain more permissive society increased consumer

confidence radical political protest popular music which

spread across the world (e.g.the Beatles and the Rolling Stones)

Post World War Two: The 1970s

The 1970s saw a number of firsts Concorde (an Anglo-

French supersonic aeroplane)

test tube babies (Joy Brown, the first, was born 25 July 1978)

the Open University (a university mainly carried out through television broadcasts)

electronic technology commercial radio

Post World War Two: The 1980s The 1980s saw a number of

notable events IRA hunger strikes in

Northern Ireland a Papal visit (1982) Sunday football for the first

time a popular fitness craze with

major events such as the London Marathon proving successful

the completion of the Thames Barrier

the beginning of the Channel Tunnel

the spread of personal computers

satellite television

The Falklands conflict 1982 Britain and Argentina had

argued about the Falkland Islands since Britain occupied them in the early nineteenth century.

In April 1982, Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands.

In the war that followed 250 British and around 750 Argentineans were killed.

Britain re-established her control over the islands but Argentina still claims them

Main Points About British History Early British History

1. Settlement2. Repeated invasions from Europe

After the Normans1. Re-structuring (from Anglo-Saxon to Norman)2. Industrialization3. Expansion (of the Empire)

20th Century1. Conflict (WWI, WWII, Falklands)2. Contraction (of the Empire)3. Re-Invention (European Union, Role of the

Monarchy etc)