The Fall of the British Empire 1918-1968

Fülszöveg

THE FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE In 1918 the British Empire could be counted the greatest power on earth. New conquests in the First World War had extended its frontiers and it covered one quarter of the world. Despite extensive self-government in the 'white' dominions, it still worked in major matters as a single political unit. Many or most people in 1918 thought that the British Empire could last for generations. It was the Empire 'upon which the sun never set'. It was assumed to be a stable institution, a part of the normal world order. Yet within fifty years it had disappeared, leaving behind a nebulous 'Commonwealth' of uncertain future. The British Empire turned out to have been a temporary affair, the mere dream of an empire. This book picks out the salient links in the chain of causes and effects which led to this surprising transformation. It describes the strange personalities who contributed to it-ranging from the saint-like Gandhi to the brilliant guerilla leader Grivas.... Tovább

Fülszöveg

THE FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE In 1918 the British Empire could be counted the greatest power on earth. New conquests in the First World War had extended its frontiers and it covered one quarter of the world. Despite extensive self-government in the 'white' dominions, it still worked in major matters as a single political unit. Many or most people in 1918 thought that the British Empire could last for generations. It was the Empire 'upon which the sun never set'. It was assumed to be a stable institution, a part of the normal world order. Yet within fifty years it had disappeared, leaving behind a nebulous 'Commonwealth' of uncertain future. The British Empire turned out to have been a temporary affair, the mere dream of an empire. This book picks out the salient links in the chain of causes and effects which led to this surprising transformation. It describes the strange personalities who contributed to it-ranging from the saint-like Gandhi to the brilliant guerilla leader Grivas. It also sets out how the British Empire was actually run at each stage in its development: both at the high political level and at the level of thousands of young men from British public schools, sent out to run the affairs of millions of people in every continent. There is something here about every one of the 50-odd territories which made up the British Em pire-ranging from tiny St. Helena to the sub-continent of India -and the unifying theme is how the machine broke down and how British world power evaporated. Vissza