Editing British Empire (section)

== World wars (1914–1945) ==
[[File:The Empire Needs Men WWI.jpg|thumb|upright|A poster urging men from countries of the British Empire to enlist]]
By the turn of the 20th century, fears had begun to grow in Britain that it would no longer be able to defend the [[metropole]] and the entirety of the empire while at the same time maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation".{{Sfn|O'Brien|2004|p=1}} [[German Empire|Germany]] was rapidly rising as a military and industrial power and was now seen as the most likely opponent in any future war. Recognising that it was overstretched in the Pacific{{Sfn|Brown|1998|p=667}} and threatened at home by the [[Imperial German Navy]], Britain [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance|formed an alliance with Japan]] in 1902 and with its old enemies [[Entente cordiale|France]] and Russia in 1904 and 1907, respectively.{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|p=275}}

=== First World War ===
{{Main|History of the United Kingdom during the First World War}}

Britain's fears of war with Germany were realised in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War. Britain quickly invaded and occupied most of Germany's overseas colonies in Africa. In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand occupied [[German New Guinea]] and [[German Samoa]] respectively. Plans for a post-war division of the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on Germany's side, were secretly drawn up by Britain and France under the 1916 [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]]. This agreement was not divulged to the [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca|Sharif of Mecca]], who the British had been encouraging to launch an Arab revolt against their Ottoman rulers, giving the impression that Britain was supporting the creation of an independent Arab state.{{Sfn|Brown|1998|pp=494–495}}

The British declaration of war on Germany and its allies committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support. Over 2.5&nbsp;million men served in the armies of the [[Dominion]]s, as well as many thousands of volunteers from the Crown colonies.{{Sfn|Marshall|1996|pp=78–79}} The contributions of Australian and New Zealand troops during the 1915 [[Gallipoli Campaign]] against the Ottoman Empire had a great impact on the national consciousness at home and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. The countries continue to commemorate this occasion on [[Anzac Day]]. Canadians viewed the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]] in a similar light.{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|p=277}} The important contribution of the Dominions to the [[war effort]] was recognised in 1917 by British prime minister [[David Lloyd George]] when he invited each of the Dominion prime ministers to join an [[Imperial War Cabinet]] to co-ordinate imperial policy.{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|p=278}}

Under the terms of the concluding [[Treaty of Versailles]] signed in 1919, the empire reached its greatest extent with the addition of {{convert|1.8|e6sqmi|e6km2|abbr=unit}} and 13&nbsp;million new subjects.{{Sfn|Ferguson|2002|p=315}} The colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire were distributed to the Allied powers as [[League of Nations mandate]]s. Britain gained control of [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]], [[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]], [[Kingdom of Iraq (Mandate administration)|Iraq]], parts of [[British Cameroons|Cameroon]] and [[British Togoland|Togoland]], and [[Tanganyika (territory)|Tanganyika]]. The Dominions themselves acquired mandates of their own: the [[Union of South Africa]] gained South West Africa (modern-day [[Namibia]]), Australia gained [[Territory of New Guinea|New Guinea]], and New Zealand [[Western Samoa Trust Territory|Western Samoa]]. [[History of Nauru#World War I to World War II|Nauru]] was made a combined mandate of Britain and the two Pacific Dominions.{{Sfn|Fox|2008|pp=23–29, 35, 60}}

=== Inter-war period ===
{{Main|Interwar Britain|Irish revolutionary period|Indian independence movement|Partition of the Ottoman Empire|Commonwealth of Nations||}}
[[File:British Empire 1921.png|thumb|upright=1.8|The British Empire at its territorial peak in 1921]]
The changing world order that the war had brought about, in particular the growth of the United States and Japan as naval powers, and the rise of independence movements in India and Ireland, caused a major reassessment of British imperial policy.{{Sfn|Goldstein|1994|p=4}} Forced to choose between alignment with the United States or Japan, Britain opted not to renew its [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]] and instead signed the 1922 [[Washington Naval Treaty]], where Britain accepted naval parity with the United States.{{Sfn|Louis|2006|p=302}} This decision was the source of much debate in Britain during the 1930s{{Sfn|Louis|2006|p=294}} as militaristic governments took hold in Germany and Japan helped in part by the [[Great Depression]], for it was feared that the empire could not survive a simultaneous attack by both nations.{{Sfn|Louis|2006|p=303}} The issue of the empire's security was a serious concern in Britain, as it was vital to the [[Economy of the United Kingdom|British economy]].{{Sfn|Lee|1996|p=305}}

In 1919, the frustrations caused by delays to [[Irish Home Rule movement|Irish home rule]] led the MPs of [[Sinn Féin]], a pro-independence party that had won a majority of the Irish seats in the [[1918 Irish general election|1918 British general election]], to establish an [[Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic)|independent parliament]] in [[Dublin]], at which [[Irish Declaration of Independence|Irish independence was declared]]. The [[Irish Republican Army]] simultaneously began a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] against the British administration.{{Sfn|Brown|1998|p=143}} The [[Irish War of Independence]] ended in 1921 with a stalemate and the signing of the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]], creating the [[Irish Free State]], a Dominion within the British Empire, with effective internal independence but still constitutionally linked with the British Crown.{{Sfn|Smith|1998|p=95}} [[Northern Ireland]], consisting of six of the 32 [[Counties of Ireland|Irish counties]] which had been established as a devolved region under the 1920 [[Government of Ireland Act 1920|Government of Ireland Act]], immediately exercised its option under the treaty to retain its existing status within the United Kingdom.{{Sfn|Magee|1974|p=108}}

[[File:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|right|[[George V]] (Seated front) with British and Dominion prime ministers at the [[1926 Imperial Conference]]. Standing (left to right): [[Walter Stanley Monroe|W.S. Monroe]] ([[Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]), [[Gordon Coates]] ([[Prime Minister of New Zealand|New Zealand]]), [[Stanley Bruce]] ([[Prime Minister of Australia|Australia]]), [[J. B. M. Hertzog]] ([[Prime Minister of South Africa|Union of South Africa]]), [[W. T. Cosgrave]] ([[President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State|Irish Free State]]). Seated left: [[Stanley Baldwin]] ([[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]), seated right: [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|William Mackenzie King]] ([[Prime Minister of Canada|Canada]])]]
A similar struggle began in India when the [[Government of India Act 1919]] failed to satisfy the demand for independence.{{Sfn|Ferguson|2002|p=330}} Concerns over communist and foreign plots following the [[Ghadar conspiracy]] ensured that war-time strictures were renewed by the [[Rowlatt Act]]s. This led to tension,{{Sfn|James|2001|p=416}} particularly in the [[Punjab region]], where repressive measures culminated in the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre|Amritsar Massacre]]. In Britain, public opinion was divided over the morality of the massacre, between those who saw it as having saved India from anarchy, and those who viewed it with revulsion.{{Sfn|James|2001|p=416}} The [[Non-cooperation movement (1909–22)|non-cooperation movement]] was called off in March 1922 following the [[Chauri Chaura incident]], and discontent continued to simmer for the next 25 years.{{Sfn|Low|1966|pp=241–259}}

In 1922, Egypt, which had been declared a British [[protectorate]] at the outbreak of the First World War, was [[Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence|granted formal independence]], though it continued to be a British client state until 1954. [[British Army|British troops]] remained stationed in Egypt until the signing of the [[Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936|Anglo-Egyptian Treaty]] in 1936,{{Sfn|Smith|1998|p=104}} under which it was agreed that the troops would withdraw but continue to occupy and defend the Suez Canal zone. In return, Egypt was assisted in joining the [[League of Nations]].{{Sfn|Brown|1998|p=292}} Iraq, a British mandate since 1920, gained membership of the League in its own right after achieving independence from Britain in 1932.{{Sfn|Smith|1998|p=101}} In Palestine, Britain was presented with the problem of mediating between the Arabs and increasing numbers of Jews. The [[Balfour Declaration]], which had been incorporated into the terms of the mandate, stated that a national home for the Jewish people would be established in Palestine, and Jewish immigration allowed up to a limit that would be determined by the mandatory power.{{Sfn|Louis|2006|p=271}} This led to increasing conflict with the Arab population, who openly [[1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine|revolted in 1936]]. As the threat of war with Germany increased during the 1930s, Britain judged the support of Arabs as more important than the establishment of a Jewish homeland, and shifted to a pro-Arab stance, limiting Jewish immigration and in turn triggering a [[Jewish insurgency in Palestine|Jewish insurgency]].{{Sfn|Brown|1998|pp=494–495}}

The right of the Dominions to set their own foreign policy, independent of Britain, was recognised at the [[1923 Imperial Conference]].{{Sfn|McIntyre|1977|p=187}} Britain's request for military assistance from the Dominions at the outbreak of the [[Chanak Crisis]] the previous year had been turned down by Canada and South Africa, and Canada had refused to be bound by the [[Treaty of Lausanne (1923)|1923 Treaty of Lausanne]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Brown|1998|p=68}}; {{Harvnb|McIntyre|1977|p=186}}.</ref> After pressure from the Irish Free State and South Africa, the [[1926 Imperial Conference]] issued the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]], declaring Britain and the Dominions to be "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another" within a "British Commonwealth of Nations".{{Sfn|Brown|1998|p=69}} This declaration was given legal substance under the 1931 [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]].{{Sfn|Rhodes|Wanna|Weller|2009|pp=5–15}} The parliaments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State and [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] were now independent of British legislative control, they could nullify [[Law of the United Kingdom|British laws]] and Britain could no longer pass laws for them without their consent.{{Sfn|Turpin|Tomkins|2007|p=48}} Newfoundland reverted to colonial status in 1933, suffering from financial difficulties during the Great Depression.{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|p=300}} In 1937 the Irish Free State introduced a [[Constitution of Ireland|republican constitution]] renaming itself ''Ireland''.{{Sfn|Galligan|1995|p=122}}

=== Second World War ===
{{Main|British Empire in World War II}}
[[File:El Alamein 1942 - British infantry.jpg|thumb|During the [[Second World War]], the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] was made up of units from many different countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth; it fought in the [[North African campaign|North African]] and [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian]] campaigns.]]

Britain's declaration of war against [[Nazi Germany]] in September 1939 included the Crown colonies and India but did not automatically commit the Dominions of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa. All soon declared war on Germany. While Britain continued to regard Ireland as still within the British Commonwealth, Ireland chose to remain [[Irish neutrality during World War II|legally neutral]] throughout [[The Emergency (Ireland)|the war]].{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|pp=313–314}}

After the [[Fall of France]] in June 1940, Britain and the empire stood alone against Germany, until the [[German invasion of Greece]] on 7 April 1941. British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] successfully lobbied President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for [[military aid]] from the United States, but Roosevelt was not yet ready to ask [[United States Congress|Congress]] to commit the country to war.{{Sfn|Gilbert|2005|p=234}} In August 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt met and signed the [[Atlantic Charter]], which included the statement that "the rights of all peoples to choose the [[form of government]] under which they live" should be respected. This wording was ambiguous as to whether it referred to European countries invaded by Germany and Italy, or the peoples colonised by European nations, and would later be interpreted differently by the British, Americans, and nationalist movements.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lloyd|1996|p=316}}; {{Harvnb|James|2001|p=513}}.</ref> Nevertheless, Churchill rejected its universal applicability when it came to the self-determination of subject nations including the [[British Raj|British Indian Empire]]. Churchill further added that he did not become Prime Minister to oversee the liquidation of the empire.<ref name="i203">{{cite book | last=Mehta | first=B.L.G.A. | title=A New Look at Modern Indian History : From 1707 to The Modern Times | publisher=S. Chand Publishing | isbn=978-93-5501-683-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yc64EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA319 | page=319}}</ref>

For Churchill, the entry of the United States into the war was the "greatest joy".{{Sfn|Churchill|1950|p=539}} He felt that Britain was now assured of victory,{{Sfn|Gilbert|2005|p=244}} but failed to recognise that the "many disasters, immeasurable costs and tribulations [which he knew] lay ahead"{{Sfn|Churchill|1950|p=540}} in December 1941 would have permanent consequences for the future of the empire. The manner in which British forces were rapidly defeated in the Far East irreversibly harmed Britain's standing and prestige as an imperial power,<ref>{{Harvnb|Louis|2006|p=337}}; {{Harvnb|Brown|1998|p=319}}.</ref> including, particularly, the [[Battle of Singapore|Fall of Singapore]], which had previously been hailed as an impregnable fortress and the eastern equivalent of Gibraltar.{{Sfn|James|2001|p=460}} The realisation that Britain could not defend its entire empire pushed Australia and New Zealand, which now appeared threatened by Japanese forces, into closer ties with the United States and, ultimately, the 1951 [[ANZUS|ANZUS Pact]].{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|p=316}} The war weakened the empire in other ways: undermining Britain's control of politics in India, inflicting long-term economic damage, and irrevocably changing [[geopolitics]] by pushing the Soviet Union and the United States to the centre of the global stage.{{Sfn|Darwin|2012|p=340}}