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| | *Telford child sexual exploitation scandal | | *Telford child sexual exploitation scandal |
| | + | == Collapse of the British Empire == |
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| | + | ''See also:'' [[Collapse of the British Empire]] |
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| | + | In its article ''How big was the [[Britain|British]] Empire and why did it collapse?'' the website The Week indicates about the ''collapse of the British Empire'': |
| | + | {{Cquote|From India, further expansion was undertaken through Asia, and by 1913 the British Empire was the largest to have ever existed. |
| | + | It covered around 25% of the world's land surface, including large swathes of North America, Australia, Africa and Asia, while other areas - especially in South America - were closely linked to the empire by trade, according to the National Archives. |
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| | + | As a result of its size, it became known as “the empire on which the sun never sets”. |
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| | + | It also oversaw around 412 million inhabitants, or around 23% of the world’s population at the time, writes the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development... |
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| | + | The campaigns it waged in Europe, Asia and Africa virtually bankrupted the UK and the subsequent debt it acquired severely comprised its economic independence; the foundation of the imperial system. |
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| | + | The Empire was overstretched and - combined with growing unrest in various colonies - this led to the swift and decisive fall of many of Britain’s key assets, some diplomatically, some violently. |
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| | + | In 1947 India became independent following a nonviolent civil-disobedience campaign spearheaded by Mahatma Gandhi. Britain had lost the jewel in its crown, and this kickstarted a domino effect across the Empire. |
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| | + | “Less than a year later, communist guerrillas launched a violent campaign aimed at forcing Britain from Malaya,” the Imperial War Museum writes. |
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| | + | “In the Middle East, Britain hurriedly abandoned Palestine in 1948. Ghana became Britain's first African colony to reach independence in 1957. By 1967 more than 20 British territories were independent.” |
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| | + | Little remains of British rule today across the globe, and it is mostly restricted to small island territories such as Bermuda and the Falkland Islands. However, a number of countries still have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state including New Zealand, Australia and Canada - a hangover of the Empire.<ref>[https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/british-empire ''How big was the British Empire and why did it collapse?''], The Week</ref>}} |
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| | == See also == | | == See also == |