The Empire and the World Wars

The two world wars of the twentieth century transformed the British Empire. The First World War expanded the Empire to its greatest territorial extent while simultaneously unleashing forces — nationalism, anti-colonialism, economic disruption — that would ultimately destroy it. The Second World War accelerated the process of imperial decline, demonstrating that Britain could no longer defend its Empire or sustain the costs of imperial governance.

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The Empire and the First World War (1914–1918)

Imperial Contributions

The British Empire mobilised on an extraordinary scale for the First World War:

Territory	Contribution
India	Over 1.4 million Indian soldiers and labourers served during the war — on the Western Front, in Mesopotamia (Iraq), East Africa, Egypt, and Gallipoli. The Indian Army suffered approximately 74,000 killed and 67,000 wounded. India also contributed £146 million in financial support.
Dominions	Australia (416,000 served, 60,000 killed), Canada (620,000 served, 60,000 killed), New Zealand (128,000 served, 18,000 killed), South Africa (136,000 served). The Dominion contribution was vital to the British war effort and transformed Dominion national identities.
Africa	Over 1 million Africans served as soldiers and carriers in the East African campaign against German forces. The carrier corps suffered appalling casualties from disease, malnutrition, and exhaustion — an estimated 100,000 African carriers died.
Caribbean	The British West Indies Regiment (approximately 16,000 men) served in the Middle East and Europe. They faced racial discrimination from British military authorities — relegated to labour duties, denied combat roles in some theatres, and segregated in base camps.

The War and Imperial Expansion

Development	Detail
Ottoman territories	The defeat of the Ottoman Empire brought vast new territories under British control — Egypt became a formal protectorate (1914), Mesopotamia (Iraq), Palestine, and Transjordan became League of Nations mandates.
German colonies	German East Africa (Tanganyika), German South-West Africa (administered by South Africa), and parts of Togoland and Cameroon were transferred to Allied powers as mandates.
Greatest extent	By 1920, the British Empire covered approximately one-quarter of the world's land surface and governed approximately one-quarter of the world's population — its greatest territorial extent.

The War and Imperial Tensions

Tension	Detail
Broken promises to India	The British government implied that India's war contribution would be rewarded with significant constitutional reform. The Montagu Declaration (August 1917) promised "the progressive realisation of responsible government in India." However, the reality fell short of Indian expectations, and the repressive Rowlatt Acts (1919) provoked fury.
The Amritsar Massacre (1919)	The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh (see Lesson 7) shattered the illusion that British rule was benevolent and accelerated the rise of mass nationalism under Gandhi.
Dominion autonomy	The war strengthened Dominion demands for greater autonomy. Dominion Prime Ministers participated in the Imperial War Cabinet (1917–18), and the Dominions signed the Treaty of Versailles as separate signatories. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster (1931) formally recognised Dominion autonomy.
Arab nationalism	The Sharif Hussein of Mecca agreed to lead an Arab revolt against the Ottomans (1916) in exchange for British support for Arab independence (the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence, 1915–16). However, Britain simultaneously agreed to divide the Ottoman territories with France (the Sykes-Picot Agreement, May 1916) and promised a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine (the Balfour Declaration, November 1917). These contradictory commitments created problems that persist to this day.
Irish independence	The Easter Rising (1916), the War of Independence (1919–21), and the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) resulted in the creation of the Irish Free State — the first significant loss of territory in the modern Empire.

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The Interwar Period (1919–1939)

The Mandate System

The League of Nations mandate system was, in theory, a departure from traditional colonialism: mandatory powers were supposed to administer former enemy territories as a "sacred trust of civilisation," preparing them for eventual independence. In practice, the mandates functioned as colonies in all but name.

Mandate	Detail
Iraq	Britain faced a major revolt in 1920, costing more than the entire Mesopotamian campaign. Iraq was given formal independence in 1932, but Britain retained substantial military and economic influence.
Palestine	The mandate was undermined from the outset by the contradictions between British promises to Arabs and Jews. Arab-Jewish conflict escalated throughout the 1930s, culminating in the Arab Revolt (1936–39).
Tanganyika	Administered under indirect rule by Governor Sir Donald Cameron, who adapted Lugard's Nigerian model.

Constitutional Developments in India