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: