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Empires rise and fall; nothing lasts forever. To ask if there was "fault" in dozens of nations gaining their freedom, seems to suggest that suppressing other people is a good thing.
There were reasons why Britain was able and even needed to dominate world affairs so easily and for so long. But you can't fight the tide of history. The financial burden and cost in young lives was too high to suppress emerging nations indefinitely. Post WW2 returning soldiers just wanted to enjoy the same comforts and housing conditions as their American counterparts, not prop up an unsustainable empire that gave them few benefits.
Although not strictly an empire, I wonder if most Americans consider a state of permanent war and the consequent loss of lives a price worth paying for cultural and political dominance on the world stage. I would certainly be questioning several ruinously expensive wars that seem to have exacerbated the problems they were meant to solve. World domination comes at quite a cost.
The Suez Crisis and the failure of Sir Anthony Eden? The Parliament? The Queen?
It just became subject to 'changing times' and a shrinking world, Empire was a product of bygone times when the world was a much bigger place than it is now, there is no such thing as 'Empire' in the 21st Century, mankind has moved on. As for Britain no longer being a 'superpower' any of the (is it 7 now?) nations that have nuclear warheads are a 'superpower', these countries could pretty much destroy the world (certainly destroy the world as we know it), if that isn't 'superpower' then I don't know what is.
Was there a sole fault of someone or something causing the end of British Empire as a superpower?
In one word, No.
The collapse of the British Empire was the result of class-warfare-oriented Leftist politicians peddling simple answers to a lumpenpoletariat with little or no concept of upward mobility; the real villain wasn't Eden, but Clement Atlee (as Churchill was fond of saying, "There was a lot less to the man than met the eye").
The outcome of WW1 and WW2 and it created a surge in nationalist feelings throughout the empire and the US being a promoter of Self Determination when it became a superpower.
even after WW 1 , things had changed significantly
irish independence ( dublin was the second city of the empire from an administritive position ) encouraged a huge amount of nationalist revival
russian revolution , hugely significant and influential
the usa was rapidly gaining on britain from the start of the last century , the usa is an empire and has been since it dethroned britain , of course empires dont refer to themselves as such nowadays but anytime the dollar is threatened in terms of oil trade etc , they go in , you dont have blatant imperialist language like what churchill would have used but the policies are little different
The main reason for the end of the British Empire was the two World Wars. Alongside a large loss of its adult male population (mostly during WWI), the wars left Britain bankrupt and in heavy debt. Which limited the nation's ability to project power as it had once been able to do. The Suez Crisis was equivalent to an aging boxer coming out of retirement to prove that he's still "got it", but with predictable results.
irish independence ( dublin was the second city of the empire from an administritive position ) encouraged a huge amount of nationalist revival
You overestimate your own importance. Beyond Dublin, Ireland was little other than an underpopulated, poorly-developed backwater. Dublin lost its status as the "2nd city" sometime in the mid 19th century.
You overestimate your own importance. Beyond Dublin, Ireland was little other than an underpopulated, poorly-developed backwater. Dublin lost its status as the "2nd city" sometime in the mid 19th century.
never said it wasnt poor or underpopulated or poorly developed at that time ( which it was thanks to the colonial british )
the consequences of loosing a part of the empire on your doorstep were indeed very significant however , david ben gurion was influenced by the irish rebellion , as were others in former british colonies
symbolism !
Last edited by irish_bob; 12-23-2017 at 05:39 AM..
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