Year 8 – Term 1

A summary of everyday life in the Industrial Era

British people in the 19th century were often aware that they were living in a revolutionary age. They were excited by their world. Britannia 'ruled the waves' and they were surrounded by change.

The Industrial Revolution brought factories, mines and machinery. Towns grew rapidly and with them came slums as well as elegant city centres. Steam trains and the Royal Mail made communication easier. There were massive advances in medicine and public health. Political and social reforms changed people's lives and at a personal level, there were lots of little developments from umbrellas to bicycles.

Steam engine workshop

The Victorian age was a time of confidence. The Victorians thought that, even if their society was not yet perfect, they were just about to achieve perfection. They believed in self-help, and emphasised strict morals.

By 1851, British society had become divided into social classes:

The aristocracy were powerful and wealthy.

The middle-class, who ran the businesses, were ambitious and growing in wealth.

The poor - in the villages, in the towns and working as servants in the homes of the rich – were very poor.

By 1900 the class system remained, but it was beginning to break apart:

The aristocracy had lost their power over Parliament and some were beginning to experience financial problems.

Middle-class businessmen were facing competition from Germany and America.

The working-class were beginning to grow in prosperity and influence.

Agriculture in the Industrial Revolution

The historian Arnold Toynbee created the idea that between 1750 and 1830, there was an 'Agricultural Revolution'. Toynbee and other historians of the time presented the Revolution as the work of 'heroes':

Jethro Tull promoted the use of the seed drill and the use of horses to pull machinery rather than oxen.

Charles 'Turnip' Townshend introduced the turnip and the Norfolk four-course rotation of wheat‒turnips‒barley‒clover onto his farm.

Robert Bakewell used selective breeding to develop the New Leicester sheep and the Colling brothers promoted the selective breeding of Longhorn cattle.

Thomas Coke of Holkham publicised these new ideas by inviting hundreds of people to his 'sheep shearings', ie agricultural shows.

Arthur Young wrote about the new methods and spread ideas more widely.

The Parliamentary Enclosure Movement was said to have destroyed the old three-field system and created the modern 'patchwork' of enclosed fields.

Jethro Tull's seed drill

The Agricultural Revolution

During the 1960s, economic historians questioned this view suggesting that the changes were not really the work of this group and that they were just very good self-publicists.

What we do know is that over the period 1700 to 1850 farming output almost doubled.

Recently, historians have suggested, again, that the critical period was 1750-1830. They argue that the increasing use of fodder crops grown for animal food allowed farmers to keep more animals, which meant more meat for market and more manure to put on the fields to increase crop yields.

Consequences of the Agricultural Revolution

Without the Agricultural Revolution, the growing population of England would have starved and the Industrial Revolution would have been stifled.

It used to be thought that enclosure displaced farm-workers to the towns, but historians now doubt this. In the short term, enclosure needed more labourers to build the farms and the fences.

In the long term, however, increased use of machinery meant that fewer farm workers were needed. They left the land and went to the industrial towns of the north of England.

The Agricultural Revolution can therefore be seen as very significant. Historians debate whether or not it is of equal significance to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution certainly did more for the country’s development but may not have existed without the Agricultural Revolution.

Working class life in the Industrial Era

Living and working conditions for the Victorian working classes

During the Industrial Era society was highly stratified. Even within the working-class, a station-master would regard himself higher than the porters, and a butler 'lorded' it over the maids. Many working-class people aspired to join – or worked so their children could join the middle-classes. At the start of the 19th century few poor people received an education, until the 1880 Education Act made primary school, called board school, compulsory.

Before 1832, working-class children as young as six worked in factories and in mines. People often worked long hours with very little pay and in dangerous conditions. Three acts of Parliament were passed to make working life safer for the Victorian working-class:

In 1832, the Factory Act stopped children under the age of 9 working.

In 1842, the Mines Act stopped women, girls and boys under 10 working below ground in mines.

In 1847, the Ten Hours Act limited women and young people to working a maximum of 58 hours a week.

Living conditions at the start of the Industrial Revolution were terrible and many poor town-dwellers lived in filthy slums, but:

In 1890, the Housing of the Working Classes Act set standards for new houses

In the second half of the century, food improved, especially after meat began to be imported from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina

In 1844, the Rochdale Pioneers set up the first Co-op, to provide quality groceries at fair prices, and share the profits between the members

The rise of trade unions and changing attitudes towards the poor

London dock workers strike

Trade unions were forbidden until 1824. As the century went on, workers formed trade unions to improve their wages. After 1850, skilled workers such as the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, set up New Model Unions. In the late 1880s, after a series of strikes including the Match Girls Strike of 1888, and the Dockers' Strike of 1889, trade unions were set up for unskilled workers.

Some harsh attitudes toward the poor remained in place. For instance, The Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) had sent the poor to the workhouse but the Bank Holiday Act (1871)

made paid bank holidays compulsory. Electoral reform meant that many working-class men got the vote in 1867 or 1884. The Independent Labour Party was formed by Kier Hardie in 1893. By 1900, the work of writers such as Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree had created new attitudes towards poverty by publishing their research on poverty. The 'Liberal Reforms' included Old Age Pensions (1908) and National Insurance (1911).

Working class entertainment and leisure activities

Though working-class life was hard and sometimes scarred by deep poverty, working-class people did find time to relax and enjoy themselves. Working-class leisure activities included playing or watching football, participating in bicycling clubs, reading newspapers and trashy serialised novels called 'penny dreadfuls' and visiting the local music hall.The 1871 Bank Holiday Act made paid bank holidays compulsory and working-class people started to travel by train to the seaside at Scarborough or Blackpool for their holidays.

A summary of the Industrial Revolution

Shortly before his death in 1883, the historian Arnold Toynbee suggested that in the years after 1750 there was both an agricultural and an industrial 'revolution'. Many historians now challenge this idea. They put the turning point much earlier and suggest that change was much more gradual than Toynbee said.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to deny that the years after 1750 were a time of great achievement:

Agriculture - Charles ‘Turnip’ Townshend introduced the Norfolk four-course rotation of wheat‒turnips‒barley‒clover to his farm and Robert Bakewell used selective breeding to develop the New Leicester sheep. Arthur Young promoted new methods to a wider audience.

Industry - Richard Arkwright's Mill at Cromford heralded 'the Factory Age' of the textile industry, production of iron increased 30-fold and production of coal increased 20-fold. Newcomen and Watt contributed to the development of steam power to drive machinery more efficiently.

Transport and communications - Thomas Telford built roads and canals in the 1700s and George Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel oversaw the 'Railway Mania' of the 1800s. There had previously been no very fast way of transporting goods and people around the country. However, canals did already exist and so most materials were transported by boat to towns and cities which had to be located on canal routes.

There were also many scientific discoveries and technological inventions that changed society and industry.

TERM 2

The roots of Chartism

Many working-class men had campaigned for the 1832 Reform Act. They felt betrayed when it did not give them the vote.

In 1836, a cabinet-maker named William Lovett formed the London Working Men's Association, to campaign for working people. One of Lovett's ideas was The People's Charter (1838), demanding:

a vote for all men twenty-one or older

the secret ballot

that any man can become an MP (no need to own property)

payment of MPs

constituencies with equal numbers of voters

parliamentary elections every year

The 1830s and 1840s were a time of great suffering for poor people, particularly in the north of England:

working conditions in the factories and living conditions in the growing towns were bad

the 1840s were a time of economic depression, known as 'the Hungry Forties'

the new Poor Law (1834) had abolished payments to families, called 'outdoor relief' and instead said that poor people had to go into the workhouse

In 1837, Feargus O'Connor – an Irish lawyer living in Leeds – started publishing the Northern Star, a newspaper that campaigned for better wages and living standards. O'Connor supported Physical Force Chartism, which championed using violent means; over Moral Force Chartism, which opted for peaceful protest, as the only way to achieve reform. He felt that non-violence could be and was easily ignored, whereas violence forced the government to take some action. Even if the action was negative, it would at least create publicity and make

people take notice. In the long-run, he hoped that this would force the government into taking positive action.

The Chartists were encouraged in 1848 by a wave of revolutions throughout Europe. The authorities disliked the idea of Chartism because it threatened their power. Allowing all adult men to vote or stand as an MP would mean the traditional ruling classes would be unlikely to remain in government.

Life for women at the start of the 19th century

Women and men were not equal in the 19th century. Women were seen as 'the weaker sex'. This particularly affected middle class women because they had no reason to leave the home or go to work. The middle classes took the role of women very seriously because they did not have to worry about things like poverty. The ideal woman was to be 'the angel in the house' and support her husband.

Rights for married women

At the begining of the century, women had very few rights of their own, particularly once they were married. Upon marriage, women became the property of their husband. A remnant of this can still be seen today with married women taking their husband’s surname. It was never the other way round.

Whilst divorce was very unfashionable in general, it was possible for men to divorce their wives for a variety of reasons, like them failing to look after their needs properly or committing adultery. It wasn't until half way through the century (1857) that women could divorce an abusive husband.

Working women

There was a view that women should not work. However in industries such as textiles whole branches of an industry were reliant upon the labour of women. Even after 1842, women were still involved in coal mining, but only above ground. In agriculture and domestic service women were an essential part of the workforce. A few middle class women worked before they got married. However, once married, whatever they had earned became the property of their husband, just like them.

Politics and government were matters for men. Women supposedly did not have the brain capacity to understand such things and so they were entirely excluded from the process. Women could not vote, no matter who they were and there were certainly no women in Parliament.

A summary of the campaign for women's suffrage

Although there had been some advances in women's rights, women were not equal to men in the 19th century. In particular, they did not have the vote in Parliamentary elections.

Campaign groups

In 1897, Millicent Fawcett organised the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS – the Suffragists) to campaign peacefully for the vote.

In 1903, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU – the Suffragettes) was formed, led by Emmeline Pankhurst. The Suffragettes used violent protest, famously breaking windows and chaining themselves to railings.

Another group campaigning for the vote was the East London Federation of Suffragettes (1913), under Sylvia Pankhurst.

Despite all the campaign efforts, women had not won the vote by 1914:

Parliament rejected every bill to give women the vote. Male members held strong views about the weakness of women.

The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League (1908) campaigned against votes for women.

When the First World War broke out, the Suffragettes and Suffragists stopped most of their campaign.

However all this started to change after the First World War. During the war women contributed greatly to the war effort and kept the country going while the men were away. In 1918, the government passed the Representation of the People Act giving the vote to all men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30 who were householders or married to a householder.

The campaign for women's suffrage finally succeeded in 1928, when women were granted exactly the same voting rights as men.

The campaign for women's suffrage (1897‒1928)

The Suffragettes (1903) used direct action to get their way. For example, they chained themselves to railings and interrupted meetings.

When Parliament refused to give votes to women, their campaign became more violent as they burned down buildings and planted bombs. Emily Wilding Davison died when she threw herself under a horse.

However, the Suffragists campaigned peacefully, and in 1928, all women were given the vote on the same terms as men.

The Suffragettes

In 1903, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU – the Suffragettes) was formed, led by Emmeline Pankhurst. It was run by Mrs Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel.

The Suffragettes believed in civil disobedience. They:

disrupted Parliament

chained themselves to railings

broke windows

burned down churches

held huge marches and demonstrations

attacked politicians

set post-boxes on fire

slashed paintings

went on hunger strike when arrested

Emily Davison threw herself under the king's horse in the 1913 Derby race. In 1913, Emmeline Pankhurst declared that the WSPU were 'guerrillists', who would destroy anything other than human life to get the vote.

The Suffragettes, however, had not won the vote by 1914:

Many bills were presented to Parliament between 1900 and 1914, but they were all defeated.

In 1910, the Men's National League for Opposing Women's Franchise merged with the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League to form the National League for Opposing Women's Suffrage. It published the Anti-Suffrage Review, which said that women were not fit for government and that Suffragettes neglected their families.

In 1914, when the war broke out, Emmeline Pankhurst stopped the campaign and urged women to support the war instead.

Women getting the vote

In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave the vote to all men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30 who were householders or married to a householder. In 1928, women over the age of 21 were given the same voting rights as men.

Historians suggest the following reasons for this:

During the war, the NUWSS continued to write to Members of Parliament (MP), asking for votes for women.

During the war, women worked as coal miners and road-layers. They worked in munitions factories. They served in France as nurses. Many MPs said that they had shown themselves equal to men and were 'worthy' of the vote.

Millions of working class men – including soldiers fighting in France – still did not have the vote. The government wanted to give them the vote, but they could not give men the vote and not women.

In 1918, many of the 'old guard' MPs who had opposed votes for women had been replaced by younger men who supported it.

TERM 3

The first British Empire: 1497-1763

Sir Walter Raleigh

Between 1497 and 1763, English seamen discovered new lands, set up colonies and traded all over the world.

In 1497, only five years after Christopher Columbus sailed to the West Indies, the Italian explorer John Cabot, financed by English merchants, discovered new lands in Canada.

The first English colonies were formed in north America - in 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh organised a small settlement at Roanoke in Virginia, but it failed and in 1607, Captain John Smith founded a permanent colony at Jamestown in Virginia.

After 1612, the East India Company began to build up a small empire of trading posts in India.

The first successful English colonies in the West Indies were founded in the 1620s. The settlers set up sugar and tobacco plantations and used slave labour.

In 1664, the English took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which included the state of New Amsterdam. The English renamed this New York. The English also took over New Sweden (which is now called Delaware). Florida became a British colony in 1763.

Fighting the French and gaining control of India

In the 18th century, Britain fought a number of wars against France, taking over colonies established by the French:

in 1713, the British took over the French colony of Acadia (New France in northeastern North America)

victories by Robert Clive, including the Battle of Plassey in 1757, drove out the French and established British control in India

during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) the British won Canada from the French with a notable victory coming from General James Wolfe's capture of Quebec in 1759

The Seven Years’ War 1756-1763

The Seven Years’ War lasted between 1756 and 1763 and showed just how far Britain was prepared to go in order to protect its colonial interests.

England and France had been involved in small conflicts over territories for many years, going back to the British control of Calais in the Middle Ages. In 1756, Britain declared war on France over a conflict over French expansion in America by the Ohio River Valley. British Prime Minister, William Pitt the Older, funded the British colonies in America to raise armies against the French.

By 1783, at the Treaty of Paris, Britain gained a number of new colonies in North and Central America: Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Tobago.

The British victory was significant as it resulted in an angry France supporting America in the War of Independence just over a decade later.

The second British Empire: 1783-1924

In the century 1815–1914, 10 million square miles of territory and 400 million people were added to the British Empire. By the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 Britain was the 'Mother Country' of a worldwide empire which covered a fifth of the land in the world, and Britannia 'ruled the waves'.

Timeline leading up to the British Empire Exhibition of 1924

1787 First shipment of transported prisoners to Australia.

1839 The Opium War forced China to allow British traders to sell the drug opium into China.

1857 There was a rebellion in India (the Indian Mutiny). The government took over rule of India from the East India Company.

1867 Canada was given 'dominion' (self-governing) status, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1907.

1876 Queen Victoria was declared 'Empress of India'.

1881‒1919

The 'Scramble for Africa' – Britain acquired colonies in Africa stretching from Cairo to Cape Town.

1899‒1902

The Second Boer War – the British conquered South Africa.

1919 The Treaty of Versailles gave Germany's colonies as 'mandates' for Britain and France to administer.

1924 The British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium. The Empire looked happy and strong.

Attitudes of Empire

Britain regarded itself as 'ruler of the waves'. The songs 'Rule Britannia' and 'Land of Hope and Glory' show this.

Many British people at the time thought that they were doing the right thing by taking the British government and Christianity to the rest of the world, ending slavery and barbaric traditions and bringing 'civilisation' and an international 'Pax Britannica', or 'British peace'. The British generally felt that the way they lived their lives was the right way. They believed that colonising various countries was a means of helping others to become like Britain and therefore improve.

However, the British were now repressing various groups and even entire countries. In Africa, following the ‘Scramble’, British soldiers controlled many villages that they saw as disruptive and removed many local leaders. The British helped these countries by opening up trade markets with them and developing them more than they had ever been developed before.

The British Empire after 1924

After the World War One it became increasingly difficult for Britain to hold on to her Empire. It became clear that:

Britain could no longer afford an empire.

Britain had no right to rule people who did not want to be ruled by Britain.

Britain realised that the Royal Navy was not strong enough to protect all the Empire anywhere in the world.

The right to rule yourself

Mohandas Gandhi

The Treaty of Versailles (1919) promoted ‘self-determination’, or the right to rule yourself. It was difficult for Britain to support this principle for other countries, but deny it to countries in its Empire:

Ireland rebelled between 1919 and 1921. In 1920‒1921 it was divided into Northern Ireland, which was part of the UK and the Irish Free State, a dominion like Canada. In 1937, it became more independent as Éire. In 1949, Éire became the completely independent Republic of Ireland and left the Commonwealth.

There was a strong independence movement in India:

The British government massacred a peaceful gathering at Amritsar in 1919.

Mohandas Gandhi led a non-cooperation movement which refused to obey British laws, eg the Salt March, 1930.

In 1935, the Government of India Act gave Indians control of everything except foreign policy.

The struggle for independence and decolonisation in Africa

During the Second World War, Africa had made a significant contribution to the war effort. The colonies of Britain helped greatly by providing troops and local resources for the Allied soldiers. This led to local industries being created and local towns and villages became more developed and better educated. Many people even joined trade unions, organisations which helped them to think about their rights when they were working. As a result, many Africans under colonial rule began to think about their rights as people and felt that they deserved the chance to now rule themselves. They saw that they had become important contributors to the war and had developed enough to now have their own government.

Britain faced economic problems because of the cost of the war and it was becoming harder for them to run the Empire. They now had trade agreements with other countries, such as those in Europe and the United States and so did not rely so much on the markets provided by Africa. Therefore, the Empire was beginning to cost more than it was making. What is more, President Roosevelt was trying to encourage Britain to give freedom to its colonies in Africa. Instead of granting them full freedom, Britain began to introduce democracy to local areas within the colonies.

Eventually, nationalists in the African colonies felt that enough was enough and started protesting and rioting against the British. Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) led these protests. With all of their money problems, Britain could simply not afford to deal with this as well. Eventually, independence was granted to these colonies and, between the 1950s and 1980s, Britain lost control of all of its colonies in Africa.

The Commonwealth and the European Economic Community

The British Empire was dismantled and replaced by a voluntary organisation of former colonies called the Commonwealth:

In 1926, the British government agreed the Balfour Declaration – that Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were completely independent countries, “freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations”.

In 1947, India and Pakistan were given independence.

In 1960, British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan admitted there was a “wind of change” in Africa. Most of Britain’s African and Caribbean colonies achieved independence in the 1960s.

In 1973, Britain joined the European Economic Community and became part of a trading community based on free trade between the countries of Europe.

In 1997, Britain formally handed Hong Kong back to China.

TERM 4

First World War

Why did War break out?

A number of different factors contributed to a situation where the First World War could break out.

The Threat of Germany

Germany had been made up of a number of separate states but became a united 'empire' in 1871 by defeating and humiliating France in the Franco-Prussian War. This gave Germany greater strength to develop.

After 1900, Germany built up its navy - this frightened the British.

In 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II demanded an overseas empire for Germany – this frightened Britain and France.

Germany wanted to build a railway through the Balkans to Baghdad – this alarmed the Russians, who said they were the protectors of the Balkans.

Germany's military defence plan – the Schlieffen Plan – involved attacking and defeating France quickly and then turning its armies on Russia.

The Balkans

The Turkish Empire in the Balkans collapsed:

Nationalist interests became clear when the new nation of Serbia clashed with Austria-Hungary.

Austria-Hungary and Russia clashed because they both wanted more power in the Balkans.

The System of alliances

Two opposing groups had grown up by 1914, believing that a 'balance of power' would prevent war:

The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (1882).

The Triple Entente of France, Russia and Great Britain (1907).

The Course of the War 1914 − 1918

The War had five phases:

The War of Movement (August ‒ September 1914)

The Germans invaded France, but were stopped at the Battle of the Marne (September 1914).

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) helped to stop the Germans at the Battle of Mons (23 August 1914).

The Russians invaded Germany but were destroyed at the Battle of Tannenberg (August 1914).

The Race to the Sea (September ‒ November 1914)

On the Western Front, both sides dug a 400-mile line of trenches from Switzerland to the English Channel. Soldiers had to put up with constantly being wet, being pestered by rats, and illnesses.

Stalemate (1915)

There was a stalemate (neither side could defeat the other).

On the Western Front, attacks on the German trenches led to huge casualties.

Britain's attempt to open up a 'Second Front' at Gallipoli in Turkey was a failure.

The War of Attrition (1916 ‒ 1918)

The two sides simply tried to wear each other down:

Huge battles, eg Verdun and the Somme in 1916, Passchendaele in 1917, lasted many months. Thousands of men died or were wounded.

New weapons, eg poison gas, tanks and aeroplanes failed to make much effect.

There were terrible conditions in the trenches and many casualties from machine gun and artillery fire.

The British blockaded German ports to try to starve the Germans into surrender. In October 1918 there was a revolution in Germany.

German U-boats tried to starve the British by sinking merchant ships – but this angered the Americans.

German Zeppelins and Gotha planes bombed London.

The Fighting Ends

The United States of America entered the war in 1917.

On 21 March 1918, the Germans launched Operation Michael – a huge last-ditch attack.

On 8 August 1918, the German Army’s ‘Black Day’, when their attack was defeated.

The Allies, with the Americans, began to push back the Germans. The Allies and Germany signed a ceasefire, or ‘armistice’, at 11am on 11 November 1918.

On 28 June 1919, The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans.

The Consequences of the War

In some ways, humankind has never recovered from the horrors of the First World War:

Eight million soldiers died and many more were damaged physically or mentally.

Nine million civilians died.

Twelve million tons of shipping was sunk.

On the Western Front, the war destroyed 300,000 houses, 6,000 factories, 1,000 miles of railway and 112 coal mines.

Remembrance Day began and poppies were used to symbolise those who had lost their lives fighting.

Germany had not technically surrendered and was outraged by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles – this helped to cause:

The Second World War. Some historians suggest that there were not two world wars, but only one, with a long ceasefire in between.

Hitler’s rise to power.

The War helped make Britain more democratic. There was an attitude that Britain needed to be ‘a home fit for heroes.’ A Labour government was elected in 1924. All men and women over 21 were given the vote in 1928.

TERM 5

A summary of World War Two

Historians disagree about the causes of World War Two (WW2). Some trace it back to the anger created in Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. Some blame Neville Chamberlain and the appeasers for being too weak. Some ascribe it to Hitler's aggression.

The war broke out when Hitler invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. Britain declared war two days later, on 3 September.

At first there was a 'Phoney War' – Britain and France was not directly threatened – but in 1940 the Germans attacked. Their Blitzkreig tactics quickly destroyed the Allied forces. France was defeated and the British army was evacuated from Dunkirk. For a while, Britain and the empire faced the Germans alone, and had to survive the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.

In June 1941, Hitler invaded Russia and in December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the USA into the war. The war became a truly global conflict. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Nazis implemented their 'Final Solution' to exterminate all Jewish people.

The critical battles that changed the course of the war were at Midway in the Pacific (June 1942), El-Alamein in Egypt (November 1942) and Stalingrad in Russia (January 1943).

After that, the Allies never lost a battle. On D-Day (6 June 1944), the Allies invaded Normandy. The Soviet Red Army was advancing from the east. Hitler later committed suicide, and Germany surrendered (7 May 1945).

On 6 August 1945, the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and Japan surrendered on VJ Day (15 August 1945). The war was over.

The background to war

The war was caused by both long and short term factors.

Long term factors

From October 1929 an economic depression, starting in America, spread across the world. Millions were thrown out of work – some starved to death.

People were angry, and they turned to political extremists:

In Germany and Italy, fascist dictators came to power.

In Japan, the army took power.

Countries became more aggressive:

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1932.

Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935.

Short term factors

Hitler built up a Greater Germany in central Europe. In 1938 he united Austria and Germany, known as the Anschluss, and demanded the Sudetenland, the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia. In doing so, he broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Faced with aggression like this, the League of Nations was powerless.

World leaders like the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, and France’s Édouard Daladier tried a policy of appeasement – negotiating with Hitler and offering concessions.

In September 1938, the Munich Agreement gave Hitler the Sudetenland. The Czechs were not asked what they thought about it. Hitler occupied the Sudentenland in the following month.

Appeasement failed to stop Hitler:

In March 1939, Hitler occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.

In September 1939, he invaded Poland, and Britain declared war.

The five phases

World War Two: Five phases

The Phoney War (September 1939‒April 1940)

The War had five phases:

The Phoney War (September 1939‒April 1940)

Hitler conquered Poland. There was no other major activity on land, although there were actions at sea. Historians believe that this period saw very little action as all countries involved were biding their time and waiting for the other to make the first move. The governments of Germany, Britain and France began to issue propaganda. The British government even flew over Germany but, rather than dropping bombs, they dropped propaganda leaflets. Very little of military significance happened that was noticeable. However, all countries were developing their military bases and new technologies. People began to get frustrated and some evacuated children were sent home because people felt there was no point staying in the countryside when there were no bombs to worry about.

Blitzkreig (April 1940‒June 1940)

The Nazis conquered Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. The British Expeditionary Force was trapped at Dunkirk, but managed to withdraw by sea back to Britain. On 4th June, 1940, Winston Churchill delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time to the House of Commons in Westminster. In it, he warned about the possibility of a German invasion of Britain and said to the inspiration of many: We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Britain and the empire stands alone (July 1940‒June 1941)

Britain withstood the German Airforce, called the Luftwaffe, in the Battle of Britain (July‒September 1940).

But Britain was alone, and in great danger of losing the war.

The Luftwaffe bombed London for 76 nights running (the Blitz), then other cities such as Coventry. People took cover in air raid shelters; some were made of corrugated iron in gardens; others were located inside train stations and tunnels.

The British were driven out of Greece and most of North Africa.

The British ran out of money, and had to sign the Lend-Lease Agreement with America (America sold arms to Britain, to be paid back after the war).

The tide turns (1941‒1943)

In June 1941, Hitler invaded Russia, known as Operation Barbarossa. This brought Russia back into the war, this time against Germany. The failure of Operation Barbarossa was the first major German defeat.

In December 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This brought America into the war.

As a result the Allies gradually began to win the war:

In June 1942 the Americans defeated the Japanese at the Battle of Midway.

In November 1942 the British won the Battle of El-Alamein in Egypt.

In January 1943 the Russians defeated the Nazis at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Victory (1943‒1945)

In 1944, the Nazis launched V-1 rockets, known as doodlebugs, which fell randomly in southern Britain.

But:

After D-Day on 6 June 1944, Germany was gradually driven back in Western Europe by the British, Americans and their allies.

The Americans and British continued the strategic bombing campaign on German cities.

The Russians advanced in Eastern Europe and in April they reached Berlin. Hitler committed suicide.

Germany surrendered and war came to an end in Europe shortly afterwards and VE Day was announced on 8 May 1945. Winston Churchill announced this with caution: We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead. He was speaking of Japan, where the war would continue for three months more.

On 6 August 1945, the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and again on Nagasaki on 9 August. Within weeks Japan surrendered, and VJ Day was announced 15 August 1945. By this stage, Winston Churchill was no longer Prime Minister. Clement Attlee had taken over following a general election in which the majority of people voted for a Labour government believing that they would help them more in recovering from the destruction of war. Attlee said, at midnight,The last of our enemies is laid low.

Consequences of World War Two

Graves of British soldiers killed in World War Two

World War Two created a new world:

It has been estimated that 50 million people died in World War Two.

The old empires of France and Britain were ruined. A 'wind of change' meant that by the end of the 1960s almost all the old colonies of the British Empire had gained their independence.

America and Russia were the new 'superpowers', and immediately started on a Cold War.

The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki created a world which was terrified by the threat of atomic war.

Germany was divided, and remained so until 1990.

The League of Nations was disbanded. Instead, a new United Nations was declared.

Consequences of the war in Britain

In Britain, the government promised the people who had fought against Hitler a Welfare State, which would care for its people from the cradle to the grave.

The feeling was that 'right' had triumphed over 'evil'.

Rationing remained in force in Britain into the 1950s. Sugar did not come off rationing until 1953.

The dismantling of the British empire began.