1.Britain and World WarⅠ

By the end of the 19th century，the world had entered the period of imperialism，the highest stage of capitalism.Owing to the law of the uneven growth of capitalism，Germany and the United States had become strong imperialist powers in the last quarter of the 19th century and they，together with Japan，Italy，France and Russia，competed with Britain for world domination.On the eve of the First World War，the world had practically been divided up by all imperialist countries.Britain and Russia were the two oldest imperialist powers；the former embraced vast colonies all over the five continents，which constituted one-fourth of the world land surface and the latter had a vast territory which included one-seventh of the habitable area of the world.When Germany had grown into a strong imperialist power，she found that although she possessed vast territories in Africa，some islands in the Pacific and a sphere of influence in China，the total area was only one-tenth of that of the British colonies with a population of only three percent of that of the British colonies.In order to redivide the world，an imperialist war was inevitable.The struggle for hegemony is one of the essential features of imperialism.

Towards the end of the 19th century，two military blocs had been formed.Germany，Austria-Hungary and Italy signed the Triple Alliance in 1882.France had a deep hatred for Germany because the Germans had taken French Alsace and Lorraine¹.Russia had been quarrelling with Austria about the Balkans.So France and Russia signed their Dual Alliance in 1894.Up to then Britain tried to continue her policy of“splendid isolation”.But the failure of the British rapprochement² with Germany between 1900and 1902，the determination of Germany to embark on a naval building program and the skillful diplomcy of the French ambassador to Great Britain，all made Britain give up its splendid isolation policy，and at last she allied herself with France and Russia and created the“Triple Entente”in 1907.

After the separation of Europe into two armed groups，a series of crisis occurred and almost started war.The final crisis came in 1914.It was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at Sarajevo，Serbia，on June 28，1914.Austria used this as an excuse for declaring war on Serbia.Russia supported Serbia，and Germany declared war on Russia and on France.When Germany invaded Belgium，which was neutral，Britain declared war on Germany on Aug.4，1914.

During the war the British navy played a very important role in the ultimate triumph of the Allies.Through her control of the seas，Britain was able to establish a blockade of Germany’s coast，sweep all German shipping from the high seas，cut off free communication between Germany and outside world，seize the German colonies in Africa，and maintain lines of communication through the Mediterranean between the western allies and the Balkans.It was the strangle-hold of the British navy that drove Germany to the desperate submarine campaign that finally brought the US into the war against her.It was the protection of the British navy that enabled the transportation of thousands of soldiers from Canada and the other Dominions and of millions of tons of supplies from the United States.

The war was disastrous.By the end of the war the British lost about 2，700，000casualties，70%of her merchant ships and a large amount of wealth.She also borrowed 1，000million dollars from the US.This caused Britain to become a debtor nation.London was consequently replaced by New York as the world’s leading banking center.

The war ended on Nov.11，1918，when the Germans agreed to an armistice on terms of complete surrender.At the Peace Conference at Versailles（1919），the British Prime Minister，Lloyd George got most of what he wanted.According to the Treaty of Versailles Germany handed over most of her remaining merchant ships to England to replace those her submarines had sunk；Britain took Palestine and Mesopotamia from Turkey and a large number of German colonies in Africa and in the Pacific Ocean as mandates of the League of Nations.So far as the area is concerned，the British Empire was at its greatest in about 1920，when it included approximately 25%of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the world’s land territory.