2.Britain Between the Two Wars

Great Britain emerged from the World War as the most important maritime and industrial power in Europe.Both her domestic and foreign policies were aimed at retaining this position.In the spring and summer of 1919the British imperialists mobilized 14states for an armed intervention in Soviet Russia.From the very moment the Soviet Union was born，the imperialists regarded her as a menace that threatened the very existence of capitalism.They wanted to“strangle the young Soviet in the cradle”.However，the soviet people led by Lenin fought bravely，wiped out the“white bandits”and put the Allied forces to rout.The British working class，as well as workers and progressive intellectuals in other countries，organized a“Hand off Soviet Russia”movement.In 1920the British Communist Party was founded and it played an important part in the labour movement.

Mahatma Gandi（1869-1948）

The October Revolution encouraged the people in British colonies to gain national independence.In India the spiritual leader，Mahatma Gandhi ³，launched a civil disobedience campaign in 1919to compel the British to leave India.In 1920the British Parliament passed the Government of India Act，which transferred some political power to elected provincial officials but left the appointed British governors firmly in control.In 1922Britain recognized Egypt as an independent state under her supervision and maintained an army in Egypt to guard the Suez Canal.In Ireland Sinn Fein⁴ and its fighting body，the Irish Republican Army（IRA），started a republican movement which campaigned for the economic and political separation of Ireland from Great Britain.By the terms of an Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921，Ireland was divided into two parts.The southern part became an independent country called Republic of Ireland，and the northern part remained in the union with Great Britain.

Between the two world wars，Britain’s navy and air force were the largest in the world，its army the third largest.Yet its industry was aging，the Great Depression hit especially hard in the British Isles，strikes and labour unrest occurred frequently，and colonial ties became further weakened in the 1930s.The death of King George Ⅴbrought the bachelor Prince of Wales to the throne as EdwardⅧin Jan.1936.Later in the year，the British colonies were rocked by the constitutional issue involved in Edward’s decision to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson，a twice-divorced American.Rather than give up the woman of his love，Edward abdicated and went into voluntary exile.The Duke of York⁵ succeeded him as George Ⅵ6 in Dec.1936.