BRITAIN AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

1. The Edwardian Age

• When Queen Victoria died in 1901 her son
Edward VII succeeded to the throne. He took the
Germanic surname of his father Prince Albert of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

• He brought new energy to the monarchy and,

being related to most European royalty, took an
active part in foreign policy negotiations.

• His reign was a period of social and political

change in Britain.
 2. Edwardian Britain

• The Labour party was founded in 1906.

• The Liberals won the general elections in 1906 and took

the first steps towards the creation of a Welfare State.

• The government approved measures to improve the

living conditions of the working class.

• The new reforms concerned:

- old-age pensions;
- sickness and unemployment benefits.
2. Edwardian Britain

In spite of these important measures of social improvement, the Edwardian

period was a time of:

• industrial unrest with strikes;

• violent protest against the high prices and low wages.

2. Suffragettes
• At the beginning of the 20th century only men were
allowed to vote.

• Educated women had been arguing in favour of voting

rights for women since the 1860s.

• In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst founded the WSPU

(Women’s Social and Political Union).

• The Suffragettes, as they were called, demanded the

right to vote and to take full part in the democratic
process.

• They often used extreme or violent methods of protest.

 3. Suffragettes
• Suffragettes organised demonstrations
characterised by arrests and violent
conflict with the police.

• In prison some women went on hunger

strike and prison authorities began
force-feeding them.

• After years of struggles, in 1918 the “Representation of the People Act ”

granted voting rights to all women over 30 who were property owners.

• In 1928 the franchise was extended to women over 21.

 4. The outbreak of World War I

• In 1914 a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke

Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian
throne, in Sarajevo.

War broke out between:

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

• the Triple Alliance (Germany and Austria-Hungary
– Italy joined the Allies in 1915);

• the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia).

• the causes that led to the First World War were complex:
the rising power of Germany – which was investing a lot of energy in building a strong
a military navy – started to appear threatening in Europe.
4. The outbreak of World War I
• Germany attacked France through Belgium, which had declared its
neutrality.

• Britain entered the war convinced that the conflict would be over in
a few months. It was a fight for democracy and freedom.

• It was the end of its ‘splendid isolation’ (the distance kept from
continental troubles in order to protect imperial interests).

• It was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history, costing the lives of

millions of soldiers and civilians.

• In 1917 America entered the war on the side of the Allies

this accelerated the German defeat
 5. Britain at war
Technology superior to tactics

Machine guns vs New technology =

a human charge poison gas, tanks,
airplanes, submarines

Very high death rates

 6. Armistice Day
• The Great War ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the
eleventh month.

this was called Armistice Day. It is also known as ‘Remembrance Day’ or

‘Poppy Day’ – as the poppy, which was the only flower that grew on the battle
fields, has come to represent the dead soldiers.
The day is celebrated every year in memory of the many who died.

• The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919,

leaving empires destroyed and economies
shattered.

• This would contribute to the rise of new dictators

like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
7. The struggle for Irish Independence
With the outbreak of World War I, ‘Home Rule’ was postponed.

• The movement for Irish autonomy took decisive action.

• ‘The Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin led to the unilateral proclamation of the
Irish Republic.

• Years of bloody conflicts between the British troops and Irish rebels followed.

• The Irish Free State was created in 1922.

• Six counties of Ulster and its capital, Belfast, remained in the United Kingdom