To what extent did British policies towards its colonies, mandates and dominions strengthen the British Empire in the inter-war years?
Paragraph 1- British policy towards India weakened the British Empire.
While British policies aimed meet some nationalist demands they were never deemed to have gone far enough.
1919, Government of India Act, failed to satisfy Indian nationalists who wanted nothing short of full-scale independence.
1919 Rowlett Acts, allowed political cases to be tried without juries and provided for the imprisonment of suspects without trial.
1919 Amritsar Massacre, result from increased tension which galvanised the movement to remove British rule.
1925 Simon Commission, widespread protest since there was no Indian members.
1930-1931 Round table conferences, no agreement was reached.
1935 Government of India Act, some progress being made into dominion status. Expansion of the franchise from 7 to 35 million and self government of the provinces. However the Indian congress still wanted full independence.
Paragraph 2- The mixed success in Africa. But because of indirect rule there was little pressure for home rule.
Success in control in Africa was done through recruited subordinates, through the policy of 'indirect' rule especially in the inter war years. This was done in colonies such as; West Africa, Tanganyika, Uganda and Nyasaland.
1925 £10 million for improving rail and dock facilities in East Africa.
West Africa there was investment in education, both paid for by local taxes.
1929 Colonial Development Act, £1 million for development projects in Africa.
Paragraph 3- British policy weakened Empire was in Kenya
1920, white settlers put pressure on the government to give some self-government. Power was handed over 20-30,000 white settler community who dominated the Legislative Council in Kenya.
This led to the Kikuyu tribe being excluded from the northern highlands, they were taxed heavily and banned from growing commercial products. This started the first stirrings of nationalism.
1923 Devonshire Declaration stressed the interests of Africans had to be respected. However, white settlers were still racist.
Paragraph 4- The policies of the middle east were centred around protecting the Suez canal. Especially in the inter war years for securing the Empires 'lifeline'
1922 Egypt became a dominion. However Britain remained control over foreign and defence policy. And they kept an army in the county.
1936, treaty gave Egypt control of its own army, but 10,000 British troops in the Suez Canal zone.
1920, the British revolt against British rule, Churchill sought to find an Arab ruler who would be acceptable to the people of Iraq and friendly to Britain. This would be Faisal the first.
1922 the Anglo-Iraqi treaty signed, stated Iraq was an independence state bound to Britain under mandate, this ended in 1930.
1932 Iraq gave full independence, accepted the presence of British military bases and remained a political client throughout 1930s and 40s.
Paragraph 5- Palestine was also a significant buffer for the Suez canal, creating a stable state with British military presence.
The British maintained a military presence up until WW2 the area became increasingly unstable.
1920 a civil government under a British appointed high commissioner, however it would be difficult to reconcile the growing jewish community and Palestinian Arab population.
1929-1930 Recommended curbing Jewish land acquisition. However pro-jewish GB and USA prevented this.
1937 The Peel Report recommended partitioning Palestine between Arab and Jewish areas.
1939 the British changed the policy, calling for a Palestine state in which Jews currently living in the country had the right to a national homeland.
British policy in Palestine outraged Jews and dissatisfied the Arab population.
Paragraph 6- The most successful policy in the empire was the Dominions.
1919 Dominions had considerable indépendance with their own parliaments but by the 1920s there was pressure on South Africa.
1926 Commonwealth conference agreed on the Balfour Declaration which said that Dominions were 'Autonomous communities'
1931 Statue of Westminster, an empire based on central authority was transferred into a commonwealth of independent states. Which gave them the right to have their own constitutions.
1932, Import duties act, imperial protection which imposed 10% tariffs on most imports.
1932- Imperial Economic conference at Ottawa accepted the principle of imperial preference. A series of agreements over details of trade between Britain and dominions and between the dominions. Increased imperial cohesion.