Effects of wwi on britain
Impact of World War I on Britain
Intro:
Britain had always run it empire on limited means; Britain relied on its large navy and had huge influence because of its large and powerful empire. It had some independence in its actions and nobody used to say anything. Britain felt the same independence and strength after the war, however there were now many limits on Britain’s foreign policy, which meant that they weren’t so free like they were before.
Economic Effects:
Britain had been in economic decline before the war but this was accelerated by the conflict in the war.
Britain had run up huge debts. During the war especially with the US.
Britain had borrowed 959 million British pounds from the US.
As a result Britain’s national debt drastically increased and interest payment on loans represented 40% of annual government spending.
The value of the pound sterling declined by 61.2%.
The military historian Corelli Barnett has argued that "in objective truth the Great War in no way inflicted crippling economic damage on Britain" but that the war "crippled the British psychologically but in no other way
Britain had loaned money to France and Russia, which they couldn’t get back because of the communist takeover in Russia and due to war damage in France.
This would put severe limitations on Britain’s role in world affairs.
Government increased income tax by 500%
These measures were needed to pay for some of the damages that the war had caused.
Britain lost its position as a leading economic power in the world.
Political Effects:
In 1918 the representation of the people act changed the voting system.
Women aged 30 or over and men aged 21 or over were given the right to vote. And women were also allowed to stand as MPs.
This was however on the condition that you were married to a house owner.
They weren’t given the same voting rights because they outnumbered men at the time and would therefore have the most voting effect.
Also women under the
Intro:
Britain had always run it empire on limited means; Britain relied on its large navy and had huge influence because of its large and powerful empire. It had some independence in its actions and nobody used to say anything. Britain felt the same independence and strength after the war, however there were now many limits on Britain’s foreign policy, which meant that they weren’t so free like they were before.
Economic Effects:
Britain had been in economic decline before the war but this was accelerated by the conflict in the war.
Britain had run up huge debts. During the war especially with the US.
Britain had borrowed 959 million British pounds from the US.
As a result Britain’s national debt drastically increased and interest payment on loans represented 40% of annual government spending.
The value of the pound sterling declined by 61.2%.
The military historian Corelli Barnett has argued that "in objective truth the Great War in no way inflicted crippling economic damage on Britain" but that the war "crippled the British psychologically but in no other way
Britain had loaned money to France and Russia, which they couldn’t get back because of the communist takeover in Russia and due to war damage in France.
This would put severe limitations on Britain’s role in world affairs.
Government increased income tax by 500%
These measures were needed to pay for some of the damages that the war had caused.
Britain lost its position as a leading economic power in the world.
Political Effects:
In 1918 the representation of the people act changed the voting system.
Women aged 30 or over and men aged 21 or over were given the right to vote. And women were also allowed to stand as MPs.
This was however on the condition that you were married to a house owner.
They weren’t given the same voting rights because they outnumbered men at the time and would therefore have the most voting effect.
Also women under the