Britain in 1906

Created by: Ellie
Created on: 05-01-15 16:33

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Britain in 1906
- Politics
  - Parliamentary Monarchy
    - monarchy is head of state but advised by parliment
  - 2 Main political parties
    - Conservative & Unionist Party (Tori's)
      - Very strong pre 1900
      - Lord Salisbury, Joseph Chamberlain, Arthur Balfour
    - Liberal Party (Wigs)
      - Gladstone, Henry Campbell Bannerman, David Lloyd George
  - Other Parties
    - Labour
      - In it's youth.
      - Founded by Keir Hardie
      - Ramsay McDonald
    - Irish Nationalists
      - Strong presence due to the trouble in Ireland at the time
      - Charles Stewart Parnell, John Redmond
- Trade & Industry
  - Leader in world trade
  - London was the financial centre of the world
  - Lots of industry
    - Major textiles industries in the north.
      - Coal Mining in S.Wales and Yorkshire
        engineering in the Midlands
        Shipbuilding in Liverpool, Belfast & Glasgow
        Steel in Sheffield.
  - All Industries relied on old methods from the industrial revolution
  - Germany and the USA overtook Britain in steel and coal output
- Empire
  - 'The Empire where the sun never set'
  - Huge Navy which was unrivalled and protected the whole empire
  - HUGE - South Africa, Australia, India, Canada etc.
  - Splendid Isolation
    - No allies/alliances
    - caused by the vastness of the empire
- Society
  - lots of respect for politicains
    - didn't really know what they did though.
  - population of 43 million
  - Divide between the industrial north and agricultural south
  - large gap between the rich and poor
  - problems with education and health especially amongst the poor.
  - women still didn't have the vote and some working class men didn't either.
  - Demand for social reform
    - trade unions and humanitarian movements.
- Issues
  - How much power should the state have over individuals?
  - How can poverty be tackled
  - Should the franchise be extended
  - Should Ireland have Home rule?
  - Should Britain Change it's foreign policy
- War
  - The Boer War
    - 1899-1902
    - exposed Britains isolation in the world
    - Took place in South Africa against Dutch Boer's /farmers
      - Meant to be a quick job but lasted 3 years which made Britain vulnerable
        Spent too much money
        
        Showed the world Britains brutality
        The first ever civillian concentration camps were created by the British during the War
  - An up and coming threat from Germany
    - made us look for European Allies.

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Britain in 1906

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