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Why England in the 20th century was the main. Great Britain late 19th-early 20th century

at the end of the 19th century. England suffered the most protracted and severe crisis since 1873. It swept industry, agriculture, trade, and finance. During 1870-1914. it has lost its world industrial monopoly. The total industrial production of the country during this time doubled (but in the world it increased four times). Instead of a third of the world's industrial output (as it used to be), England now accounted for only a seventh. In the early 80s, it was overtaken by the United States, at the beginning of the 20th century. - Germany. English goods lost their competitiveness in competition with German and American ones. However

England still occupied the first place in the world in terms of the export of capital, its merchant fleet remained the world's carrier (half of American goods were transported by English ships). She had a powerful navy. The British pound sterling remained the world's settlement currency.

The Liberal (branches) or Conservative (Tory) parties were in power, replacing each other. The Liberal Party led by William Benjamin Gladstone and the Conservative Party led by Disraeli defended the interests of big business, in addition, the Conservatives also represented the interests of large landowners. Trying to win over the mass voters, the liberals were forced to carry out social reforms. The Conservatives focused on foreign policy, although they sometimes resorted to limited social reform.

Gladstone's Liberal governments saw increased public funding for elementary education, introduced civil service entrance examinations, and parliamentary reform: parliamentary elections became secret, and the 1884 law expanded the electorate. In response, the Conservatives canceled the ban on strike pickets, equalized the rights of workers and entrepreneurs before the court, and banned children under 10 from working.

Both conservatives and liberals pursued an active colonial policy. The conservative government of Salisbury established control over the Suez Canal, sent troops to about. Cyprus waged war against the Boer republics - the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, in the 60s - against Afghanistan, completed the conquest of Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Sudan. For the liberal government of Gladstone Egypt was occupied, war started in Sudan, enthusiastically Uganda.

The colonial expansion of England became the cause of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The Boers, descendants of the Dutch who moved to South Africa, conquered the local population and resisted the British for more than two decades. The discovery of gold deposits there prompted England to prepare for aggression against the Boers. The latter, convinced of the immediate threat to their independence, declared war on England, but the forces were unequal and in 1902 the Boers signed a peace treaty, according to which the Transvaal and the Orange Free State became British colonies. Subsequently, they were united with other English colonies to form the Union of South Africa, which became an English dominion.

Boers (Afrikaners) - the self-name of the Dutch, French and German colonists in South Africa. center of colonialism in

in South Africa there was a papal colony created by the Dutch in the second half of the 17th century. French Huguenots and immigrants from Germany also moved here. Having seized the lands of local African tribes, the Boers created farms in the area of the Cape of Good Hope, where slave labor was actively used. In the first half of the XIX century. The papal colony passed to England, which liquidated the local self-government of the Boers, introduced English language and actively resettled colonists from England. After the adoption of the law 1833r. about the emancipation of slaves in the English colonies, the Boers began to leave the Cape Colony and seize the neighboring lands of the Zulus. In the battles of 1838r. ("The Day of Dinga-ana") and 1840r. the Boers inflicted a final defeat on the Zulus, but they could not create their own state on their territory, since they were annexed by the British to the Papal Colony. The Boers ousted the Bechuano and Basotho tribes from the Orange and Vaal river basins and created two state formations there - Transvaal (South African Republic) and Orange (Orange Free State), whose independence was recognized by England in the middle of the 19th century. In the summer of 1867. diamonds were accidentally found on the banks of the Orange River. For their extraction, joint-stock companies began to be created, but soon the De Beers company, created by S. Rhodes, who dreamed of creating a system of British colonies in Africa - from Filth to Egypt, became a monopolist. London stepped up its policy in the region and proposed a project for a federation of British colonies and Boer republics for joint colonial conquests in Africa. After its rejection by the Boers, England in 1877. captured the Transvaal. U1879-1887pp. England defeated the Zulus and incorporated Zululand into the English colony of Natal. However, the Boers of the Transvaal refused to submit to the British and began an armed struggle against them. This forced England to recognize the independence of the Transvaal again. After gold deposits were discovered in the Transvaal, S. Rode, at that time the Prime Minister of the Papal Colony, began to actively intervene in the internal affairs of the Transvaal. Foreign gold miners in the Transvaal ("Ujtlenderi") did not allow the Boers to participate in the political life of the republic. Then they created their own "reform party" and established contacts with S. Rhodes and the head of the British administration in Rhodesia, Jameson. In December 1895, members of the "reform party" issued an ultimatum to the government of the Transvaal. The next day, an English detachment of 500 people set out from Rhodesia in the direction of Johannesburg, the center of gold mining in the Transvaal. However, in January 1896, the Boer farmers defeated the English soldiers at the Battle of Krugensdorf. The prisoners were sent to London, where they were convicted of violating the borders of an independent state. However, "gold" and "diamonds" increasingly attracted the colonialists, which led to the Anglo-Bursk war of 1899-1902pp.

Among the internal problems, the most acute was the Irish one. In the 60-80s pp. In Ireland, the national liberation movement intensified. The Irish bourgeoisie put forward a program of self-government (home rule) for Ireland within the framework of the British Empire. A rebellion began in Ireland. The Irish faction in the House of Commons obstructed the work of the English Parliament. At the beginning of 1886. Gladstone's liberal cabinet developed a judicious plan for home rule: a local parliament was created in Ireland, but the most important issues domestic policy London had to decide. However, even such a moderate concession ran into resolute resistance in England. Even among the liberals there was a split. Gladstone's government resigned.

The monopolization of production in England led to increased exploitation of workers and exacerbation of social problems. The organizer of the movement of workers for the improvement of their economic situation were trade unions, uniting highly skilled workers. The struggle of unorganized workers also intensified (rallies and demonstrations of the unemployed, strikes by workers in match factories, London gas works, and London dockers). A "new unionism" was being formed in the country - trade unions of low-paid, unskilled workers. In 1893, the Labor Party, independent of the trade unions, arose, which fought for the election of representatives of the working class to the House of Commons.

Entrepreneurs decided to weaken the influence of trade unions. 1900 During a strike on the Tuff Valley railroad, the railroad company sued the railroad workers for damages the company suffered from the strike. Other companies began to follow the example of the railroad company. Then, by decision of the Congress of Trade Unions, a Committee of Workers' Representation was established at the conference to bring workers' deputies to Parliament in order to influence the legislation of the country and stop the advance of entrepreneurs. 1906 The committee was renamed the Labor Party.

In order to ease social tensions, Minister of Economics Lloyd George (the Liberal government) introduced in 1909 a bill on the maximum retirement age - 70 years, the introduction of material support from labor exchanges for the unemployed, social security in case of illness, disability. The bill was approved. However, Lloyd George's social maneuvering did not produce noticeable results. Conflicts between workers and entrepreneurs continued: in 1911-1912. miners, dock workers, sailors, railway workers were on strike, demanding higher wages, recognition of trade unions, and an 8-hour working day.

There was no appeasement in rebellious Ireland. The liberal government, which depended on the votes of Irish deputies in the House of Commons, passed a bill on the Home Rule of Ireland, which transferred all local affairs under the control of the Irish Parliament (subject to London's leadership of foreign policy, the army, police, finance, taxes). Opponents of the project demanded that Ulster, the northern part of the island, where the most developed industrial centers were concentrated, should not be part of the future Irish state. their supporters created armed detachments in Ulster, which were supported by British reaction. However, the officers of the British military units, who received an order in early 1914 to go to Ulster to restore order there, refused to comply with the order. The liberal government made concessions to the rebellious officers.

The First World War actually became the reason for the postponement of the law on Home Rule.

At the beginning of the XX century. Britain's international position deteriorated. In the context of the intensification of the struggle of the imperialists for markets and colonies, the question of their redistribution was raised, which primarily threatened England as the largest colonial power. Anglo-German relations deteriorated sharply, the naval rivalry of both states, trade competition, and the struggle for colonies intensified.

Until the end of the 19th century. England pursued a policy of "brilliant isolation": the country's leadership believed that the contradictions between continental states were sharper than between England and its rivals from continental Europe. In this regard, in the event of a conflict with Russia or France, England could count on the support of Germany or Austria-Hungary, and therefore she did not feel the need to bind herself with allied obligations that could drag her into a war for foreign interests.

Stirring up contradictions between the great powers, England ensured freedom of action. The island position and the mighty navy protected its territory from attack by anyone. The need to fight against its main competitor - Germany - forced England to abandon its previous policy and form blocs with other states. 1904 England and France reached an agreement on the main colonial problems: France stopped opposing England in the colonies, in particular in Egypt, and England recognized France's right to conquer Morocco. In 1907, an Anglo-French agreement was signed, called the Entente. England and Russia divided spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. This made possible Anglo-Russian cooperation against Germany.

In the presence of a Franco-English agreement, agreements between England and Russia, the creation of the Anglo-French-Russian alliance - the Entente, was completed. In general, the Entente as a military alliance was formed only during the First World War.

Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century: the main directions of domestic and foreign policy.

The twentieth century in Great Britain begins with the reign of Edward VII. He takes the throne in 1901.

Domestic politics

In 1900, the British Labor Party was founded.

In 1906 parliamentary elections were held. This election marked the first and last time in British history that the Liberal Party came to power, and also the newly founded Labor Party took part in the election for the first time.

Democratization political system:

1. Reform of the House of Commons - the term of stay in Parliament was reduced from 7 to 5 years. The reform was carried out in 1911.

2. In the same year, the House of Lords was reformed - their powers in financial matters were significantly reduced and transferred to the House of Commons. It happened in the following way: in 1911 there was a parliamentary crisis when the House of Lords refused to pass a new budget, which included higher taxes on the property of rich people. The new king, George V, ended the crisis by declaring that he would create enough liberal lords to pass the budget. The Lords surrendered, but the House of Commons took advantage of the situation and passed a law that would make the House of Lords no longer able to overturn financial laws passed in the House of Commons. In other matters, her rights were also limited.

At the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the problem of Ireland became more acute. In 1912, the so-called. “home rule”, according to which Ireland is divided into two parts - the North remains part of the UK, while the rest of the counties receive the status of a dominion (possession - an independent state within the British Empire). This bill came into force in 1914 after the First World War.

Foreign policy

In 1904 ᴦ. the monarch signs the Franco-English Convention, which became a serious step towards creating an alliance of the Entente and put an end to the rivalry between the two countries. After the death of Edward VII in 1910 ᴦ. His son George V becomes king of England, continuing his father's policy. For four years, Britain has managed to avoid military clashes.

The main directions of foreign policy:

1. the end of the policy of "brilliant isolation" - a military-political treaty was concluded with Japan in 1902 ᴦ., which provided for the following:

Neutrality in the event of an attack by one enemy, with 2 or more enemies - the provision of military assistance

Separation of spheres of influence in China

Recognition of Japan's Special Interests in Korea

The treaty was directed against Germany, the USA and Russia.

2. In 1904 - the Anglo-French agreement, the so-called. ʼʼWarm agreementʼʼ (Entente). Spheres of influence were divided: France received Morocco, Eastern Siam, Madagascar.
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Great Britain received Egypt, Western Siam, Newfoundland.

3. 1907 - Anglo-Russian agreement on the division of Iran and Afghanistan (under the protectorate of the World Bank). Thus, the three countries were united by peace agreements (the Franco-Russian agreement was concluded as early as 1892).

4. Anglo-Boer war in Africa 1899-1902. The British were victorious and the territories were taken under control.

5. 1900-1901. Intervention in China is the suppression of the national liberation movement. England also took part in the suppression of the revolution in Iran (1905-1911).

Great Britain in the early 20th century is primarily associated with the First World War.

Germany nearly defeated Britain and France in the early days of the war. The Germans had better trained soldiers, better weapons and a clear plan of attack. The Allied armies fought for four years, reclaiming the lands of France. Apart from the Crimean War, this was the first British war in a hundred years, and therefore it was not ready for the destructive power of modern weapons. The British suffered huge losses, in connection with this, already in 1916, general military mobilization was announced.

The war at sea was also very important, because a defeat in a naval battle would immediately lead to the surrender of the position. The British won several important battles, but nevertheless the German army managed to sink two-thirds of the English merchant fleet and starved all of Great Britain for six weeks.

After the war, there was a decline in the economy and society in Britain. During the war years, the government was forced to raise taxes from 6 to 25% of income and expand the state apparatus. This inevitably led to conflicts between the workers and the government. In the early 1920s, a wave of strikes swept through the country, which the government suppressed by force.

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Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century: the main directions of domestic and foreign policy. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century: the main directions of domestic and foreign policy." 2017, 2018.

During the first half of the 20th century, there were two kings named Edward and two Georges on the British throne.

In 1904, a diplomatic alliance "Entente" was concluded between England and France, in 1907 the same alliance was concluded with Russia.

In the era of the reign of Edward VII, the composition of the political forces of Britain changed. In 1900, a Workers' Representation Committee was established, which in 1906 was transformed into the Labor Party, which became the main opponent of the Conservative Party in the 20th century. The Conservative government in 1902 passed a law on education, according to which school education all children could receive. In 1907, the Scout movement was created in England.

In 1905 - 1916. liberals came to power. In 1908, the government passed a law on the payment of pensions, and in 1911, unemployment and sickness insurance began to be paid.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Great Britain came, having already lost the position of the most economically advanced power. In the pre-war years, Britain was three times - 1900-1903, 1907 - 1908, 1914 - covered by severe economic crises.

The entry of the country into the war affected the quality of life of the British. In the autumn of 1914 prices rose. In 1915 a wave of strikes swept across Glasgow. The government was forced to agree to a ban on strikes at enterprises that produced products for the front.

During the First World War, the concept of the British Commonwealth was born, which included Britain and its self-governing dominions.

The First World War turned into serious losses for Britain and its colonies.

The decline in the standard of living caused a sharp protest in the proletarian sections of the population, and the socialist revolution in Russia was a powerful stimulus for the growth of the labor movement. In 1919, a red flag was hung on the city hall at the entrance to another strike of Glasgow workers. The activity of the British Socialist Party, founded in 1911, became noticeably more active.

1920s was a decade of industrial conflict. The most powerful strike - the General Strike - swept across the country from May 3 to May 13, 1926.

The global economic crisis that erupted in 1929 hit the UK hard.

The coming to power of the Nazis in Italy and Germany had a powerful impact on the life of Great Britain. In 1931, a "new party" was formed, which subsequently formed the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley. The enemies of the party were primarily communists and Jews. Their methods were terror, pogroms. In May 1940, the Fascist Party was outlawed and its leader was put behind bars.

Irish Question

Back in 1870, an association arose in Ireland to fight for the provision of self-government to the country. The Grant Bill went into effect in 1914, but was suspended due to the outbreak of war. However, members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Fenians (in 1919, the infamous Irish Republican Army IRA arose from this organization) and the Sinn Fein party (translated from the Irish “we ourselves”) did not stop anti-government actions even during the war. In 1916, an uprising was organized in Dublin - the Irish Rebellion -, the rebels proclaimed Ireland a republic. Patrick Pierce became President of the Provisional Republican Government. However, the uprising was stopped, the leaders were executed. Among those who managed to escape the death penalty was Eamon De Valera, the future prime minister and president of the Republic of Ireland.

The Irish Republican Army launched a war against British forces, and the British government made concessions. In 19321 Ireland was divided into two regions. 26 counties formed the Irish Free State - since 1937 Eire -, and the remaining six remained within the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. In 1949 Eire gained full independence.

The Second World War

The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 was the beginning of the second global military conflict. In 1940, after the Chamberlain government collapsed, W. Churchill became prime minister. By his order, mobilization was announced in the country.

In August 1940, after Germany captured the entire Atlantic coast of Europe from Norway to Spain, air raids began on Great Britain. The heaviest blows fell on London and Coventry.

King George VI refused to leave Buckingham Palace during the bombing, and set an example of courage and resilience. In 1940 he instituted the silver medal of George, on one side of which his portrait was minted, at the same time the Cross of St. George was established.

In August 1941, the Atlantic Charter was signed between the United States and Great Britain to combat fascism. Later, the USSR joined it. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Germany. Already on January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 states signed the Declaration of the United Nations.

British troops operated in Africa, Europe and Asia.

During the Second World War, the armed forces of the British Empire actively fought with Japan. Acting in conjunction with the US military, the British occupied the Marshall and Mariana Islands. On September 2, 1945, an act of unconditional surrender of Japan was signed aboard the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay - this ended the Second World War for Britain, and the day went down in English history as "VJ Day" - "the day of victory over Japan" .

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FEDERAL STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

KAZAN (VOLGA) FEDERAL UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, ORIENTAL STUDIES AND HISTORY

CHAIR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Control abstract work

in the discipline "World (synchronous) history"

on the topic: "The domestic and foreign policy of England at the beginning of the 20th century"

Completed by: student gr. 04.3-302

Kalimullina Albina

Checked by: candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of the department

International relations

Penkovtsev R.V.

Introduction

1. Domestic policy of England at the beginning of the 20th century

1.1 Features of the domestic policy of England in the 20th century

1.2 Irish question

1.3 Labor movement in England

2. Foreign policy of England at the turn of the 20th century

Conclusion

List of sources used

Introduction

At the beginning of the 20th century English economy continued its development. Coal production increased, cotton consumption increased, agriculture, food production, and raw materials for light industry developed rapidly. But, despite the successful development, the British industry was noticeably losing its positions, the gap from competitors increased. From the "World Forge", "World Workshop" England turned into one of the highly developed countries. But despite some economic setbacks, despite the fact that Great Britain lost the economic race to Germany, it remained the greatest colonial power with a territory covering 20% of the surface of the globe. England practiced as a direct rule in the colonies (colonies directly subordinate to the English crown). Many colonies had practically no rights to independence, to self-determination. All their actions were directed from London. So is indirect control. In some colonies, different forms of government were mixed (India, Nigeria, etc.). England was constantly expanding as a colonial power. In 1907, New Zealand became a white dominion of England. Dominions, even with direct forms of government, had an order of magnitude higher independence than other colonies. In 1914 England establishes a protectorate over Egypt. England developed as a colonial power due to the fact that the colonies brought huge profits, and this is the easiest kind of profit. It is easier to pump something out of another country than to produce products ourselves. The English bourgeoisie dictated to official London: “The more colonies England has, the richer the English bourgeoisie.

1. The internal politics of England at the beginningXXin

1.1 Features of the domestic policy of EnglandXXin

english irish economics politics

In December 1905, even before the parliamentary elections, power passed into the hands of the liberal cabinet. Party leader G. Campbell-Bannerman included in his government both the liberal-imperialists - E. Gray, G. Asquith, and others, and the radicals - D. Lloyd George, W. Churchill. The parliamentary elections of 1906 brought a severe defeat to the conservatives. The Liberal government remained until 1916. The government has introduced a number of bills. Considering the demands of the workers, it made the strike and the strike funds legal. The Lords, for fear of the trade unions, did not dare to delay this law. But on the other hand, they either rejected all the other bills that the government introduced in 1906-1908, or so disfigured them that the government itself took them back. The impotence of Parliament disappointed the masses. Campbell-Bannerman, under pressure from the left wing of the Liberals and Labor, introduced a resolution of protest against the Lords in Parliament in early 1908. The Labor Party made a proposal to abolish the House of Lords, but this proposal was rejected. The liberals were in favor of a more moderate reform. The resolution, passed by three-quarters of the lower house, demanded the reform of the House of Lords in the interests of ensuring democratic legislation. The liberal bourgeoisie inspired the masses that the struggle against the House of Lords was a struggle for democracy in the interests of the people. Mass rallies and demonstrations were organized all over England, at which speakers strongly condemned the behavior of the House of Lords and even demanded its liquidation. Others said: we must make the House of Lords elected. Even the conservatives, fearing that such an archaic institution would not withstand the onslaught of democracy, agreed to the reform of the House of Lords, wanting to turn it into an elected, but still aristocratic assembly with the same full power as the lower house. Asquith and the Liberal leadership did not agree to any of the proposed plans. They took a different path. They decided to keep the House of Lords as a hereditary, aristocratic institution, but to limit its rights in such a way that the House of Lords had nothing to do with financial, economic bills, while in relation to all other bills the House of Lords would receive only a deferral veto: the delay period is 2 years after which the bill adopted by the lower house is submitted for approval to the king, bypassing the House of Lords. The duration of Parliament was reduced from seven to five years. This was a progressive, albeit limited to the limit, reform - after all, the lords could delay the adoption of any law. In the summer of 1910, a “Conference of the 8” was organized, which, however, did not come to a consensus. During the negotiations, the House of Lords, in order to strengthen its positions, agreed to adopt the budget of 1909-1910 and even announced its agreement to be reformed. When the session of Parliament reopened on November 15, 1910, the leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords, Lansdowne, introduced a bill, the main point of which was to ensure that especially important and controversial issues were submitted to a popular vote, and on financial bills, joint meetings of both houses were convened. It is not difficult to understand that the adoption of this Lansdown proposal would ensure the dominance of the Conservatives, who would constitute an overwhelming majority at a joint meeting of the Houses, since the ratio of Tories and Liberals was expressed 5: 1 (it is clear that even if the Tories had a minority in the House of Commons, they, having united with their fellow party members in the upper house, in any case, they should have had a majority). The House of Lords approved Lansdowne's proposal, but the House of Commons did not agree with it. The only way out of this situation was again the dissolution of parliament and the appointment of new elections. Elections to the House of Commons were held in December 1910. They did not bring any change in the distribution of seats, although the Liberals, in order to achieve victory, promised Home Rule for Ireland and new reforms.

In the extremely limited nature of the parliamentary reform, the reactionary policy of the authorities was manifested, which sought to preserve as many obsolete institutions as possible. One of Campbell-Bannerman's important imperial actions was the granting of autonomy to the conquered Boer republics. This measure opened up the possibility of creating a new dominion in South Africa - the Union of South Africa. Soon Campbell-Bannerman, by that time already a sick old man, resigned. Asquith replaced him in office. Asquith himself belonged to the liberal-imperialist wing. Lloyd George received in the new cabinet a large post of Minister of the Treasury, which was considered as the second post in the cabinet after the Prime Minister. This was a means to appease the left, radical wing of the party, of which Lloyd George was considered the leader.

The years of the Asquith government are a new stage in the growth of internal and foreign political difficulties of the British Empire, a new stage in the growth of the pre-war crisis. The working class is becoming more and more restless. Since 1906, a war of strikes has been continuously raised. Domestic politics is characterized by a very complex maneuvering, combined with a noisy campaign around social reforms. A separate line can be mentioned that the elections of 1906 are characterized by a major victory for the candidates nominated by the new political organization - the Workers' Representation Committee, renamed the Workers' Party in the same year. Liberals, who had extensive experience in social demagoguery and manoeuvring, who covered their aggressiveness in foreign policy with pacifist phraseology, were better able to fulfill the role assigned to it by the ruling circles than overly straightforward conservatives. It is clear that the bourgeoisie needed clever demagogues who would divert attention from the arms race, who would be able to cover up their militaristic policy with phrases to the effect that “all this is being done solely in the interests of peace, in the interests of protecting culture, in the interests of the motherland, etc.” . One of the most striking reforms of this period can be considered the law on insurance. It was built on significant contributions from the workers and smaller contributions from the owners, to which the state added a small subsidy. They covered less than half of the workers and employees of the country. The insurance benefit was very small. Insurance was transferred not to trade unions, but to special state organizations. A clear concession to the working class was also the Workers' Compensation Act, passed in 1906. If, under the law of 1897, the right to receive benefits from employers in case of accidents extended only to certain categories of workers, now it is practically all workers, although the amount of benefits was negligible. In 1908, a law on pensions for the elderly was passed. The right to a pension of 5 shillings a week was given to persons over the age of 70 and having not more than 26 pounds sterling in annual income. In the same year, a special law established an 8-hour working day for miners. In 1909, labor exchanges were established, whose functions included mediation between entrepreneurs and workers in hiring labor.

In March 1913, the Trade Union Funds Act went into effect. The law was the result of the struggle of the trade unions. The abundance of strikes and their stubborn nature forced the Asquith governments to abandon the old English doctrine of non-intervention in industrial conflicts. The settlement of industrial contacts by Lloyd George in 1906-1908 was the first step in this direction, when the minister acted only as an intermediary between the parties. Under Asquith, the government attempted officially, through legislation, to move further along this path. Asquith tried to introduce in England the arbitration of conflicts by state arbitration bodies. Asquith attached so much importance to this system that he himself even became chairman of the Central Arbitration Board.

It should also be noted that England during this period mainly spends its budget on the army, navy and strengthening the bureaucratic apparatus of the empire. Among the major European powers, England was in first place in terms of military spending per capita. War is beginning to be seen as the only way to put an end to the two worst enemies of the British bourgeoisie: Kaiser's Germany and the workers' movement. England took vigorous measures in preparation for war. In 1901, a committee for the defense of the empire was organized, and in 1895 a supreme military council was created in place of the commander-in-chief. In 1909, the imperial general staff was formed, which included representatives of the dominions. The Minister of War in the Liberal cabinet, Haldane, is reorganizing the army; instead of the previously existing civilian militia and volunteer forces, single territorial units with a massive reserve were formed. Back in 1905, they agreed with France on joint actions, and later on they distributed the duties of the naval forces: France concentrated its fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, and England - in the North. In parallel with military activities on land, naval construction was carried out. Appointed in 1904 as the first Lord of the Admiralty, Fisher began the reorganization of the naval forces with the expectation of a war against Germany. A feature of the militaristic policy of England was that she carefully disguised her aggressiveness with peaceful phrases that misled public opinion, both in England itself and abroad, and also that the attention of the people themselves was skillfully diverted towards a broadcast program of social reforms. . true meaning Liberal policies can be traced back to the events associated with Lloyd George's so-called "revolutionary budget". On April 29, 1909, Lloyd George submitted a draft budget for the fiscal year 1909-1910. The project featured a deficit of more than £15 million. Art., which was due mainly to military spending. Suffice it to say that in addition to the existing naval program, it was planned to build eight ironclads. Trying to undermine the impression of huge military spending, the liberals tried hard to emphasize the "large" provisions for pensions for the elderly (under the law of 1908). The main disputes unfolded, first of all, around the incoming part of the budget. The government proposed to introduce a number of new indirect taxes. It is known that after the elimination of the Corn Laws in 1846, almost all indirect taxes were abolished in England. The main form of taxation was a direct income tax. However, as England lost its industrial monopoly, one indirect tax after another began to be restored. Particularly fierce disputes were in relation to direct taxes. Prior to 1902, there were two main direct taxes: a tax on earned and unearned income, and an inheritance tax introduced in 1894. Here Lloyd George proposed to increase them and introduce new direct taxes that affected the large landowners to a greater extent:

1) Tax on “unearned increments”. Since, as cities grew, the cost of land also increased sharply, which was used by the landlords, artificially inflating their prices. The Government has proposed to estimate the true value of land throughout the country. When a landowner sells a piece of land, one-fifth of the difference between the value of that piece of land and the price for which it was sold must go to the benefit of the state. This was the tax on unearned gains.

2) A building tax relating to rental relationships in England.

3) Taxation of vacant lands. In England there were many vacant lands that the landlords did not lease or sell, waiting for a new rise in prices. The budget of 1909-1910 provided for the imposition of a tax of 0.5 pence on every pound of the market value of these lands.

4) A tax on the rent received by landlords from tenant entrepreneurs. The landowners leased many plots to the mine owners, who, in addition to the land rent, paid special rent to the landlords for the right to mine, for example, coal.

The Liberal Cabinet strongly emphasized that all these additional revenues would be spent mainly on improving the life of the people. In reality, no blessed age, of course, has come. However, the most reactionary circles, defending their own interests, launched a noisy agitation campaign against the budget in the summer and autumn, especially against taxes on unearned increments. The House of Commons approved on third reading the budget proposed by the cabinet. The House of Lords rejected the budget. This led to an aggravation of the situation and subsequently to the reform of the House of Lords.

1.2 Irish Question

The internal situation of England has become seriously aggravated in connection with new complications in the Irish question. The hopes of the British ruling circles that the law passed in 1903 on the sale of landed estates to peasants would weaken the Irish national movement were not justified. The Shinfeiner Party demanded the complete independence of Ireland, criticized the Irish faction in Parliament and its leader Redmond, who hoped to get self-government (home rule) for Ireland from the hands of the liberals. The development of the mass movement in Ireland prompted the Irish parliamentary faction to raise the issue of Home Rule again. The Liberal Cabinet, which depended on the support of the Irish MPs, after long delays introduced the Home Rule Bill into Parliament in 1912. Under this bill, power in Ireland was transferred to a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate, appointed by the British government, and a House of Commons, elected on the basis of existing electoral laws. Issues of war and peace, leadership of the armed forces, relations with foreign countries, the introduction of new taxes, the police, etc., were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Irish Parliament. The English Parliament could cancel any act of Parliament in Dublin. Executive power remained in the hands of the English Lord Lieutenant. Even in this form, the Home Rule Bill met with determined resistance from the British Conservatives. Three times it was adopted by the House of Commons, but met with stubborn resistance in the House of Lords. According to the law of 1911, after the third decision of the lower house, it was supposed to send the bill for signature to the king, despite the objections of the House of Lords. However, the Conservatives decided not to give in. Since the constitutional means were exhausted, the Conservative Party began to act in a different way. The so-called Ulster question was brought to the fore. Ulster - the north-eastern corner of Ireland, was the most industrial part of the "green island". About half of the population of Ulster were Protestants, among whom hatred of Irish Catholics was brought up from generation to generation. The Conservatives decided to tear Ulster away from the rest of Ireland; to this end, they began to form armed detachments. The leader of the Ulster Conservatives, E. Carson, in the fall of 1912, called for force to prevent the spread of Home Rule to the "Protestant" counties of Ireland. The armed detachments created by Carson numbered almost one hundred thousand people, had artillery, machine guns, and armored vehicles. In early 1914, the British government decided to send several regiments to Ulster to take control of it. In response, the officers of these regiments announced that they were refusing to obey the order of the government. The officer "mutiny" was supported by the high command - Generals Wilson, French and others, who threatened to resign. The Liberal government was quick to yield. "The army has buried the Home Rule bill," triumphed the conservative press.

In the summer of 1914, an army of volunteers began to be created in Ireland to protect against Carson's gangs. The whole of Ireland has become an armed camp. The British government, which looked through its fingers at the actions of the Ulsters, now in every possible way prevented the delivery of weapons to the Irish volunteers.

On July 26, police in Dublin opened fire on Irish nationalists. Several dozen people were killed and wounded. The Dublin shooting caused an explosion of indignation in Ireland. Great excitement reigned in England. Only the outbreak of the world war soon gave the British bourgeoisie the opportunity to cope with serious internal difficulties.

In 1912, the Liberal Government introduced the Home Rule Bill, which the House of Lords exercised its power to reject twice. Ireland has remained a "hot spot" for England. Here events unfolded sharply, things were clearly moving towards civil war. The consequences of the unresolved Irish problem are still evident today.

1.3 Labor movement in England

The labor movement in England at the beginning of the 20th century was determined by the situation in which the working class of the country found itself. At the very beginning of the 20th century, world imperialism was going through a deep economic crisis. England finally lost its industrial monopoly. Old and new, ruined and prosperous industries began to experience crises. This led to the fact that the attack on the rights of workers began in all branches and along all lines of the British economy. And there was no such detachment of the working class that would not experience all the crisis phenomena. The position of the working class naturally worsened. The branches of heavy industry, coal mining, and railroads were in the most difficult position. It was these sections of the working class that first of all began to experience pressure from the entrepreneurs, as the British capitalists sought to make up for the losses they suffered in world markets by reducing the cost of their goods at the expense of the working class. While the propertied classes made huge profits (by the beginning of the 20th century, 1/30 of the entire population of England appropriated about a third of the entire national income), the standard of living of working people was falling. Unemployment took on a large scale, even among skilled workers it reached almost 5% in these years.2

Thus, the first feature of the position of the working class at the beginning of the 20th century was a sharp deterioration in its material situation. Objectively, this led to the beginning of a period of military offensive for the working class. The mood of the workers found expression in the mass strike movement, which grew throughout all these years, right up to the outbreak of the First World War. Strikes began in those industries that had not used strikes for a long time. The Russian revolution of 1905-1907 played an important role in the rise of the labor movement. The events of 1905 in Russia aroused sympathy in the ranks of the working class. On January 24, 1905, a meeting of the unemployed took place in Stepney (a district of London). The following day, workers at a prosperous shipyard in Newcastle organized a lunchtime rally to protest against the massacre of workers in St. Petersburg. The meeting of the Independent Labor Party, convened on January 25, began with the proposal of a resolution expressing the sympathy of the Russian people for the uprising against tyranny. A similar resolution was adopted unanimously by the Conference of the Workers' Representation Committee. Thus the revolution in Russia intensified the mental ferment in England and was a powerful new factor in stimulating the activity of the English working class, which at that time was carrying out an energetic campaign against unemployment. In 1906, 217,000 people took part in the strikes.

Another feature of the position of the working class at the beginning of the 20th century was that there was a huge gap in the level of well-being of workers due to the split of industries. There was no such contrast in the material situation of the workers in any other European country. This was also due to the fact that in England there was a large stratum of the labor aristocracy. By the beginning of World War I, it was 12%. This was no longer the top of highly skilled workers, bribed at the expense of superprofits by the British monopolists, but the party and trade union bureaucracy, which at the beginning of the 20th century greatly increased due to the ruined petty bourgeoisie. Thus, qualitative changes in the working class, caused by its quantitative increase due to the ruined landowners, peasants, petty and middle bourgeoisie, created additional conditions for a split.

The economic crisis of 1900-1903 intensified the strike movements. The capitalists fired workers from enterprises, ¼ of the inhabitants of London were in poverty. Even unskilled workers (miners, dock workers) began to realize that it was necessary to put forward not only economic, but also political demands in the fight against the monopoly bourgeoisie (take the path of independent political struggle). The creation of the Labor Party indirectly testified to the growth of the political consciousness of the English working class. The class-conscious workers have long been weary of the dependence of their parliamentary deputies on the Liberal Party and have striven for genuinely independent representation in Parliament in order to directly influence legislation. The capitalists chose the trade unions as their first target. Not only ordinary workers, but also the leaders of the trade unions were forced to support the broad labor movement. They realized that without representation in power it is impossible to influence the political processes in the country. The issue of rallying the labor force had to be resolved without delay, and there was a particularly acute need for a mass workers' party capable of defending the interests of the working people in parliament and throughout the country. It was decided to create a Workers' Representation Committee. This was the beginning of the Labor Party. The advanced workers sought to create a fighting-ready party that would direct its efforts towards building a new society. The structure of the Workers' Representation Committee was very peculiar: it was a federation of a number of trade unions and socialist organizations. In 1906 it was renamed the Labor Party of Great Britain. The aim of this party was to get its own deputies into parliament. The Labor Party was essentially a federation of various trade unions, the Independent Labor Party, and the Social Democratic Federation. These collective members collected one pence from each member of their organizations and contributed money to the party's treasury. The bourgeoisie tried to undermine the material base of the new party. The program of the Labor Party frankly did not have an integral socialist orientation. Essentially, the policy of the Labor Party in Parliament amounted to attempts to "improve" capitalism in order to preserve it, or, roughly speaking, to bribe the English working class with the super-profits the ruling classes receive from imperialist monopoly and the exploitation of the colonies. Therefore, the great victory won by the Labor Party in the elections had a dual character: on the one hand, it was one of the manifestations of the far-sighted policy pursued by that part of the ruling class, which sought to divert the forces that advocated an independent policy from the struggle and place them under its own control. the control. On the other hand, these workers' forces were quite real; their growth in numbers was accompanied by an increase in the militant mood of the workers, and the concessions they sought were also real. The workers succeeded in getting the Liberal leadership to keep its promise to pass the 1906 bill exempting trade unions from the threat of prosecution.

Another economic crisis of 1907-1909. led to an intensification of the strike movement. First of all, the strike movement intensified in those branches of British industry that were in distress. In 1907, major strikes affected the textile, machine-building, and a number of old branches of industry. Beginning in 1910, the strike movement grew even faster. Railroad workers, shipyard workers, textile workers, and miners were on strike. The struggle was intensified by the policy of the government, which sent troops against the strikers; bloody clashes took place in South Wales. In 1911, the rise of the strike struggle continued.

The formation of unions of sectoral trade union associations was an indication of the strengthening of the revolutionary trend in the labor movement in England. Now true trade unions began to appear, in which not only highly skilled, but also unskilled workers were no longer united by profession, but by enterprises. The militant nature of the strike movement of these years deepened the gap between the working masses and their leadership. Many strikes have arisen directly against the will of the official leaders of the trade unions. But the most important thing was that the strikes of the new trade unions began to bear not only an economic, but also a political character. The first demands of a political nature were put forward by the workers of those industries that were in a state of decline.

2. Foreign policy

On December 12, 1902, constant negotiations began between the French and British governments at various levels to resolve problematic and controversial issues. During this period, after the announcement of customs protectionism by England led to a virtual break in relations with Germany, which contributed to rapprochement with other more suitable countries.

April 8, 1904 Agreements were signed that changed the entire diplomatic situation in Europe. Under these agreements the question of the fisheries in Newfoundland, which had long been a bone of contention between the two governments, was basically settled in favor of England; French fishermen were deprived of the right to dry fish in that part of the coast, which was called the French Shore (French coast). As if in compensation, France received a port on the Gambia River, in its navigable part, the Los Islands, located opposite the Elephant Coast, and a significant correction of the borders in the area located between the Niger River and Lake Chad. France and England agreed on the division of Siam into spheres of influence. A condominium was established on the New Hybrids. England recognized France's right to impose customs duties on Madagascar. But the most important agreement concerned Egypt and Morocco.

Britain and France declared that they did not intend to change the political position of Egypt and Morocco. But France pledged in no way to interfere with the activities of England in Egypt, and England, for its part, provided France with complete freedom to interfere in the affairs of Morocco "to ensure tranquility in this country and to assist it in carrying out all kinds of administrative, economic, financial and military reforms. she needs." In other words, England granted France the right to establish herself in Morocco, just as she herself had established herself in Egypt. All questions relating to Egypt's debt were settled, and France, at the insistence of the Anglo-Egyptian government, waived the right to veto the free disposal of cash. England and France pledged to respect (both in Egypt and Morocco) the "principle of commercial freedom". The agreement gave a more precise definition of this principle and established that this definition would remain unchanged for 30 years. England and France pledged not to allow the construction of fortifications on the northern coast of Morocco. Both governments promised each other mutual diplomatic support for the implementation of these points. Another convention was attached to the above convention, a secret one, which became known to the general public only 7 years later. In anticipation of the possibility that circumstances would force one or the other government to change its policy towards Egypt or Morocco, in other words, to replace the occupation with a protectorate in the proper sense of the word, the agreement determined that in this case, too, both governments would give each other mutual support. in accordance with the terms set out in the published convention. In addition, Morocco was divided into two spheres of influence: French and Spanish, the latter covering the northern coast from Melila to Cebu.

After the signing of this agreement, criticism fell upon him, so on June 25, 1905, speaking in the House of Commons, Lloyd George stated that he did not accept the signing of such an agreement, but at that moment he was not yet familiar with the full secret agreement, and when he became a member of the cabinet he was forced to admit his unfounded cry about this.

After the Anglo-French rapprochement, to crown the new system, it was necessary to carry out the rapprochement between England and Russia. Moreover, for ten years already, it has invariably found more numerous supporters in England than rapprochement with France. At the beginning of 1907, active diplomatic negotiations began between Russia and England. As Minister of Trade, David Lloyd George begins to play an important role in the foreign policy concept of Great Britain, so from May 1907 he takes a direct part in negotiations with Russian diplomats and plays an important role in the signing on August 31, 1907 of the Anglo-Russian Convention on the delimitation of spheres influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet, which actually completed the creation of the so-called Triple Entente (Entente) consisting of England, France and Russia, aimed primarily at the military strengthening of Germany and its allies.

The bilateral agreements between England and France in 1904 and Russia in 1907 actually meant the formation of the Entente. Despite the sign under which these two documents were signed, of course, they had an anti-German orientation. Great Britain did not want to lose its decisive role in Europe, and in order to prevent Germany from strengthening and possibly getting ahead of her, England decided to rapprochement with France and Russia. But whatever the hidden reasons for signing the agreement, they pale in comparison to the role they played in the First World War.

Conclusion

Thus, we can confidently consider the reforms carried out by the British government of this period as rather limited. They clearly manifested the reactionary and unwillingness of the bourgeoisie to go for a truly revolutionary reform of outdated institutions of power. None other than the Liberal Prime Minister Asquith, who fought against the Lords in his public statements in the House of Commons, declaring the need for changes in the functions of the upper house, he at the same time emphasized that "such a transformation cannot be carried out immediately." The government made only those reforms that would have been inevitable anyway. The growth of the labor movement, its organization began to frighten the bourgeois ruling circles of the country. It was necessary to make concessions, but also to prevent the strengthening of the labor movement. Therefore, the reforms were somewhat episodic. There is no doubt that a feature of the reforming period of the late 19th century - early 20th century was the two-party political system in England. In the struggle among themselves for influence over the masses, the parties used populist measures. As, for example, the liberals, in order to shake their influence, introduced a bill in 1904, according to which the right of peaceful picketing for the purpose of holding strikes is recognized. Trade unions are not financially responsible for both strikes and picketing. This bill, as might be expected, was passed by the Board of Commons and rejected by the House of Lords. However, the liberals have raised their rating among the workers. Another undoubted feature of the reform was the arms race that was unfolding in the country, which was carefully masked, diverting attention to social reforms.

The ruling circles showed that they intended to pursue a policy of moderate social reforms, combined with the militarization of the country and preparations for war.

The death of Queen Victoria ended a reign of 64 years. The Victorian era is over - the era of the highest prosperity of the country and imperial greatness. Late XIX - early XX century. - the time when the process of modernization was actively going on in the country, affecting politics, the economy, and society. Monopoly capitalism developed in England, a system of social reforms was created. The struggle for the preservation and expansion of the colonial empire, for international prestige brought Great Britain to the threshold of a world war.

List of usedsources

1) A.A. Guber, M.Ya. Gefter, World History, Volume VII, Moscow, 1960.

2) V. S. Koshelev, I. V. Orzhekhovsky, V. I. Sinitsa. World History of Modern Times XIX - early. XX century., 1998.

3) World history - New story(1789-1914), 9th grade.

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