Hello there.

My name is Mr. Groom and you have made a great choice to learn some history with me today.

This lesson is absolutely fascinating.

We're going to be learning all about how the British Empire declined in the 20th century.

I'm ready.

Are you? Let's get started.

Today's lesson is called "Imperial Decline" from the Unit "Interpreting the British Empire, How has it been commemorated and contested?" By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to describe the trend of British imperial decline that took place toward the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.

Our keywords for today's lesson are, the two-power standard was the British policy of maintaining a navy which was larger than the next two largest navies combined.

National efficiency was the argument that British society needed to become more productive, to maintain imperial dominance, and decline, a gradual and continuous loss of strength.

So let's start our learning in today's lesson about imperial decline by looking in more detail at the two-power standard.

As the 19th century drew to a close, Germany and the United States experienced significant industrial growth competing with the British Empire for economic dominance.

Both countries also sought to expand their military and territorial interests.

The United States made strategic advancements into Latin America and the Pacific, whilst Germany pursued territorial expansion in Southwest Africa, now Namibia, and increased its influence in East Africa and the Pacific Islands.

In response to the growing naval threat from Germany, Britain passed a Naval Defence Act in 1889 in which the two-power standard was enacted.

This act was designed to ensure the Royal Navy's superiority by maintaining a naval fleet size equal to or greater than the combined forces of the next two largest navies.

The Act allocated an extra 20 million pounds for naval expansion leading to the construction of 10 new battleships, 38 cruises, 18 torpedo boats, and four fast gunboats over the following four years.

So in this image, on the right hand side of the screen, we've got a photograph of the HMS Royal Sovereign.

What I want you to do is think about what you can see and why Britain needed to create this kind of boat, and it will be helpful you to be thinking about the two-power standard that we've just described.

So have a think about what you can see and why Britain needed to create this kind of boat.

Pause the video and press play when you want to see if your answers are similar to mine.

So, well done.

You might have correctly guessed that the HMS Royal Sovereign was one of these brand new battleships that was produced as a result of the Naval Defence Act.

The Act was part in 1889.

Remember that was the Act that brought in the two-power standard and the Royal Sovereign was actually produced just a couple of years later in 1891.

It was equipped with advanced weaponry and it showcased Britain's commitment to maintaining its dominance.

It was equipped with four large 13 1/2 inch guns, 10 secondary six inch guns, and it showcased Britain's commitment to maintaining its dominance in the face of emerging challenges to its empire from countries like Germany.

So let's check your understanding of what we've just heard.

In which two places did America pursue territorial expansion at the end of the 19th century? Was it A, Southwest Africa, B, Latin America, or C, the Pacific? Pause the video and press play when you want to check your answers.

That's right.

America pursued territorial expansion at the end of the 19th century in Latin America and the Pacific.

They weren't trying to pursue territorial expansion in Africa.

I'd like you to complete the sentence below with the correct keyword.

The policy designed to ensure the Royal Navy's superiority by maintaining a naval fleet size equal to or greater than the combined forces of the next two largest navies is known as the blank.

So which of our key words today correctly completes that sentence? Press pause.

When you're ready to check your answer, hit play again.

Well done.

That's right.

The policy designed to ensure the Royal Navy's superiority by maintaining a naval fleet size equal to or greater than the combined forces of the next two largest navies is known as the two-power standard.

So let's bring your learning together from this learning cycle.

The HMS Royal Sovereign showcased Britain's commitment to maintaining its dominance despite emerging imperial challenges.

Explain to your partner why the British needed to develop ships like the HMS Royal Sovereign.

Try to include the following words when your answer.

Two-power standard, imperial, supremacy.

Pause the video while you're doing this and press play when you want to compare your answer to mine.

So you might have said the following to your partner or written it or just thought about it.

The British needed to develop ships like the HMS Royal Sovereign as part of their commitment to the two-power standard.

The boat was equipped with advanced weaponry illustrating Britain's focus on keeping its imperial supremacy in the face of territorial and economic expansion of countries like Germany and America.

So having looked at the two-power standard, let's move on to look at the national efficiency movement in Britain.

Amidst the challenges posed by the rising powers of Germany and America, the Second Boer War also served as a stark wake up call revealing glaring military shortcomings that called into question Britain's ability to safeguard its empire and uphold its global supremacy.

The recruitment of soldiers also exposed a more troubling issue, the poor health and fitness of the British population.

There was increasing concern in Britain that other countries could overtake her in economic and military strength if the quality of the workforce was not improved.

The national efficiency movement developed as a response to this concern and was designed to strengthen improved productivity in Britain and help avoid imperial decline.

So let's check your understanding of what you've just heard.

Which event contributed to the development of the national efficiency movement? Was it A, World War I? B, the Second Boer War? C, German territorial expansion? Think about the answer.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to see if you were right.

That's right.

It was the Second Boer War that contributed to the development of the national efficiency movement because the recruitment of soldiers exposed the poor health and fitness of the British population.

So as a response, military reforms were undertaken to overhaul organisation training and strategy, ensuring that Britain's armed forces were better prepared for future challenges.

In addition to efforts to modernise industry, education became a key focus with a movement aiming to create a workforce that was more skilled and adaptable.

This was seen as crucial for driving economic growth and ensuring that Britain could continue to compete as an industrial powerhouse.

Efficient administration across the empire's vast territories was also reformed as there were increasing calls for independence.

The national efficiency movement aimed to secure Britain's legacy as a world leading power, promoting economic growth, social wellbeing, and a more effective and efficient defence of its empire.

So let's check your understanding of the national efficiency movement.

What I'd like you to do is to complete the sentences about the national efficiency movement that you see below.

We've got some words there that might or might not be useful to you.

I want you to think about those words and think which of those you might want to use to complete those sentences.

Not all of them will be the correct ones to use.

So think carefully about the ones you want to use.

The sentences you need to complete are the national efficiency movement aim to increase British blank.

The movement argued that an increase in efficiency would help them to increase their blank blank.

So which words will help to complete those sentences correctly? Pause the video and press play when you're ready to see if you are right.

Well done.

The national efficiency movement aimed to increase British productivity and the movement argued that an increase in efficiency would help them to increase their imperial supremacy.

When the Liberal Party won the general election in 1906 in the spirit of national efficiency, they introduced a series of reforms. For example, the Free School Meals Act in 1906, the increase in free scholarship places for secondary education in 1907, the establishment of labour exchanges in 1909 to help people find employment and the 1911 National Insurance Act designed to help the sick.

These measures were designed to help the unemployed find work and ensure that children have the nourishment they needed to learn effectively laying the groundwork for a healthier, more educated population, and therefore increasing national efficiency.

Now the liberal reforms as they became known, caused a lot of discussion and debate in the nation's newspapers.

You can see here a cartoon from a newspaper published in 1911.

What I'd like you to do is think about what you can see in that political cartoon and what it tells us about why the National Insurance Act was necessary.

Remember, the National Insurance Act was an Act designed to help those who became sick, working people who became sick.

So in that cartoon, what can you see and why was the National Insurance Act so necessary? Pause the video and press play when you're ready to see if your answer matched up with mine.

So you should be able to see a doctor promoting the National Insurance Act to their patient designed to help the sick.

And actually that doctor is David Lloyd George, a significant Liberal politician of the day.

If we think about why the National Insurance Act was necessary, it was necessary because it was part of the national efficiency movement, which aimed to keep British imperial supremacy.

The Liberal Party believed that if they could keep their workers healthy by helping them with things like the National Insurance Act to pay for them when they became sick, to encourage them to get well and then get back to work, this would make the nation more efficient and would therefore be able to preserve British imperial supremacy.

Let's check that you've understood what we've heard about the national efficiency movement now.

So I want you to remember back to when we described the difference sorts of reforms that were brought in by the Liberal Party.

In what year were the labour exchanges introduced? Pause the video, press play when you think you've got the answer.

That's right.

They were introduced in 1909.

So let's bring our understanding of the national efficiency movement together in this task.

And I want you to think about whether you agree with Lucas.

Lucas thinks that the national efficiency movement aimed to help people in Britain to find more work.

Do you agree with Lucas? I want you to explain your answer using the following words.

National efficiency, decline, productivity, and supremacy.

So while you are doing this, pause the video and press play when you're ready to compare your answer to mine.

Well done.

So you might have noticed that Lucas is correct in suggesting that one of the aims of the national efficiency movement was to provide people with work.

For example, this can be seen in the introduction of the Labour Exchanges in 1909.

However, Lucas has missed a few things out, hasn't he? His answer doesn't go far enough.

Lucas could have mentioned that the national efficiency movement was also about ensuring British imperial supremacy wasn't just about getting people back to work.

By increasing productivity, the national efficiency movement aimed to ensure that Britain was able to complete with other emerging powers such as Germany and America and avoid imperial decline.

So having looked at the two-power standard and the national efficiency movement, let's move on to consider the impact of the First World War on Britain's imperial power.

As the shadows of the First World War finally lifted, Britain emerged with its global leader position deeply compromised.

Despite the best efforts of national efficiency movement, the war's toll was too immense, resulting in a decline in Britain's imperial supremacy.

The war's end in 1918 revealed a British economy battered and bruised, a stark reversal from its pre-war status as one of the world's wealthiest nations.

Overseas investments, once a pillar of Britain's economic strength had evaporated, while the exhaustive demands of funding the war effort had drained the nation's wealth.

Unemployment increased by 6% with the coal, iron, steel and mining sectors particularly devastated.

When mine owners announced their intentions to cut pay and increase working hours, the 1926 General Strike broke out.

Over 1 million workers across the country and industries refused to work for nine days.

Worsening Britain's economic problems further was the substantial debt owed to the United States and the war's disruption to traditional trade relationships with other countries.

So thinking about what we've just heard there about the position of Britain at the end of the First World War and the General Strike of 1926, I want you to have this image in your mind and think about what you can see.

What does this image tell us about Britain's power in the early 20th century? What can you see in it and what does that tell us about Britain's position in the early 20th century? Let's pause while you think about this and hit play when you're ready to continue.

So that's right.

In this image we can see miners striking during the 1926 General Strike.

And this was a strike you should remember, that was caused by rising unemployment and a reduction in wages.

And what this suggested about Britain and Britain's power in the early 20th century was that just after the First World War, the British economy was in an incredibly poor state and that British power was declining significantly.

So let's check your understanding of what we've just heard.

So which of the following statements about unemployment in Britain is correct? Is it A, unemployment increased after the First World War, B, unemployment decreased after the First World War or C, the First World War did not alter levels of unemployment.

Pause the video while you think about your answer and press play when you're ready to see if you are right.

That's right.

Unemployment increased after the First World War.

Remember, it increased by about 6%, a really large increase.

Now, the war exerted unprecedented pressure on the British empire as Britain had relied heavily on troops and other resources from its colonies.

While some countries have begun self-governing prior to the First World War, such as Australia in 1901 and New Zealand in 1907, the post-war era saw an intensification in calls for independence amongst other colonies.

On the global stage, Britain's once unchallenged influence had reduced.

The United States rose as a dominant economic and industrial force asserting itself in international affairs with newfound confidence and the establishment of the League of Nations in 1920, further signalled a shift in global power dynamics and Britain's role in dictating international politics alone was now diminished.

The First World War and the post-war years only continued to showcase an area of British imperial decline.

So which of the following statements about Britain's imperial power after the First World War is correct? Did it become stronger? Did it continue to decline or did it stay the same? Consider your answer, press pause, and then when you are ready to see whether you were right, press play.

That's right.

Britain's imperial power after First World War continue to decline.

So we're going to bring all of our learning from today's lesson on imperial decline together in this final task.

Now, Britain was facing a trend of imperial decline towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.

What I'd like you to do is I'd like you to use the images and words below to explain the trend of imperial decline.

So think about using two-power standard, supremacy, national efficiency and unemployment.

And you should probably refer to the HMS Royal Sovereign to the Liberal Reforms and to the 1926 General strike.

While you're completing this, hit pause and when you're ready to see how your answer compares to mine, press play.

Well done.

Now, I'm sure your answer will have featured much of what is up here on the screen.

Your answer could have said that in 1889, Britain passed the Naval Defence Act in which the two-power standard was enacted and battleships like the HMS Royal Sovereign were produced.

This was to counteract the threat it faced from Germany, America, whose industrial and territory expansion rival British supremacy.

British imperial decline continued into the 20th century and was highlighted by the failures of the Boer war.

This led to the national efficiency movement and the Liberal Reforms like the National Insurance Act of 1911.

Britain's imperial supremacy continued to decline, however, with its economy destroyed by the First World War, caused in part by debt to America and resulting in unemployment and the 1926 General Strike.

Well done.

Excellent work in today's lesson.

Let's just summarise what we've learned about imperial decline.

So we've seen how there was a trend of British imperial decline towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.

And we've seen how that trend in decline was caused by the territorial and industrial expansion of countries like Germany and America, that it was caused by British domestic weaknesses and the impact of the First World War.

And we've seen that Britain responded to some of these challenges by trying to maintain its imperial supremacy, inducing the two-power standard and the national efficiency movement.

But we've also seen that after the First World War really, Britain was pretty much unable to respond to this trend in decline and found itself in a far diminished position of imperial power.

So I hope you found today's lesson interesting.

I found it absolutely fascinating, and I hope to see you again soon for another lesson looking at Britain and the decline of her empire.