The Commonwealth

The story of Britain's Empire after World War II became a story of gaining independence by former colonial territories and establishing their own governments and policy. This issue was of primary importance in post-war British history and politics.

As it was mentioned above, the British Empire united two separate entities — there were Commonwealth countries and colonies. Commonwealth countries, formerly Dominions were totally self-governing after the Statute of Westminster in 1931, but they accepted Britain's monarch as their head of state and followed Britain's lead in defense and foreign affairs. In 1945, these were Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Eire and South Africa.

Colonies were governed directly from London via a British-run administration, which supervised road-building, schools, medical services and other benefits for the colonies. These colonies were situated mainly in Africa, though they were also in the Far East (Singapore, Hong Kong), the Mediterranean (Malta, Cyprus), and the Caribbean (Jamaica) and in other different parts of the world. These territories were at the same time a source of raw materials and an important market for British economy. In the post-war years the colonies developed self-government according to the United Nations Charter of 1945.

In India the nationalist movement led by Mahatma Gandhi made the British leave India in 1947, after this the country divided into a Hindu state and a smaller Muslim state called Pakistan. Ceylon and Burma became independent in 1948, the same year Eire left the Commonwealth. South Africa also left the Commonwealth in 1961. All in all more than 500 million people in former British colonies became completely self-governing between 1945 and 1955.

The policy of decolonisation was continued after the 1950s as well. In the 1960s and 1970s, self-government was granted to Nigeria, Cyprus, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Jamaica and Uganda. By 1979, only isolated colonies like Gibraltar, the Falklands and Hong Kong remained dependent.

Today the small remnants of the Empire wish to continue with the imperial arrangements. These are Gibraltar, St Helena, the Ascension Islands, the Falklands/Malvinas and Belize. These small countries are a source for Britain's pride on one hand (they show how beneficial the British imperial administration is), but on the other hand it's a heavy burden — the possession of this territories does not fit the image of a modern democratic state and it costs the British taxpayer money.

Today the British Commonwealth of nations unites many of the former British colonies. Though this union does not give any economic and political advantages it keeps cultural contacts between its members alive.

Task 2. Vocabulary development. Discussion. Fill in the blanks in the text with the following words.

supporter	separate	colonisation	stability
growth	Anglican	subdue	defeat
union	descendant	settler	independence
protestant	hostility	illegal

Northern Ireland: the Roots of the Trouble

Today's troubles in Anglo-Irish relations have a long history, which dates back to the times of Henry II. In the 12^th century, he started colonisation of Irish lands and setting them by the Normans. Historically the Irish were keen of the Roman Catholic Church and the first Normans, who settled there quickly assimilated and became Catholics.

In the 16^th century, when Henry VIII declared himself a head of the Church, his army came to Ireland to force Irish Catholics to become Anglican. Thus two main problems of Anglo-Irish relations started — religion and land. Elizabeth I continued of the nearest neighbours. Among four Irish provinces Leister, Munster, Connaught and Ulster the latter was the most difficult to . In 1603, when Ulster was finally defeated, Elizabeth sent there 170,000 Protestant , most of whom were from Scotland. The newcomers, known as "planters" settled in 23 newly built towns, which were called "The Plantation of Ulster". The policy of plantation Irish society into two camps Protestant Planters and Irish Catholics.

The planters brought with them Scottish laws and customs, which encouraged economic and social order. By the 19^th century, this area became industrial and developed much quicker than the rest agricultural Ireland.

In the 17^th century, during the Civil War in England Irish Catholics formed an army to support King Charles I, but were by Cromwell's Protestant forces, who killed many civilians as well. These murders caused tension between Protestant planters and native Catholics.

Forty years later, in 1690, when Irish Catholics tried to support Catholic King James II, they were defeated by the Protestant forces of William of Orange (William III) at the Battle of the Boyne. Today the of Protestant planters still call themselves Orangemen and annually celebrate William's victories over the Catholics.

In the 19^th century, when most of the Irish depended on agriculture, many of them died during the Great Famine of 1845—1849 caused by poor potato harvest. The Great Famine finally divided Ireland into two nations. While the agricultural part of the country was starving, the industrial north was not so much affected. On the contrary, the people of Ulster were quite

prosperous and wanted the with Britain to get the markets for their industrial products.

When Ireland began to struggle for from Britain, the people of Ulster resisted — they were fully for the union with Britain. So in 1921, when the southern part of Ireland finally became a Free State, Ulster chose to remain part of the United Kingdom.

This division of Ireland is known as "partition". One country split into 2 parts — the Irish Republic (Eire), which is completely independent from Britain and Northern Ireland (Ulster) as a part of the United Kingdom.

Ulster had its own Prime Minister and the Parliament dominated by . Irish Catholics in Ulster started a campaign for civil rights, but it was paid little attention to.

In 1969, the riots in Northern Ireland started. By 1972, reached its peak, the Northern Irish Parliament was suspended and the British army was sent to keep the peace.

There have been many deaths since 1969. Today both the Protestant and the Catholic communities have secret armies — on the Catholic side there are the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and INLA (Irish National Liberation Army), on the Protestant side are the UDA (Ulster Defense Association) and the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force).

Though these armies find little support with general public, they are still ready to fight.

Task 3. Discussion.

1. Review the information about historical periods that caused present-day troubles in Ireland. What historical events are widely remembered in Ireland today? Why?

2. Think of the possible solutions of the trouble. Do you think an agreement can be reached?

3. If you were a representative of the government, what kind of referendum would you hold to settle the trouble?