The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

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Irishmen from the southern counties volunteered for active service. Not only did
the extreme
nationalists in India not oppose the war but more conservative
elements wholeheartedly supported it.
“The non-European Empire also
contributed handsomely to a war that was mostly far-removed from
their
immediate interests, British East Africa raised about 34,000 fighting troops,
losing
approximately 2,000. The British West African colonies raised 25,000 men
and lost 850. Tens of thousands
from other possessions served in non-combatant
units; 82,000 Egyptian; 8,000 West Indians; 1,000
Mauritians and even 100 from
Fiji.”33

Other
statistics are also very impressive. “Britain recruited 6,704,416 men
of whom 704,803 died. Canada
recruited 628,964 of whom 56,639 lost their lives.
Australia recruited 412,953 of whom 59,330 died. New
Zealand recruited
128,525 and 16,711 were killed or died of wounds. South Africa recruited
136,070
whites of whom 7,121 died. Over 8,000 Newfoundlanders served
overseas, of whom 1,204 lost their
lives.”34

South
African conquered South West Africa and Tanganyika; Canadians
died in their thousands in Flanders;
Australians and New Zealanders played a
substantial part in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign; Indian
troops invaded
Mesopotamia. All these forces, mostly financed from their own treasuries,
fought
throughout the globe.

Although the British Empire met its greatest test, nevertheless the war had
its impacts on the
structure of the empire. The effect of the war on the empire was
the intensification and spread of
nationalism among the empire countries. “French
Canada supported the war with far less enthusiasm
than English-speaking
Canada, and the consciption crisis in 1917 resulted in severe civil disorder
in
Quebec. In Dublin, at Easter 1916, the republican rebellion heralded widespread
disaffection and
the beginning of the violent struggle for home rule. Even in
patriotic Australia conscription was put to
the vote in a referendum – and

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