لخّصلي

The British government during the 20h century followed a less active imperial style due to several
reasons, particularly the two devastating world wars. The first global war expanded the British
Empire to its greatest extent. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 gave Britain most of the German
Empire in Africa, while the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East led to the British
acquisition of Palestine and Iraq in 1918.
However, the war also accelerated support for nationalist movementsationalist movements in the colonies, and the
British government found that it could do little to stop this trend. After World War I Britain was
exhausted, and the empire was overextended. As a result, during the 1920s and 1930s Britain
searched for policies that would both reduce the cost of the empire and the risk of its falling apart.
It granted independence to Egypt in 1922 and to Iraq in 1932. TheThe British Commonwealth of Nations British Commonwealth of Nations
was also established as an association of equal and independent states united by common
allegiance to the British Crown
Commonwealth of NationsCommonwealth of Nations:
Commonwealth of Nations, worldwide association of nations and their dependencies, whose
members share a common commitment to promoting human rights, democracy, and economic
development. All members accept the British monarch as the symbolic head of the Commonwealth.
All but one, Mozambique, were once associated in some constitutional way with either the former
British Empire or with another member country. The association was formerly known as the British
Commonwealth of Nations, but today is referred to simply as the Commonwealth.
About 1.7 billion people live in the 54 independent nations and the more than 20 dependencies
that make up the Commonwealth. Commonwealth members share many customs and traditions as
a result of their association with Britain. Many have parliamentary systems of government on the
British model, and their judicial and educational institutions are often similar to those in Britain.
English is an official language of many members of the Commonwealth
After World War II, British governments did not resist decolonizationdecolonization, provided that it was possible
to transfer power to friendly regimes and the circumstances were not humiliating to national pride.
With the end of the empire, a multiracial, coequal Commonwealth of Nations evolved, which had
modest utility but generally cooperative feelings.