ห้องสมุดไป่ตู้he age of imperialism was over
一． On the one hand, the British could no longer afford to maintain its empire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. On the other hand, the British realised that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. 二．Because the end of the British empire is so comparatively recent, many people are still alive who can remember when Britain was one of the most powerful and rich nations on earth.
Britain was active in setting up the United Nations
• In recognition of its continuing importance to world politics it was awarded a seat on the UN Security Council, along with the other recognised" great powers" of the Soviet Union, the United States, China and France. But the era of the "Great Powers" was already over. The United States and the Soviet Union soon emerged as new "superpowers" which, because of their military superiority, were qualitatively more powerful than all other countries
The end of the great British empire was surprisingly rapid.
• Jordan, in the Middle East, was granted independence. The following year, India and Pakistan followed suit. In 1948, Burma and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) were granted independence and left the Commonwealth as well, refusing to recognise the British monarch as the head of their new states.
Britain Then and Now
一．During the WWII, the Allies vs. the Axis 二．After the war, although suffered a lot, it was still the largest military power in Western Europe. 三．Former Colonies in Asia