AUSTRALIAN INDEPENDENCE:
After the First World War it became increasingly difficult for Britain to hold on to Australia. It became clear that. Britain could no longer afford an Empire and they had no right to rule people who did not want to be ruled by Britain. They also decided that the Royal Navy was no longer strong enough to protect an empire as large as Britain’s any more.
Also, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) promoted 'self-determination', the right to rule yourself. It was difficult for Britain to support this principle for other countries, but deny it to countries in the Empire: They decided to give total independence to Australia (along with Canada, New Zealand and South Africa), but "freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". This was known as the Balfour Declaration which was agreed on by the British government.
Before leaving the British Empire, Australia was split into various colonies. Each colony was responsible for itself, they only defended and looked after themselves. They soon became a federation and led by the parliament system that continues today – which was greatly influenced by Britain’s own parliament system.
Unity was one of the reasons that people chose to federate to occur in Australia. The colonial governments became more united and a sense of nationalism spread through Australia. While the sense of nationalism is important to the Australian population they decided to continue being ruled by a monarchy so Australia created a ‘Sovereign’ status during its unofficial move to independency.
Also, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) promoted 'self-determination', the right to rule yourself. It was difficult for Britain to support this principle for other countries, but deny it to countries in the Empire: They decided to give total independence to Australia (along with Canada, New Zealand and South Africa), but "freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". This was known as the Balfour Declaration which was agreed on by the British government.
Before leaving the British Empire, Australia was split into various colonies. Each colony was responsible for itself, they only defended and looked after themselves. They soon became a federation and led by the parliament system that continues today – which was greatly influenced by Britain’s own parliament system.
Unity was one of the reasons that people chose to federate to occur in Australia. The colonial governments became more united and a sense of nationalism spread through Australia. While the sense of nationalism is important to the Australian population they decided to continue being ruled by a monarchy so Australia created a ‘Sovereign’ status during its unofficial move to independency.