Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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IWM Curator Carl Warner discusses the reasons for the British Empire's collapse following the end of The Second World War.

00:00 - The British Empire
01:16 - How it operated
02:37 - The First World War
06:40 - The Empire Evolves
08:52 - The Killing Blow
12:30 - Economic Uncertainty
13:58 - Indian Independence
15:50 - The Final Nail in the Coffin
16:55 - End of an Empire

Note: The map at 14:50 should also show East Pakistan, which was included in the independent dominion of Pakistan in 1947. East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971.

Visit Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Mayala, Kenya and Cyprus, open now at IWM London: iwm.org.uk/events/emergency-exits-the-fight-for-independence-in-malaya-kenya-and-cyprus

Explore and licence the film clips used in this video:
film.iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/_J2YkNRAy

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