This survey will examine the course of British history between 1900 and 1945. In 1900 Great Britain was the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, controlling a global Empire that covered a quarter of the globe’s land mass. Forty-five years and two world wars later, the country had been relegated to the second tier of world powers, unable to compete with the United States or the Soviet Union. Britain’s economy was greatly weakened, basic goods continued to be rationed even after the return of peace in 1945, while the Empire that had built up over centuries was crumbling: the Crown jewels of India and Pakistan had been lost in 1947, and it was only a matter of time before the rest followed. But in the midst of this apparent decline, the British nation was re-inventing itself. The Labour government that came to power in 1945 nationalized numerous industries and created a medical system that would assist every British citizen from cradle to grave regardless of his or her means. In short, the United Kingdom in 1945 was just as much of a vanguard nation as it had been fifty years before.