Round Table movement facts for kids

The Round Table movement started in 1909. It was a group of organizations that wanted to bring Britain and its self-governing colonies closer together. These colonies were countries like Canada, Australia, and South Africa, which governed themselves but were still part of the British Empire.

How the Movement Started

The Round Table Movement grew from a group called Lord Milner's Kindergarten. This group wanted to influence elections in the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies in South Africa around 1905. They worked with F.S. Malan, an editor, to publish their ideas about how British South African colonies should relate to each other.

The group held meetings called 'moots' in Johannesburg. This name came from an old Anglo-Saxon word for a meeting. It also referred to discussing 'moot points,' which are topics open for debate.

The movement officially began at a meeting in Wales from September 4–6, 1909. Lionel Curtis helped create the structure of the organization. However, the main idea came from Lord Milner. Philip Kerr, who had worked in South Africa, became the group's secretary.

In 1910, they started publishing a magazine called The Round Table Journal: A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Empire. At first, the movement wanted Britain and its self-governing colonies to form a closer union, almost like a single country. Later, they focused more on just working together.

Spreading the Idea

In 1910 and 1911, Lionel Curtis traveled to different Dominions. He helped set up local Round Table groups in Canada, the Union of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. A group was also formed in Newfoundland in 1912.

Curtis wrote a series of 'Round Table Studies' that were shared with all the groups. He hoped to write a book that would convince everyone to support a closer union. But it was hard for everyone to agree. So, in 1916, he published The Problem of the Commonwealth under his own name.

Through his studies, Curtis developed the idea of a "Commonwealth." This meant that members would gradually gain more self-government. This idea became more popular among the Round Table groups than the idea of a full union. A smaller group also thought about how India would fit into any future plans. They decided India would need to be represented.

World War I and Beyond

During the First World War, Philip Kerr helped shape the idea of a new "Commonwealth." This new idea would replace the old empire and be different from how Germany saw its empire. The group also welcomed Alfred Zimmern, which helped distance them from anti-German feelings during the war.

The Round Table supported free trade, even though some members preferred special trade deals within the empire. They also supported the White Australia policy, publishing writings by Frederic Eggleston on the topic.

When the United States joined the First World War and the League of Nations was promoted, the movement changed its view of the empire. They started seeing it as a "Commonwealth of Nations." They focused on improving communication and cooperation between Britain and the increasingly independent Dominions. The movement had a big impact during the war.

Part of the money for The Round Table Journal came from the Rhodes Trust. In 1921, Lord Milner, a key leader, left the journal a final sum of £2,500. This amount would be worth about £125,000 today.

After the Wars

Between the two World Wars, the Round Table groups continued to support cooperation. They wanted the Dominions of the British Empire (like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the new Irish Free State) to work together with the United States.

However, their support for the "Commonwealth" idea also led them to back movements for self-government within the Empire. This included the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and the Indian reforms of 1919 and 1935. In the late 1930s, members of the journal disagreed about whether to support appeasement (giving in to demands to avoid war).

The Round Table continued to be a group that discussed and influenced the Commonwealth. They talked about things like granting independence to countries and drawing new borders for these independent states. Even after many nations gained full self-determination by the 1980s, the movement still holds talks and forums. These meetings reflect on the future shared activities and practices of the Commonwealth.

Prominent Members

Many important people were part of the Round Table 'moot' meetings:

First Half of 20th Century

Second Half of 20th Century

Conspiracy Theory

Georgetown University Professor Carroll Quigley believed the Round Table Group was a front for a secret society. He thought this society was created by Cecil Rhodes to unite all English-speaking nations. Quigley also believed that the powerful people in the British Empire had too much influence over American leaders.

However, Sir Ivison Macadam, an honorary secretary of the Round Table Group, thought Quigley's ideas were "crazy." One writer noted that Quigley's "tragedy" was believing he was outside a secret group that didn't actually exist.

See also

• Coefficients (dining club)