Forgot your password?  

Empire of the Sun | Historical Context

This Study Guide consists of approximately 127 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Empire of the Sun.
This section contains 319 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our Empire of the Sun Study Guide

Empire of the Sun Historical Context

World War II

The rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan during the 1930s tipped the scales toward a world war. These dictatorships—known as the Axis power when they became allies— began to forcibly expand into neighboring countries. For instance, in 1936 Benito Mussolini's Italian troops took over Ethiopia, which gave them a strong foothold in Africa. In 1938 Germany annexed Austria; a year later, German forces occupied Czechoslovakia. Italy took control of Albania in 1939.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany after a U-boat sank the British ship Athenia off the coast of Ireland. Another British ship, Courageous, was sunk on September 19. All the members of the British Commonwealth, except Ireland, soon joined Britain and France in their declaration of war.

By 1940, Japan controlled a large part of China,...
(read more)

This section contains 319 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our Empire of the Sun Study Guide
Copyrights
Empire of the Sun from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.
Follow Us on Facebook