1.4 Foreign relations, 1951-64 Flashcards
When was the Treaty of Rome? What did it do?
1957, set up the EEC
When did the Macmillan government submit Britain’s application to join the EEC?
1961
What did the Macmillan government hope would come from the EEC for Britain?
- boost industrial production for larger scale export market
- increase industrial efficiency, with greater production
- stimulate economic growth
Why was the US keen to see Britain join the EEC?
Saw Britain as vital link between Europe and America - rising tensions of Cold War
What made negotiations with the EEC extremely complex + difficult?
Britain wanted to keep its position in the Commonwealth and the United States as well
Who was Macmillan’s chief negotiator in the many months with the EEC?
Edward Heath
When did the negotiations with the EEC seem to have reached a successful conclusion? What then happened?
January 1963 - Charles de Gaulle exercised France’s right of veto
When had Britain become a founder member of NATO?
1949
What events put the special relationship under strain (despite still remaining strong allies throughout)?
- Burgess and Maclean affair
- Britain’s relationship w/ EEC
- Suez Crisis
What did Labour Foreign Secretary Ernie Bevin say about nuclear deterrent in 1946?
‘We’ve got to have this thing over her whatever it costs. We’ve got to have the bloody Union Jack on top of it.’
When were Britain’s first tests of the atomic bomb under Churchill?
1952 - by this point, US and USSR were already developing the more powerful H bomb
What world ranking was Britain to develop nuclear weapons?
3rd nuclear power
When was Britain’s H bomb first tested?
1957
When was the CND created?
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - 1958
How many people took part in a CND demonstration at Aldermaston? When?
around 8000 people, 1958 - second march in 1959 even bigger
Under what agreement did the US agree to share nuclear technology with Britain? When?
Mutual Defence Agreement, 1958
What was abandoned in 1960?
Britain’s own rocket project, Blue Streak
What was Blue Streak replaced by?
dependence on the American Polaris submarine weapons system
When was the Korean War?
1950-53
How many soldiers did Britain send in the UN Force to Korea?
90,000 - 2nd biggest contingent after the USA
How many British troops had died by the end of the Korean War?
over 1000
When was Suez?
1956
What percentage of Western Europe’s oil imports passed through the Suez Canal?
80%
What did Colonel Nasser announce in 1956?
The nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company to provide finance for the Aswan Dam
Who agreed with Eden that he should not allow Nasser to get away with ‘unprovoked aggression’?
Most of Eden’s cabinet, including Chancellor Harold Macmillan
What two countries encouraged Eden over Suez? Where did they meet?
Israel and France - top secret meeting at Sèvres in Paris
When was the plan made at Sevres put into operation?
29 October 1956
Opposition to Suez within Britain
Labour Party, anti-war protests held, public opinion split on need for intervention
What was caused by US opposition to Suez?
Britain not strong enough to stand up to American pressure - plunged into serious financial crisis
When had Britain decided to withdraw from India?
1947
In the 50s, what national independence movements did Britain find itself fighting against?
Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus
Where and when was the Mau Mau rebellion?
Kenya, 1952
What was the first African colony to be granted independence?
Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast), 1957
What colonies gained independence in 1960?
Nigeria and Cyprus
What colonies gained independence in 1961?
Tanganyika (later combined with Zanzibar to form Tanzania) and Sierra Leone
What colony gained independence in 1962?
Uganda
What colony gained independence in 1963?
Kenya
Where and when was Macmillan’s ‘wind of change’ speech?
Capetown, 1960 - called for decolonisation, recognition of independence movements, and majority rule
