2.8 Foreign Affairs

Question 1

Nyasaland

Answer 1

. Became independent after a peaceful uprising led by Hastings Banda, a moderate who supported the British government
. It became known as Malawi on 6th July 1964

Question 2

Northern Rhodesia

Answer 2

. Became independent after the British government made a deal with Kenneth Kaunda behind Roy Wellensky’s back.
. It became known as Zambia on 24th Oct 1964

Question 3

Central African Federation

Answer 3

. In the 50s the British govt was worried that Southern Rhodesia would become a racist state like South Africa
. They persuaded Southern Rhodesia to join with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to form CAF
. Roy Wellensky was the first leader of the CAF

Question 4

Southern Rhodesia

Answer 4

. Garfield Todd was PM but was sacked: too liberal
. Replaced by Ian Smith, big ole’ racist
. Southern Rhodesia wanted independence but the 20,000 whites living there wanted control over the 2.5mil black people living there
. Smith said there wouldn’t be a black representative for over 1000 yrs
. Britain tried to stop this, many meetings were held
. Nov 1965: Smith declared Unilateral Declaration of Independence: became a racist state

Question 5

Wilson’s Response to Southern Rhodesian Independence

Answer 5

. “If anyone was expecting a ‘thunderbolt in the shape of the Royal Air Force’, let me say this thunder bolt will not be coming.”
. Took war off the table instantly, even the threat of it
. Meant no negotiations could rly happen with Smith bc UK weren’t threatening to physically stop him

Question 6

Withdrawal from East of Suez

Answer 6

. Withdrew 1971
. Assessment of defense budget showed it was too expensive to maintain position there
. July 1967: Supplementary Defense White Paper announced 50% cut in strength in the Far East by 1971 and the complete withdrawal of all forces from East of Suez 1975-1977

Question 7

Withdrawal from East of Suez - Wilson’s fault?

Answer 7

. His dedication to presenting Britain as a world power with strong influence over seas made him reluctant to take action and also meant they spent a lot on the defense budget

Question 8

Withdrawal from East of Suez - not Wilson’s fault?

Answer 8

. The devaluation of the £ caused by the Arab-Israeli war sped up the government withdrawal schedule
. The government conducted defense reviews to assess the situation with the defense budget

Question 9

2nd EEC Application

Answer 9

. Oct: Wilson’s cabinet agreed to back new application
. Wilson + George Brown went to Paris to meet de Gaulle in Jan 1967, then toured the 5 other EEC countries to gain support
. June 1967: Wilson returned to Paris, and de Gaulle vetoed their application again

Question 10

2nd EEC Application - Wilson’s Fault?

Answer 10

. Doubts within Labour made it unlikely to succeed
. Many Labour Left (Michael Foot, Barbara Castle) saw the EEC as a club for capitalists that’d prevent Britain from following socialist policies
. Also several europhiles in cabinet: Roy Jenkins, and George Brown who had become the Foreign Secretary in 1966

Question 11

2nd EEC Application - Not Wilson’s Fault?

Answer 11

. Charles de Gaulle was still Pres of France + he hadn’t changed his mind about Britain’s entry
. De Gaulle put Wilson on the spot, demanding assurance that UK would detach itself from ‘Special Relationship’. Wilson would never

Question 12

Relations with the US

Answer 12

. Pres Johnson wanted UK to send troops to Vietnam
. Wilson wanted to maintain the Atlantic Alliance but the war was unpopular in Britain. He resisted
. UK’s policy gave moral support without military. This annoyed the US and some Labour MPs who wanted the govt to condemn the US

Question 13

Relations with the US - Wilson’s Fault?

Answer 13

. Wilson needed US to support the value of sterling + to avoid devaluation, so he couldn’t afford to alienate the US
. Many Labour MPs and supporters wanted the govt to condemn the US

Question 14

Relations with the US - Not Wilson’s Fault?

Answer 14

. Britain couldn’t afford military involvement

. The war was hugely unpopular in Britain, so Wilson risked losing political support if he was too supportive of it

Question 15

Withdrawal from East of Suez - Consequences to Foreign Policy

Answer 15

. Britain was seen to be weak by other countries
. They were left with only small garrisons in Hong Kong, Belize, and the Falkland Islands
. America disagreed with their actions as it helped the ‘communist’ countries in the Cold war

Question 16

Withdrawal from East of Suez - Economic Consequences

Answer 16

. The budget would have been worse with no withdrawal
. Budget reductions generally lead to little saving however this was mainly due to spending with other troubles such as Ireland

Question 17

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1964

Answer 17

. November: Ministry of Defense ordered to reduce annual defense budget to £2000mil per annum

Question 18

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1965

Answer 18

. Britain had 55,000 military personnel stationed east of Suez at a cost of £317mil per annum: 15% of defense budget
. Anglo-American deal concluded to maintain Britain’s bases east of Suez as the first line of defense for the US

Question 19

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1966

Answer 19

. Feb: Healey’s defense White Paper - need to reduce the defense budget
. July: economic crisis, marking beginning of end for UK’s presence in East of Suez
. Defense review called for a reduction in spending from 7-6% of GDP. Emphasised commitment to NATO

Question 20

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1967

Answer 20

. July: supplementary defense White Paper - 50% cut in strength in the Far East by 1971, complete withdrawal all forces from East of Suez between 75-77
. Defense review stated that a withdrawal from Simonstown was a matter of months
. Nov: 6 day Arab-Israeli war causes devaluation of £

Question 21

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1968

Answer 21

. January: Cabinet ruled that defense budget would suffer further cuts

Question 22

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1969

Answer 22

. Heath pledged himself to maintaining a British presence in the Gulf states, Malaysia + Singapore
. Partly an attempt to distinguish the Conservatives from Labour

Question 23

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1970

Answer 23

. Heath did not reverse the withdrawal.
. A presence in Malaysia was secured
. US approved

Question 24

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1971

Answer 24

. Britain withdrew from the Persian Gulf

Question 25

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1974

Answer 25

. Dec: defense review, designed to reduce expenditure by £4.7bil between 1975 and 1985, while the armed forces were scheduled to shed 11% of manpower

Question 26

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1976

Answer 26

. Severe sterling ended Britain’s presence in Singapore and Simonstown

Question 27

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1977

Answer 27

. Cuts stop when the Callaghan govt finally succumbed to NATO pressure for an increase of 3% per annum over 5 years to fund equipment

Question 28

Withdrawal from East of Suez - 1979

Answer 28

. The armed forces scheduled to shed 11% of existing manpower (about 38,000 men) by this year