4 Foreign Relations

Question 1

What are the 6 main foreign policy developments?

Answer 1

1. EEC and EFTA
2. USA and USSR
3. Nuclear Deterrent
4. The Korean War, 1950-53
5. The Suez Crisis, 1956
6. Decolonisation

Question 2

What is the EEC?

Answer 2

European Economic Community

Established by Treaty of Rome in 1957 by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg

Question 3

What is the Cold War?

Answer 3

Describes the tensions between the west and communist states after WWII

Question 4

What is the ‘special relationship’?

Answer 4

It is the close relationship between the USA and the UK.

Based on historical, diplomatic, cultural, economic and military ties

Question 5

What is the EFTA?

Answer 5

European Free Trade Association

Created in 1960 by Britain, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland

Alternative to EEC

Question 6

What are 6 reasons why Britain did not initially become involved in the EEC?

Answer 6

1. Few politicians were in favour of Britain taking the offered leadership role in Europe
2. The left were suspicious of free-market principles behind the EEC
3. The rights saw the preservation of traditional trade links (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) as more important than those with Europe.
4. The belief that it was a continental European issue (Germany and France recovering from the war whereas Britain ‘won the war’)
5. The assumption that Britain was still a great war power
6. Maintaining ‘special relationship’ with USA

Question 7

How successful was the EFTA?

Answer 7

Moderately successful and the new organisation was not able to match the economic growth of the EEC

Question 8

When did Britain submit an application to join the EEC?

Answer 8

1961

Question 9

What 3 reasons were there for Britain to submit an application to join the EEC?

Answer 9

1. To boost industrial production for large scale export markets
2. To increase industrial efficiency with greater competition
3. To stimulate economic growth with the rapid economic expansion seen in the EEC

Question 10

When was Britain first rejected from the EEC?

Answer 10

1963

Question 11

What 2 reasons were there for Britain being rejected from joining the EEC

Answer 11

Partly because Britain was keen on staying closely linked to the commonwealth and USA.

Mainly because of de Gaulle vetoing their vote

Question 12

What are 3 features of the UK, USA and USSR relationship?

Answer 12

All dominated early years of Cold War, and allies during WW2

USA and UK stayed allies post war opposing communist expansion over Europe

Britain became a founding member of NATO in 1949

Question 13

What are the 3 good features of ‘special relationship?

Answer 13

Britain supported UN in Korea

Macmillan established good relationship with Kennedy

Kennedy keeps Macmillan informed with Cuban Missile Crisis

Question 14

What are the 4 strained features of ‘special relationship?

Answer 14

The Burgess and Maclean Affair

EEC

Suez Crisis

Rotisserie military overstretched and dependant on USA power

Question 15

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis? 5

Answer 15

Cuba requested USSR to station nuclear weapons in Cuba.

Cuba and USSR were communist

US set up a blockade to prevent ships from getting to Cubs as it was only 90 miles from the US

Negotiations resulted is USSR withdrawing and USA withdrawing nuclear from Turkey

Closest they came to nuclear war

Question 16

What is The Burgess and Maclean Affair?

Answer 16

Burgess and Maclean leaked important secret information to Moscow, Russia.

America became less ready to share information with Britain

Question 17

Why did Britain want to become a nuclear power?

Answer 17

The United States had stopped sharing nuclear secrets with Britain, meaning they would have to develop an independent nuclear deterrent individually.

Question 18

When were Britain’s first tests on the atomic bomb?

Answer 18

Because Churchill continued his policy it was in 1952, making Britain the first country in the world to develop nuclear weapons after the US and USSR.

Question 19

When was Britain’s H-bomb tested?

Answer 19

1957

Question 20

What is the CND? When was it formed? What did it do?

Answer 20

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, formed in 1958.

Most powerful pressure group in Britain, backed by middle class and intellectuals

8,000 took part in demonstrations

1st March to Aldermaston in 1958. 2nd in 1959

Question 21

What were the CND’s ideologies?

Answer 21

Wanted Britain to reject nuclear weapons and follow a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Became the most powerful magnet for anti-Government protests and many of labour left-wingers joined

Question 22

When did the USA start sharing with the UK? under what terms?

Answer 22

Agrees to share nuclear technology by 1958 under the Mutual Defence Agreement

Question 23

What happens to Britain wanting to become a nuclear deterrent?

Answer 23

After millions of pounds was spent on Blue Streak, it was abandoned in 1960 and replaced by the American Polaris submerine weapon’s system.

Question 24

When Blue Streak was abandoned, how did this change the moral of some people in the left party?

Answer 24

As it became clear that Britain was not going to become an independent nuclear power, they started to be more sceptical of supporting pro-nuclear policy.

Question 25

When was the Korean War?

Answer 25

1950-53

Question 26

What was the Korean War?

Answer 26

After WW2, the north of Korea was under the communist Soviet Union and the south was under the non-communist USA.

In 1950 forces from the north invaded the south, the UN sent forces to combat the invasion

Over 20 countries supplied forces, 90,000 from the UK, second largest after the USA

Ceasefire was agreed in 1953, agreed that the would run as separate North and South Korea, over 1,000 UK troops died.

Question 27

What did he Korean War show?

Answer 27

Showed how the cold was was being fought around the world

Showed Britain’s willingness to play a part in world affairs despite economic constraints

Showed the US was ultimately stronger

Question 28

When was the Suez Crisis?

Answer 28

1956

Question 29

What were the pre-events of the Suez Crisis?

Answer 29

Suez Canal was a vital oil route for 80% of the western worlds oil imports

Because Britain and the USA pulled their funding, in 1956, for the Aswan Dam, Nasser (new Egyptian nationalist leader) nationalised the canal to provide the funding.

Eden saw nasser as a ruthless dictator, his cabinet along with Macmillan agreed that this unprovoked aggression was intolerable.

Question 30

What were the events of the Suez Crisis?

Answer 30

Eden planned with France and Israel to seize control of the Suez zone by interviewing with France when Israel invade Egypt

Plans for this were keyed from Parliament and the Americans

Caused a storm of political protests in Britain and the USA opposed it.

Britain was not strong enough to stand to the USA in 1956, it put then in a Financial Crisis

Macmillan was the first to see that it was essential to pull out even if it meant accepting humiliation.

Question 31

What were the events post-Suez Crisis?

Answer 31

Fatally damaged Edens reputation

Question Britain’s position in the world

Questioned reputation as a good force in the world

Questions Britain’s strength without the USA

Started to undermine Britain was a world power

Question 32

When was the decolonisation of India?

Answer 32

1947

Question 33

When was the start of the Mau Mau rebellion? Which country was it in?

Answer 33

1952, Kenya

Question 34

When was the decolonisation of Ghana?

Answer 34

1957

Question 35

When was Macmillan’s ‘wind if change’ speech?

Answer 35

1960

Question 36

When was the decolonisation of Nigeria and Cyprus?

Answer 36

1960

Question 37

When did South Africa leave the commonwealth?

Answer 37

1961

Question 38

When was the decolonisation of Kenya?

Answer 38

1963

Question 39

What was the prompted the 1947-64 decolonisation?

Answer 39

1. Pressure for colonial independence movements became harder to control. Mau Mau Rebellion
2. Wanting to transition from Empire to New Commonwealth
3. Suez Crisis
4. Wind of Change Speech

Question 40

What are the main features Mau Mau rebellion?

Answer 40

The leader of the rebellion, Kenyatta, later became the leader of the independent Kenya.

Mau Mau fingers accused with committing atrocities, as well as Britain as revelations of the treatment of prisoners Hola prison camps damaged Britain’s reputation.

Question 41

What was the Wind of change speech and what was its impact?

Answer 41

Before 1960, Britain’s imperial policy was to defeat revolts and maintain control over its African colonies

Macmillan’s speech in Cape Town was a drastic change from policy, wanting decolonisation and hoping for a majority rule.

Shifted policy to favour decolonisation in Britain

South African preferred a minority white rule and voted in a referendum cutting all ties with Britain

Question 42

What was decolonisation like in Britain?

Answer 42

The policy was extremely successful

Sis not always go smoothly but overall it was more swift and less violent than other countries like Belgium

1964 transition to commonwealth seemed to represent a significant achievement.