BRITISH DECOLONISATION 1945-1967 Flashcards
give the key examples of British economic weaknesses after WWII
- the USA’s Lend Lease scheme = $31 billion loan to Britain which would eventually need to be paid back
- British reliance on loans from Canada
- Britain was loaned $1.2 billion to help Britain after the war from Canada
- Canada gave Britain gifts worth $3.5 billion during the war - the Stirling Crisis of 1947
- 1/3 of British overseas assets were sold to pay for the war
describe the 1947 stirling crisis
Keynes negotiated a 900 million pound loan, which would allow for sterling to be freely convertible to dollars
- the intention was to allow Britain to build up its reserves in dollars
- however, Britain ran out of dollar reserves within 6 weeks and they could not maintain feee convertibility
describe (ie give examples) and analyse the rationing programmes introduced by Britain
description / examples:
- jan 1947 = introduction of potato rationing due to frost
- summer 1946 = start of bread rationing
- only in sept 1953 was sugar rationing ended
analysis:
- britain is so financially weak that they impose rations = keeping their colonies which provide them with no tangible economic benefit is not their priority given that they cannot even afford to buy bread etc
- maintaining control in Burma or Ceylon is unnecessary, given that Britain lacks financial flexibility (labour government means that emphasis needs to be put on domestic issues, not imperial issues)
what year did britain leave the following colonies:
- india
- ceylon
- burma
- palestine
- malaya
- singapore
- cyprus
india = 1947
ceylon = 1948
burma = 1948
palestine = 1948
malaya = 1957
cyprus = 1960
singapore = 1965
describe (in detail) British decolonisation in Ceylon and its history
- occured in 1948
in 1944, Ceylon became a naval base for the South East Asian Command (5000 people) and was politically advanced in its constitution - it was a critical colony for providing support to the British during WWII, which led the British government to agree to self-government
- in 1942, the Ceylon National Congress demanded dominion status
- in 1945, the British promised full dominion status and elections took place in September 1947
- Ceylon was given independence in Feb 1948 and accepted membership of the commonwealth
examples of colonies in which Britain CHOSE TO LEAVE
- Burma
- Ceylon
examples of colonies in which Britain is FORCED OUT
what was Direct Action Day, when was it and what were its impacts
- 16th August 1946
- a movement led by Jinnah and the All-India Muslim league to demonstrate support for Indian nationalism and the unity of Muslims, demanding for a separate muslim homeland after independence
- this was a large Muslim protest in Calcutta against British imperialists
impact:
- 6000 died
- 20,000 were injured
- presented the nationalist movement as a movement for incompetent individuals and decreased trust to provide India with independence, given this level of violence
describe the Simla Conference (ie what was proposed) of 1946 and who did it comprise of
- the invitation of Indian political leaders to Simla to discuss the options for Indian independence (which had been approved by the cabinet)
- the government proposed two plans, of which the hope was that the second plan would be so bad that the first plan was accepted
- 3 delegates from the UK
- 4 representatives from the Indian National Congress, and 4 representatives from the Muslim League
describe Plan Balkan
describe Plan Menon
what was the May statement and its impact
- a statement made in May 1946 in which the cabinet leave it up to Indian parties to agree to plans or not
- the statement declared the creation of a constituent assembly of elected representatives which would draft a constitution for the first plan proposed in the Simla conference
impact:
- congress refuse to accept the plan
- the muslim league accepted the plan
- an interim government was established (just of Indians and Wavell as governor general)
describe the two different plans the British proposed at the Simla conference in May 1946
plan one:
- proposition of one single state, but with 3 levels (a INC dominated gov)
- there would be a union government which would only collaborate on foreign affairs, defence and communication
- there would then be regional groupings of provinces which would have the authority to decide everything else
- these regional groupings would be allowed to break away from the original union and become independent states (democratically) through plebiscites
plan two:
- there would be the creation of two states of Hindustan and Pakistan
- the states would have a treaty to guarantee peace, but no common government powers
what was the outcome of the Simla conference
- congress refused to support the plan since it would lead to partition (eventually)
- no agreement was made on the outcome of India after the war
what was the June statement of 1946 and what was the outcome
- gave the viceroy the power to select members for any group in the interim government who didn’t approve of the May statement
- on 24th June, Congress accepted the statement to prevent being excluded
- on the 27th June, Jinnah claimed failure and the cabinet mission left India
what was the 1946 Cabinet Mission
a mission in March 1946 which went to India to declare the transfer of power to India under Wavell
- the cabinet mission left India in June 1946 over the inability to decide on the composition of an interim government and agree on constitutional methods
how did the interim government fail
- Wavell formed an interim government which had 6 congressional members, 5 muslim league members and 3 members chosen by Wavell
- the Muslim league refused to nominate representatives, so this power of nomination was given to Congress
- the muslim league then withdrew accepting the May statement + resigned
describe British decolonisation of Burma from 1941-1948 and what does this show
1941 - Aung San goes to China to receive help to obtain Burmese independence
1945 - San becomes the commander of the Burmese National Army and People’s Freedom League, allowing him to engage in negotiations with the British / Slim (army commander) on independence
Jan 1947 - San meets Atlee in London to discuss independence
July 1947 - San is assassinated
Jan 1948 - Burma becomes independent, leading to Civil War
April 1948 - elections are held which support Burmese nationalists under San
what does this show:
1. Britain quickly abandon their interests in Burma after the war (burden)
2. with no longer having control over India, it was just a burden to British needs (it was economically dependent and Britain did not strategically need it)
3. Britain need a quick and easy retreat - India was a major concern, and now that they no longer have India, there is no need for Burma
4. overarching realism and acknowledgement that San was the only plausible ruler
what do Atlee and San agree on at their talk in London in Jan 1947
- establishment of a constituent assembly in April 1948
describe British decolonisation of Malaya from 1944-1957 and what does this show
1944 - a Union in Malay (by Gent) is attempted to ensure equal citizenship
1945 - British had lost control of the Malay peninsula and now attempt to get it back
1947 - the federation of Malaya is created
1948 - strikes by Chinese Labour Unions continue
June 1948 - the British declare a state of emergency against communists and are willing to fight for Malaysia (lasts until 1952)
1955 - federal elections allow Malays to win 81% of votes by uniting with the Chinese against the British (british recognise their lack of power and leave)
1955 - the Reid Commission is established to create a constitution
1957 - Malaya is given independence after the work of the Reid Commission
what does this show:
- Malaya is absolutely critical to the economic state of the empire
- the british choose to leave, as they recognise the union between the chinese and malay people, thereby peacefully setting terms and remove themselves
- the British recognise that they lack political power and authority and deem it more valuable to leave
- gives the British leverage over the USA to establish a rubber supply
- the British fear a military uprising and therefore accept defeat (unwilling to use violence)
- desperate for economic influence, but once the CD+W acts are implemented they leave (more economic growth)
- attitude of paternalism, but they know they lack decisive power
what is the KEY motivation for the British in Malaya
- RUBBER**
- the british want to be able to produce goods which cannot be produced by the americans themselves
- want to produce rubber in dollars due to British debt
what does the federation of malaya establish
- an executive council with 7 official members and 7 unofficial members
- this was led by Gumey
- it would have a legislative council with 62 elected members in 1955 (only 14 europeans were elected, 28 malay were elected)
- individual malay states would have financial power
describe the British withdrawal from Palestine in Sept 1948
- extensive immigration of jews into palestine caused ethnic tensions with arabs and an outburst of violence
- this caused acts of jewish terrorism including Haganah attacks in 1945 and the attack at the King David hotel in 1946 which killed 91 people
- the British send in 80,000 troops to suppress violence, in turn causing anti-semitic riots in London, Glasgow etc
- it was of the British view that Palestine was draining resources
- the British attempt to promote 3 solutions, in which neither are accepted
— leads to the British relying on the backing of the UN in feb 1947 - the UN establish a commission on Palestine which includes Austraia, India etc
- the UN produces a report in favour of partition
- the UN hoped the British would stay for 2 years, which the British refused to enforce
- Britain proceeds to withdraw on the 20th September 1947 because of the inability to reach a settled agreement
what were the main concerns of the British in Palestine
economic concerns: 1947, 60% of all British oil came from Palestine
- British had extensive oil interests in the region
diplomatic concerns:
- wanted to maintain strong relations with America and limit the spread of communism (fear that the arabs would align with the russians)
in what ways did Britain choose to leave palestine and was kicked out of Palestine
choose:
- Britain would constantly need to police a Palestinian state - there is no justification for the British to constantly be investing weapons and troops
- being in Palestine is a significant commitment as Britain has to try hard to suppress any violence (no point in having a mandate which you constantly need to police)
- the British recognise that they cannot form a suitable agreement without being hostile to either side, and without compromising their critical support, which would only worsen their position (the british had the option to remain for two years, but deemed it too much of a burden)
kicked out:
- too much violence to manage (ie the king david hotel in july 1946 bombing forces the British to bring in 80,000 troops)
describe the British retreat / withdrawal from Singapore and describe what this shows
1948 - singapore is given its own government with a legislative and executive council
jan 1948 - the federation of malaya is established
1955 - communist insurgency and left wing influence rises in singapore due to the influence of the Labour Front party (ie communists)
1956 - Lim Yew Hock takes over from David Marshall
1957 - Hock pursuades singapore to grant singapore self government, leading to the passing of the 1958 State of Singapore Act
1963 - malaya and singapore unite to form malaysia
1965 - singapore becomes indpendent after it was expelled from malaysia
what does this show:
- britain attempt to pro-long their presence in singapore – desire and need for a constant military presence
- british are willing to make key changes to policy and the composition of government to appease the population
- britain chose to leave - recognition of the alignment of more left leaning politics which they could not control
- when violence begins, the British are more willing to retreat – more concessionary and willing to appease displays a motivation to remain in the area
- britain is trying to maintain control for as long as possible, but fails (concessionary measures in State of Singapore Act when Malaya gains independence) - give away when they realise they do not need to defend other colonial interests now - unnecessary
describe the changes to the political system in Singapore
initially = a legislative and executive council, with only 6/25 members of the legislature being elected, and therefore only allowing the British to vote (creates this atmosphere of elitism)
1953 - the legislative council is enlarged to 32 seats, 25 of which are elected
in what way was Palestine an economic burden to British interests
- Palestine cost 100 million pounds between Jan 1945 and Nov 1947
describe US relations to Jewish settlement in Palestine
- truman wanted 100,000 refugees to settle into Palestine (sympathy from the holocaust)
- strong pro-zionist approach to enhance individual political credibility
give the 3 options to deal with palestine:
1. unitary state
2. federalised system
3. partition
- unitary state
- a unified state of both jews and arabs which would produce an arab majority and suppress jews, further inciting more violence and increasing terrorist acts
- jews and arabs would live in the same united state, under the same central gov - federalised system
- various different areas all with their own individual governments
- idea that this would lead to partition
- arabs and jews refused to live together in the same culture
- would break up arab influence and further entrench divisions - partition
- arabs and jews would be completely separated and 2 different states would be formed
- it would ensure that each group is adequately represented
- this would contradict the balfour declaration
describe UN involvement in Palestine and why was it so bad
- britain goes to the UN asking for help to find a state solution, given no compromise could be reached
- an international commission is established with the help of Czechoslovakia, Australia etc - displays the lack of independent, authoritative power of the British
- British have a level of eroded authority
- the UN create the UNSCOP body, in which they come to the conclusion supporting partition, but with economic ties
- the commission hoped that the British would remain for two years, but the British did not do this
- British leave on 20th september 1947
how did british retreat from palestine mirror india
- both are key examples of the british being unable to reach a compromise with the two parties involved, and therefore leaving (ie Simla Conference, May statement, Plan Menon and Plan Balkan)
- british retreat after realising they lack the authority to make decisive political actions
- British investment was no longer worth it
- the British aimed to act as a neutral arbiter in both circumstances, yet relations after their retreat are damaged in both cases
- realisation that the British cannot police this land forever
give arguements that the British were pushed out of India and chose to leave India
pushed out:
- loss of control
— direct action day
— inability to negotiate at Simla and
May conferences
- loss of justification
— 1944 Bengal famine - overarching threat of violence
— Mutiny in bombay naval yard
— indian national association - an unsustainable presence after WWII
– direct action day
– quit india campaign of 1942
chose to leave:
- they had long promised that they would leave
- labour government is in power under Atlee - more of an emphasis on domestic problems
- nationalism has existed since 1905 (the British realise that they are always going to have to deal with nationalism)
- the British find it difficult to make a plan for both states
describe the Malta Harbour Scheme, key statistics, and if it failed or succeeded
description:
- introduction of a new dredger into the harbour to clear the harbours and remove slit and mud
- this would allow shipping in deeper areas and more accessibility
- it was the most extensive dredging scheme since 1939
key stats:
- cost around 80,000 pounds
- over 300 tonnes
did it succeed?
- yes, it created much deeper shipping areas and introduced tangible changes
describe the gambian poultry scheme, key stats, and if it failed or not
description:
- a project aiming to produce 20 million eggs from 1949 + 1 million pounds of dressed poultry over 10,000 acres
- the british planned to sell timber to obtain poultry feed and increase egg production
- the aim was to improve Gambia’s agriculture industry by growing local produce
key stats:
- before the war, Britain required 80,000 tonnes of eggs a year
- over 1000 chicks were flown to gambia
- the scheme only produced 28,000 eggs and 34,000 pounds of meat
did it succeed:
- no, the Colonial Development Committee planned to export the goods in Feb, which missed the optimum price time
- there was a breakdown in leadership with the Colonial Development Committee
- attained major backlash from domestic farmers because it imposed key restrictions
- there was a breakdown in communication between the two committees leading the initiative
- it was too expensive - chicken feed had to be imported and it would cost almost $14,000
