Foreign Affairs 1951-64

Question 1

When was Britain’s first nuclear test?

Answer 1

1954

Question 2

When was the Suez crisis?

Answer 2

Oct/Nov 1956

Question 3

When was the Treaty of Rome (which founded the EEC) signed?

Answer 3

1957

Question 4

Why DIDN’T Britain want to join the EEC initially?

Answer 4

• Considered themselves a world power and so didn’t need to band together with other nations.
• Right-wing cared more about staying close to the Commonwealth.
• Left-wing disliked the free-market capitalist principles behind the EEC.
• Britain wanted to retain its ‘special relationship’ with the USA.

Question 5

Why DID Britain want to join the EEC in the 1960s?

Answer 5

• Productivity was much higher in France and West Germany.
• Britain’s share of world markets had fallen from 25% in 1950 to 15% in 1962.
• Thought it would stimulate economic growth and increase efficiency

Question 6

What was the impact of the Korean War on Britain?

Answer 6

• Britain were one of the US’ biggest backers, with 90,000 troops sent.
• Conscription was changed; period of active service was increased from 18 mths to 2 yrs.

Question 7

When was Britain’s first H-bomb developed?

Answer 7

1957

Question 8

How many people took part in a CND protest march outside a Berkshire weapons research base?

Answer 8

8,000. Even more took part in later marches.

Question 9

What was Blue Streak? When and why was it abandoned?

Answer 9

Britain’s independent nuclear weapons programme. Abandoned in 1960 because it was too expensive; replaced by US nukes.

Question 10

Describe the events of the Suez crisis.

Answer 10

• Egypt’s military dictator Nasser had nationalised the Suez Canal
• This concerned the UK as 80% of Western imports came through the canal. However, the only nation Nasser had banned from using it was Israel.
• Britain, France & Israel secretly planned that Israel would invade Egypt and Britain and France would ‘intervene’ and secure the canal.
• The USSR threatened to bomb Western Europe, the US threatened to make Britain pay for oil in dollars (which was more expensive due to weak £) and Britain and France were internationally condemned.
• The episode illustrated Britain’s reliance on the US and that the UK was no longer a great power.

Question 11

What were the key events in decolonisation from 1951-64?

Answer 11

• 1952: Mau Mau rebellion begins in Kenya
• 1957: Ghana granted independence
• 1960: Macmillan makes his “wind of change” speech in Cape Town
• 1961: Nigeria and Cyprus get independence
• 1963: Kenya granted independence

Question 12

Which British prime Minister championed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963?

Answer 12

Harold Macmillan.

Question 13

What was the impact of British government officially recognising Chinese government?

Answer 13

USA government was not happy about it and it did not allow Britain to join ANZUS Pact between Australia, New Zealand and USA.

Question 14

Which American and Soviet summit was interrupted by the crash of American spy plane U2 over Soviet Union?

Answer 14

Camp David, 1959

Question 15

Give two reasons why British Government decided to take aggressive action after nationalisation of Suez Canal.

Answer 15

• Labour had been heavily criticised for not taking action after nationalisation Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
• Personal conviction of Eden and his worries about Nasser (compared to Mussolini by some!)

Question 16

What were the consequences of the Suez Crisis for Britain?

Answer 16

• Britain showed it cannot conduct its own foreign policy
• British withdrawal likely caused French veto of UK application to EEC
• Britain lost an ally in Iraqi king Faisal who was murdered in 1958
• Eden resigned and was replaced by Macmillan in 1957
• Britain lost large amount of dollar reserves which caused economic crisis and weakened pound
• Relationship with USA suffered.

Question 17

Name the reasons which forced British withdrawal from Suez Canal.

Answer 17

• Britain was forced to buy oil from USA in dollars and USA purposely lifted prices
• United Nations applied a lot of pressure on Britain
• USSR threatened to bomb Western Europe
• USA openly criticised Britain.

Question 18

How much percent of the globe was occupied by the British Empire at its largest?

Answer 18

20%

Question 19

Which of the British colonies gained independence between 1945 to 1964?

Answer 19

• India (1947)
• Ceylon and Burma (1948)
• Malaysia and Gold Coast (1957)
• Ghana, Nigeria and Cyprus (1960)
• Tanganyika, Tanzania and Sierra Leone (1961)
• Uganda, Jamaica and Trinidad (1962)
• Kenya (1963)
• Malawi, Northern Rhodesia, Malta (1964)

Question 20

What was the original plan of the post-war government in regard to its colonies?

Answer 20

British government wanted to use the colonies as way of rebuilding its economic strength by:
- selling colonial products in dollars to rebuild dollar reserves (Malayan rubber, Gold Coast cocoa)
- selling British products in colonies; Colonial Development Corporation was supposed to start a number of profitable schemes (most like Groundnut Oil Scheme did not work at all).

Commonwealth was supposed to provide counterbalance to emerging superpowers the USA and USSR.

Question 21

Why is the period between 1945 to 1951 often described as a second colonial wave?

Answer 21

Increased economic activity in colonies brought larger numbers of British civil servants and military presence in colonies, in some of the colonies it even doubled.

Question 22

What was the impact of the second colonial wave on British Empire?

Answer 22

Most economic schemes were ineffective and they caused a lot of backlash from native population because often they disregarded traditional organisational or farming methods. Many colonies felt overrun by the British.

Question 23

Name reasons why maintaining the colonial empire became increasingly difficult after 1951.

Answer 23

• Increasing pressure form United Nations, USA and USSR
• Growing independent movement and French experience of armed conflict in Algeria
• Wish for peaceful dissolution to maintain economic and political links
• Britain was one of the last remaining colonial powers
• Some historians stress the importance of public opinion but there is no significant evidence of this according to Sandbrook.

Question 24

Name four main tory personalities who had significant impact on decolonisation after 1951.

Answer 24

• Ian Macleod
• Enoch Powell
• Reginald Maudling
• Harold Macmillan.

Question 25

What was Macmillan’s attitude towards decolonisation?

Answer 25

He fully supported it.

Question 26

Name three main colonial conflicts Britain was involved in between 1951 to 1964.

Answer 26

• Malaya
• Cyprus
• Kenya

Question 27

Name reasons why Britain applied for the EEC membership in 1961.

Answer 27

The British government hoped that entering EEC will give Britain access to new fast-growing market.
- This will give boost to export industry and grow production
- Competition will encourage efficiency and quality of products
- Associate Britain with buoyant EEC economy.

Question 28

Why was Britain’s application turned down in 1963?

Answer 28

• De Gaulle was concerned with British relationship with United States - he was disappointed for example that Britain was offered Polaris missiles and France was not
• He also felt that Britain was not able to compromise on status of some of its colonies and Commonwealth, although other member countries did not share his concerns.
• Still unhappy about Britain pulling out of Suez in 1956

Question 29

By how much did the UK’s dollar reserves fall after Suez?

Answer 29

$561m

Question 30

How much of the West’s fuel came through the Suez Canal?

Answer 30

80%

Question 31

How did the Suez crisis help to speed up decolonisation?

Answer 31

• Ghana, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Kenya (and others) granted independence in the years following Suez
• Post-Suez Conservative Party was much more open to decolonisation
• Any notion of Britain as a great power was now gone and it was clear that maintaining this large empire was no longer feasible.