How successfully did Britain deal with the problems of decolonisation and the changing nature of the Commonwealth? Flashcards
Why did Britain grant independence to the majority of its colonies in the period 1957-64?
-Impact of WW2
War damaged European prestige + changed the relations between British colonial rulers and the people they ruled.
•Humiliating surrender of Singapore to Japan in ‘42 + rapid collapse of French + Dutch empires in far east demonstrated that white European rule wasn’t invincible.
•During war, British colonial administrators tried to exploit economic resources of Empire more effectively as food + raw materials were in short supply in Britain. This disrupted the rural societies of some countries that had to e.g. sell their crops off to the govt. at fixed prices.
•Discontent within colonies grew with the fact that they weren’t allowed to buy manufactured goods from Britain + were often prevented from buying them elsewhere- this encourage nationalist movements.
Why did Britain grant independence to the majority of its colonies in the period 1957-64?
-Britain’s economic weakness
So serious that it became government policy to exploit colonial resources even more than during WW2.
•End of ‘48, govt. set up the Colonial Development Corporation + projects like East African Groundnut Scheme. -These schemes often further disrupted colonial communities, increased resentment of those affected and contributed to growth of hostility to British rule.
•-British economic weakness meant that it could no longer supply colonies with the investment capital and manufactured goods that they needed.
Why did Britain grant independence to the majority of its colonies in the period 1957-64?
-Growth of colonial nationalism
Growth of resentment towards British rule allowed charismatic leaders to emerge to lead nationalist movements.
-These leaders had often been educated in the west (usually in Britain/USA), they studied Western democratic ideals.
-They were encouraged by men such as Nasser in challenging British rule. •In US, African Americans protested against the fact that they were treated as second class citizens as part of a systematic discrimination. •In 1955, representatives in 25 newly independent Third World Nations met at Bandung, Indonesia to create the non-aligned movement and denounce European imperialism.
Why did Britain grant independence to the majority of its colonies in the period 1957-64?
-The impact of the Cold War
Late 40s + early 50s, Americans encouraged British to keep colonial empire- thought that newly independent nations would be too weak to resist communist influence.
•Once Britain was struggling to control anti- colonial protests in places like Egypt + Cyprus, both US + USSR began producing anti-colonial propaganda with their own slanted propaganda attached to win support in Africa + Asia. -This became more important as the UN grew in size and increasingly became a forum for countries to criticise European empires.
How successful were British colonial policies?
Britain wanted to turn colonies into independent nations that would remain within the Commonwealth and Sterling area (Britain’s economic sphere) by initiating political reform in their colonies.
•^^ This would give Britain the benefits of empire without costs, difficulties + criticisms.
•BUT, Britain couldn’t control this process- ended up handing power over often to the nationalists whom they had once branded as extremists such as Nkrumah in Ghana and Kenyatta in Kenya.
•Cons govt. tried to make the smaller + weaker colonies economically + politically stronger by uniting adjacent territories and making them federations.- 1953, Central African Federation (CAF) was created.
•A similar policy was adopted in West Indies in ‘58 as well as some small territories in Arabian Peninsula. -Policy wasn’t successful + all 3 federations were shot lived as political divisions amongst members were made worse.
