Suez Crisis Flashcards
Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was denounced by Farouk
1951 - King Farouk of Egypt declared himself King of Sudan as well
Coup d’etat in Egypt
1952 - free Officers in the military toppled King Farouk
Colonel Nasser deposed General Neguib
1954 - became PM of Egypt
Nasser became President of Egypt
1956
Nasser came to an agreement with the British soon after gaining power
October 1954
British would withdraw from Egypt in June 1956
Egypt had to give up its claim over Sudan
Egypt had to promise Britain free access through the Suez Canal and keep it independent
Egypt had to maintain British bases at an operational level
Bagdad Pact
1955
Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Britain and Persia promised to fight against Communism in the Middle East
How did Nasser feel about the Bagdad Pact?
Refused to join
Resented the British attempt to strength Western influence in the Middle East
Turned to CZ for arms
Signed an alliance with Syria
How did the Americans want to prevent the spread of Communism in the Middle East at this time?
Northern Tier defence system from Turkey to Pakistan (effectively buffer states)
USA announced that they were withdrawing funding from Nasser’s Aswan Damn project
July 1956
Britain and World Bank followed suit
Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal Company
26 July 1956
Protocol of Sèvres
Name for the plan that Israel, Britain and France came up with for their plan to invade Egypt/regain control of the Suez Canal
Israel invaded Egypt
29 October 1956
British and French issued ultimatums to Israel and Egypt to stop fighting (pretending that they hadn’t planned with Israel)
30 October 1956
British and French attacked Suez
5 November 1956
Very successful - overwhelmed the Egyptians easily
British called for a ceasefire
6 November 1956
Anthony Eden resigned
January 1957
What impact did the Suez Crisis have on Sterling Area?
America refused to support sterling and thus gold and dollar reserves plummeted below the $2 billion required for the sterling area to function
Eden agreed to withdraw from Egypt unconditionally
December 1956
Last of Britain’s troops left Egypt
22 December 1956
Conservative MP on the impact of Suez
‘The British cabinet lost its collective nerve’
Results of Macmillan’s Audit of Empire
Treasury stated that the costs and benefits of Empire were more or less equal, but decolonisation could be more beneficial - effectively a green light for decolonisation
The Treasury had known that the value of sterling depended on public confidence since…
February 1956
Argument that the Suez Crisis only exposed problems that already existed
Defence White Paper
July 1957 - focussed on reducing the importance of the aircraft industry - due to the growth of missile and nuclear technology, planes were now far less important in defending Britain
Commitment to British nuclear capacity dated back to…
1954
