Colonial Policy and Administration 1947-67

Question 1

When was the Commonwealth Office formed?

Answer 1

1966.

Question 2

What was the focus of British colonial policy under Churchill 1951-55?

Answer 2

On the Commonwealth, believing that the future prosperity of Britain lay in trade with Empire and the Commonwealth, which was essential for the preservation of Britain’s global status.

Question 3

How did the role of colonial administrators change in the 1950s?

Answer 3

No longer were they concerned just with keeping order and balancing budgets, but now required to raise colonial production, modernise economies quickly, destroy insurgencies, and protect trading commodities.

Question 4

What is meant by ‘second colonial occupation’?

Answer 4

The phase of British colonial rule after WW2, where Britain sought to force economic change, advance credit, reduce the power of local elites/indigenous leaders, and reinstate Britain’s monopoly of force.

Question 5

When did Canada’s First Nations gain equal voting rights?

Answer 5

1960.

Question 6

When did Australia’s Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islander people gain equal voting rights?

Answer 6

1965.

Question 7

In 1948, how many employees of the British Colonial Office were British?

Answer 7

66,000 out of 250,000.

Question 8

When and where was the ‘Winds of Change’ speech given, and who made it?

Answer 8

Given by Harold Macmillan in Cape Town to the White South African Parliament, February 1963.

Question 9

What was the significance of the ‘Winds of Change’ speech?

Answer 9

It suggested a shift in Conservative thinking, potentially signalling a British intention to withdraw from the colonies.

Question 10

What was the Arab League?

Answer 10

An organisation of North African and Middle Eastern Arab countries, formed in 1945.

Question 11

Who was Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser (3)?

Answer 11

1) An Egyptian soldier, who led a military coup in Egypt in 1952.
2) He took power in 1954, and became President of Egypt in 1956-1970.
3) He was opposed to Western imperialism.

Question 12

How strong was British presence in the Middle East in 1948 (5)?

Answer 12

1) Britain had withdrawn from Palestine.
2) Britain retained 10,000 troops in the Suez Canal Zone, as agreed by the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936.
3) Britain had control over Aden and Cyprus, with air-force bases in Iraq.
4) Britain financed and provided officers for the Jordanian Army.
5) Fearing the USSR’s interests in the Middle East, Britain tried to negotiate with the Arab League to resist communism. The Arabs were not prepared to support Britain while they controlled the Sudan and maintained its Suez Garrison.

Question 13

When was King Farouk of Egypt overthrown as King of Egypt by Colonel Nasser?

Answer 13

July 1952.

Question 14

Who was Anthony Eden?

Answer 14

Conservative Foreign Secretary (1940-45, 1951-55) and Prime Minister (1955-1957).

Question 15

What was the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement 1954 (2)?

Answer 15

1) The 1954 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement agreed to a phased British withdrawal of troops from the Suez Canal Zone over 20 months.
2) This was subject to rights of reoccupation in times of war. This followed constant skirmishing in the Suez Canal Zone from 1947.

Question 16

What was the significance of the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement 1954 to Britain (2)?

Answer 16

1) Reflected Britain’s desire to improve Anglo-Arab relations.
2) Showed Britain’s financial difficulties - ill-afforded to maintain their bases and fortify the Suez garrisons to resist the constant nationalist guerrilla attacks.

Question 17

What did Egypt promise Britain in the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement 1954 (3)?

Answer 17

1) Free access through the Suez Canal.
2) The maintenance of the former British bases in an operational condition.
3) To respect the independence of the Suez Canal Company.

Question 18

What was the Suez Canal Company?

Answer 18

A private company that actually ran the Canal. The British Government held approx. 44% of shares, with other shareholders being mostly French.

Question 19

What was the Baghdad Pact, and what was the Egyptian reaction to it?

Answer 19

1) A military alliance between Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Persia and Britain from 1955, aiming to repel any Soviet threat to the Middle East.
2) Nasser feared this threatened Egyptian dominance, pressuring Jordan to stay out of the pact, turned to communist Czechoslovakia for arms, and signed an agreement with Syria.

Question 20

When did Nasser become President of Egypt?

Answer 20

In June 1956, Nasser made himself President of Egypt.

Question 21

What were Nasser’s goals for Egypt (2)?

Answer 21

1) To establish Egypt as the leading power in the Middle East.
2) To focus on the construction of the Aswan High Dam, hoping it to be the core of irrigation, flood control, and electrification programmes.

Question 22

When and why did the USA (with Britain and the World Bank) withdraw funding for Egypt?

Answer 22

In July 1956, the USA (followed by Britain and the World Bank), withdrew funding due to Nasser’s continued association with communist powers.

Question 23

When did Nasser announce the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company?

Answer 23

July 1956.

Question 24

What was the British reaction to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company (3)?

Answer 24

1) Britain was outraged, and tried to use diplomatic pressure to reverse the decision.
2) France invited Britain join a joint assault on Egypt, alongside Israel.
3) By October, Eden believed the only way to resolve it was to remove Nasser, stating he wanted him destroyed.

Question 25

What was ‘the Protocol of Sevres’ (3)?

Answer 25

A secret agreement between Britain, France and Israel, planning the invasion of Egypt.
1) Israel would invade on the 29 Oct.
2) On 30 Oct. Britain and France would demand a cease fire and withdraw troops from the zone.
3) On 31 Oct. a Franco-British invasion of Egypt would take place to ‘defend’ it.

Question 26

When did the Suez Crisis take place?

Answer 26

29 Oct 1956 – 7 Nov 1956

Question 27

What were the events of the Suez Crisis (5)?

Answer 27

1) The Israelis invaded and forced the Egyptian forces back towards the Canal, at which point Britain and France intervened in a ‘police’ action.
2) An Anglo-French force knocked out the Egyptian Air Force, and landed at the north end of the Canal. The Egyptians put up a solid resistance, blocking the Canal with sunken ships.
3) Britain had underwent the invasion without informing the USA, who condemned the invasion, refusing to support the sterling in the currency crisis, which had been brought upon by the war.
4) Britain announced a ceasefire, and Britain and France began the withdrawal of troops.
5) Eden was forced to resign, and a UN force moved in to restore peace and clear the blocked Canal.

Question 28

What were the consequences of the Suez Crisis (5)?

Answer 28

1) British realisation that the days of Empire were numbered.
2) Britain would never again act alone in international affairs without consulting and getting approval of the USA, dispelling ideas of imperial revival and restoration of itself as a major independent power.
3) Suggested to nationalist movements to push harder to achieve independence, making it difficult for Britain to contain such movements.
4) Questioned the idea of holding onto formal colonies in Africa, encouraging politicians to accept nationalist demands for independence sooner rather than later, in order to retain some influence.
5) Dispelled the notion that Britain could manage and control its imperial retreat in ways which would preserve British power.

Question 29

What was the Cold War?

Answer 29

A period of hostility (c1945-1991) between the two superpowers (USA and USSR), characterised by threats of nuclear war, propaganda, proxy wars and differing ideologies.

Question 30

What was the Truman Doctrine, and what was its significance?

Answer 30

Truman stated ‘It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”, when asking Congress for $400 million for military and economic assistance for Greece and Turkey. This ended the USA’s policy of isolationism, showing their determination to resist communism and act as a global leader (March 1947).

Question 31

How did the British position in the Middle East decline 1956-67 (4)?

Answer 31

1) Iraq left the Baghdad Pact in 1959, with the monarchy being overthrown in 1958.
2) Cyprus gained independence in 1959, following years of violence between the Turkish and Greek communities. Britain retained some bases.
3) By the mid 1960s, Britain only controlled air bases in Libya, and retained protectorates over a few sheikhdoms in Aden and the Persian Gulf.
4) British rule was increasingly resisted by nationalists, encouraged by Egyptians. Britain left Aden in 1967.

Question 32

Who emerged from WW2 as ‘superpowers’ (2)?

Answer 32

The USA and the USSR.

Question 33

How did the initial stages of the Cold War give a renewed impetus to British imperialism (2)?

Answer 33

1) Despite anti-imperialist attitudes, the USA wanted Britain strong, in order to resist communism. The USA was prepared to turn a blind eye to the post-war reimposition of British control over the colonies, indirectly financing it through low interest loans.
2) In the Balkan area, the USA provided financial and military aid to Greece and Turkey, stepping in for Britain, who could no longer support the monarchists due to financial considerations.

Question 34

What was the ‘special relationship’?

Answer 34

The close diplomatic and political association between the USA and Britain, coined by Churchill in 1944.

Question 35

What was the Marshall Plan?

Answer 35

A follow up to the Truman Doctrine, providing US economic aid for the reconstruction of post-WW2 Europe for non-communists countries (1948-52).

Question 36

What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)?

Answer 36

An intergovernmental military alliance, set up in 1949.

Question 37

What was the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO)?

Answer 37

A counterpart to NATO for the collective defence of Southeast Asia against communism, founded in 1954.

Question 38

How much financial aid did Britain get from America through the Marshall Plan?

Answer 38

$3.3 billion.

Question 39

From when did Britain develop its own nuclear weapons?

Answer 39

October 1952.

Question 40

What was the Anglo-American Mutual Defence Agreement (AAMDA) 1958?

Answer 40

It provided American assistance for the development of a British nuclear arsenal.

Question 41

What was the Polaris Sales Agreement (PSA) 1963?

Answer 41

The USA agreed to supply Britain with Polaris ballistic missiles for use in Royal Navy Submarines. Signed by Harold Macmillan and John F. Kennedy on 6 April 1963.

Question 42

How was British dependence on the USA demonstrated 1947-67 (5)?

Answer 42

1) As the Cold War hardened from 1947, the USA believed the best way to prevent the spread of communism in Africa and the Middle East was to develop them economically, with US loans, not British. Britain did not resist.
2) Britain was financially dependent on the USA, as seen through the Marshall Plan, which gave Britain $3.3 billion of aid.
3) The USA’s economic pressure forced Britain (and France) to end their invasion of Egypt in 1956.
4) Britain relied on NATO and the USA’s nuclear capacity for defence and the build-up of arms, e.g. the AAMDA, and the PSA.
5) Britain cooperated with the USA in the Korean War (1950-53), and despite a UN mandate, the command was American.

Question 43

What was the significance of SEATO on British relations with the Dominions?

Answer 43

Bringing together Australia, France, Britain, USA, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand in 1954, it was an acknowledgement of the need for an American-led protective alliance. This undermined Britain.

Question 44

What was the significance of the European Economic Community for Britain?

Answer 44

Britain’s desires to rebuild/preserve Empire prevented it from joining the EEC, an economic union between France, West Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. Upon realising (in the 1960s) that the future lay with Europe over Empire, Britain was rejected from the EEC in 1963, and in 1967, joining eventually in 1973.

Question 45

How did British views towards the Commonwealth change after WW2?

Answer 45

Originally, Commonwealth status was an acceptance of the sovereignty of the British monarch. After WW2, Britain came to see it as a way of giving up formal imperial control, while maintaining ties, protecting economic interests and influence - a ‘family of nations’.

Question 46

Who were the members of the Commonwealth in 1967, and when did they join (and leave) (27)?

Answer 46

1) Australia - December 1931.
2) Barbados - November 1966.
3) Botswana - September 1966.
4) Canada (and Newfoundland) - December 1931.
5) Cyprus - March 1961.
6) Gambia - February 1965.
7) Ghana - March 1957.
8) Guyana - May 1966.
9) India - August 1947.
10) Ireland - December 1931, left April 1949.
11) Jamaica - August 1962.
12) Kenya - December 1963.
13) Lesotho - October 1966.
14) Malawi - July 1964.
15) Malaysia - August 1957.
16) Malta - September 1964.
17) New Zealand - December 1931.
18) Nigeria - October 1960.
19) Pakistan - August 1947.
20) Sierra Leone - April 1961.
21) Singapore - August 1965.
22) South Africa - December 1931, left May 1961.
23) Sri Lanka - February 1948.
24) Tanzania - December 1961.
25) Trinidad and Tobago - August 1962.
26) Uganda - October 1962.
27) Zambia - October 1964.