What are the 6 main foreign policy developments?
- EEC and EFTA
- USA and USSR
- Nuclear Deterrent
- The Korean War, 1950-53
- The Suez Crisis, 1956
- Decolonisation
What is the EEC?
European Economic Community
Established by Treaty of Rome in 1957 by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
What is the Cold War?
Describes the tensions between the west and communist states after WWII
What is the ‘special relationship’?
It is the close relationship between the USA and the UK.
Based on historical, diplomatic, cultural, economic and military ties
What is the EFTA?
European Free Trade Association
Created in 1960 by Britain, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland
Alternative to EEC
What are 6 reasons why Britain did not initially become involved in the EEC?
- Few politicians were in favour of Britain taking the offered leadership role in Europe
- The left were suspicious of free-market principles behind the EEC
- The rights saw the preservation of traditional trade links (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) as more important than those with Europe.
- The belief that it was a continental European issue (Germany and France recovering from the war whereas Britain ‘won the war’)
- The assumption that Britain was still a great war power
- Maintaining ‘special relationship’ with USA
How successful was the EFTA?
Moderately successful and the new organisation was not able to match the economic growth of the EEC
When did Britain submit an application to join the EEC?
1961
What 3 reasons were there for Britain to submit an application to join the EEC?
- To boost industrial production for large scale export markets
- To increase industrial efficiency with greater competition
- To stimulate economic growth with the rapid economic expansion seen in the EEC
When was Britain first rejected from the EEC?
1963
What 2 reasons were there for Britain being rejected from joining the EEC
Partly because Britain was keen on staying closely linked to the commonwealth and USA.
Mainly because of de Gaulle vetoing their vote
What are 3 features of the UK, USA and USSR relationship?
All dominated early years of Cold War, and allies during WW2
USA and UK stayed allies post war opposing communist expansion over Europe
Britain became a founding member of NATO in 1949
What are the 3 good features of ‘special relationship?
Britain supported UN in Korea
Macmillan established good relationship with Kennedy
Kennedy keeps Macmillan informed with Cuban Missile Crisis
What are the 4 strained features of ‘special relationship?
The Burgess and Maclean Affair
EEC
Suez Crisis
Rotisserie military overstretched and dependant on USA power
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis? 5
Cuba requested USSR to station nuclear weapons in Cuba.
Cuba and USSR were communist
US set up a blockade to prevent ships from getting to Cubs as it was only 90 miles from the US
Negotiations resulted is USSR withdrawing and USA withdrawing nuclear from Turkey
Closest they came to nuclear war
What is The Burgess and Maclean Affair?
Burgess and Maclean leaked important secret information to Moscow, Russia.
America became less ready to share information with Britain
Why did Britain want to become a nuclear power?
The United States had stopped sharing nuclear secrets with Britain, meaning they would have to develop an independent nuclear deterrent individually.
When were Britain’s first tests on the atomic bomb?
Because Churchill continued his policy it was in 1952, making Britain the first country in the world to develop nuclear weapons after the US and USSR.
When was Britain’s H-bomb tested?
1957
What is the CND? When was it formed? What did it do?
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, formed in 1958.
Most powerful pressure group in Britain, backed by middle class and intellectuals
8,000 took part in demonstrations
1st March to Aldermaston in 1958. 2nd in 1959
What were the CND’s ideologies?
Wanted Britain to reject nuclear weapons and follow a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament.
Became the most powerful magnet for anti-Government protests and many of labour left-wingers joined
When did the USA start sharing with the UK? under what terms?
Agrees to share nuclear technology by 1958 under the Mutual Defence Agreement
What happens to Britain wanting to become a nuclear deterrent?
After millions of pounds was spent on Blue Streak, it was abandoned in 1960 and replaced by the American Polaris submerine weapon’s system.
When Blue Streak was abandoned, how did this change the moral of some people in the left party?
As it became clear that Britain was not going to become an independent nuclear power, they started to be more sceptical of supporting pro-nuclear policy.
When was the Korean War?
1950-53
What was the Korean War?
After WW2, the north of Korea was under the communist Soviet Union and the south was under the non-communist USA.
In 1950 forces from the north invaded the south, the UN sent forces to combat the invasion
Over 20 countries supplied forces, 90,000 from the UK, second largest after the USA
Ceasefire was agreed in 1953, agreed that the would run as separate North and South Korea, over 1,000 UK troops died.
What did he Korean War show?
Showed how the cold was was being fought around the world
Showed Britain’s willingness to play a part in world affairs despite economic constraints
Showed the US was ultimately stronger
When was the Suez Crisis?
1956
What were the pre-events of the Suez Crisis?
Suez Canal was a vital oil route for 80% of the western worlds oil imports
Because Britain and the USA pulled their funding, in 1956, for the Aswan Dam, Nasser (new Egyptian nationalist leader) nationalised the canal to provide the funding.
Eden saw nasser as a ruthless dictator, his cabinet along with Macmillan agreed that this unprovoked aggression was intolerable.
What were the events of the Suez Crisis?
Eden planned with France and Israel to seize control of the Suez zone by interviewing with France when Israel invade Egypt
Plans for this were keyed from Parliament and the Americans
Caused a storm of political protests in Britain and the USA opposed it.
Britain was not strong enough to stand to the USA in 1956, it put then in a Financial Crisis
Macmillan was the first to see that it was essential to pull out even if it meant accepting humiliation.
What were the events post-Suez Crisis?
Fatally damaged Edens reputation
Question Britain’s position in the world
Questioned reputation as a good force in the world
Questions Britain’s strength without the USA
Started to undermine Britain was a world power
When was the decolonisation of India?
1947
When was the start of the Mau Mau rebellion? Which country was it in?
1952, Kenya
When was the decolonisation of Ghana?
1957
When was Macmillan’s ‘wind if change’ speech?
1960
When was the decolonisation of Nigeria and Cyprus?
1960
When did South Africa leave the commonwealth?
1961
When was the decolonisation of Kenya?
1963
What was the prompted the 1947-64 decolonisation?
- Pressure for colonial independence movements became harder to control. Mau Mau Rebellion
- Wanting to transition from Empire to New Commonwealth
- Suez Crisis
- Wind of Change Speech
What are the main features Mau Mau rebellion?
The leader of the rebellion, Kenyatta, later became the leader of the independent Kenya.
Mau Mau fingers accused with committing atrocities, as well as Britain as revelations of the treatment of prisoners Hola prison camps damaged Britain’s reputation.
What was the Wind of change speech and what was its impact?
Before 1960, Britain’s imperial policy was to defeat revolts and maintain control over its African colonies
Macmillan’s speech in Cape Town was a drastic change from policy, wanting decolonisation and hoping for a majority rule.
Shifted policy to favour decolonisation in Britain
South African preferred a minority white rule and voted in a referendum cutting all ties with Britain
What was decolonisation like in Britain?
The policy was extremely successful
Sis not always go smoothly but overall it was more swift and less violent than other countries like Belgium
1964 transition to commonwealth seemed to represent a significant achievement.