Britian's Relationship with Europe Flashcards
(13 cards)
Who could Britain align with?
-Commonwealth
-USA
-Europe
What were the positives of the commonwealth?
-World influence
-Opportunities
-Trade
What were the negatives of the commonwealth?
-Anti-British resentment in ex-colonial nations
-Costs
-Chance countries want independence
-Political issues with trying to appease
What were the positives of allying with the USA?
-USA is a powerful nation (world superpower)
-Shared values (e.g: capitalism)
What were the negatives of allying with the USA?
-Far from the UK
-US is more focused on its own development
-Dragged into Cold War conflicts
-Creates tension with other alliances
-Only junior partners with US
What were the positives of allying with Europe?
-Better relations that with the US (less conflict)
-Close neighbours
-Improvement for Britain
What were the negatives of allying with Europe?
-Tensions with some European nations (E.g De Gaulle)
-Many different values, goals and traditions
Which did it take so long for Britain to join the EEC?
-Lack of influence
-Constantly denied by De Gaulle due to suspicions
-Europe felt that Britain and France handled the Suez Crisis badly
-Issues with the ERM
What happened on Black Wednesday?
-Britain was forced to withdraw from the ERM due to its exchange rate being below the limit to join
-This lead to Britain losing lots of good reputation
What is evidence of Britain’s relationship with Europe failing?
-Issues with EEC
-Issues with ERM
-Black Wednesday
What is evidence of Britain’s relationship with Europe succeeding?
-A referendum showed that 2:1 of Britain wanted to be in the EEC
-Consensus to avoid conflict which leads to the UN and NATO
-Similar ideologies (e.g democracy, no communism)
Why did Britain decolonise?
-Impact of WW2
-Economic weakness
-Impact of Cold War
What were Britain’s aims while decolonising?
-Maintain strong relations with decolonised territories
-Leave behind strong and fair systems
-Avoid humiliation
