Summary
Summary Foreign policy 1951-64
- Course
- Institution
Gives detailed and insightful knowledge about the polices in place during the Conservative premiership and the difficulties in maintaining British power in Europe.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
barryscott
Content preview
(4) Foreign Policy 1951-64: The Suez Crisis and DecolonisationSuez crisis
• 80% of Western Europeans oil imports passed through canal- Suez Canal dominated
by private French investors.
• Emergence of nationalist (supportive of decolonisation) leader, colonel Nasser-
worried Britain
• Britain and USA decided to pull out of Aswan Dam project; in response, Nasser
nationalised Suez Canal Company, to finance the Dam project.
• Britain feared it would become more difficult to trade via canal- viewed Nasser’s
move as anti-Western so thought he may side with USSR.
• Eden believed Nasser’s actions threatened Britain’s status as an imperial power-
viewed Nasser in a similar vein to Hitler- dangerous dictator who needed to be
stopped.
• France shared concerns as well as Israel – secretly agreed a plan with these two and
didn’t inform USA or parliament.
• Israel would invade Egypt; British and French armies would intervene- official reason
was to separate Israeli and Egyptian troops- real reason was to take control of Suez
Canal.
• Plan would probably have succeeded BUT Eden soon faced opp from Labour party,
anti-war protestors and sizeable chunk of British public- most importantly he was
stopped due to USA intervention.
US intervention
• US outraged by British actions- demanded immediate ceasefire- once this was clear
Britain had little choice to withdraw.
• Britain appealed to IMF for loan (embarrassing)- The US blocked this, Saudi imposed
oil embargo on Britain and the US refused to compensate for this- financial pressure
forced withdrawal- Macmillan told Eden to halt military action.
Impacts of Suez
• Eden’s reputation was destroyed- he’d been viewed as a foreign policy specialist-
decision to withhold details of the plan from Parliament especially damaging
• Early blow to the reputation of the ‘Establishment’ – seen as corrupt and dishonest.
• Britain’s reputation as elite world power seriously weakened
• Clear Britain no longer major power- forced into ceasefire by US- who was superior
economically and militarily- Britain’s foreign policy would increasingly have had to be
tied to USA.
Decolonisation
• Atlee’s govt withdraw from India (known as ‘crown jewel of British empire’) –
significant step towards decolonisation.
• 1950’s- independence movements in several colonies e.g., Malaya and Cyprus-
fighting British troops.
• Churchill govt believed a gradual transition from Empire to Commonwealth would be
possible- wanted to contain resistance movements until the people of the colonies
were ready for independence.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller barryscott. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.44. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now