Britain and the World since 1945

Alasdair Blair

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317665731
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

This Seminar Studies title is a succinct study of modern British foreign policy, focusing on the period from 1945 to the present day. Since the end of the Second World War, Britain has been engaged in international conflicts from the Suez Crisis to the Gulf War and has actively sought involvement in transnational and global affairs.

Starting with a brief overview of the rise and fall of the British Empire and continuing chronologically with detailed chapters covering the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, Alasdair Blair discusses the highs and lows of British foreign policy in an accessible yet analytical manner. Dealing with themes such as the issues triggered by decolonisation and the changing relationship between Britain and Europe, this text considers the pivotal moments in modern Britain's engagement with the wider world.

Included in this title are supporting materials, such as a chronology of important events from 1945, a Who's Who of key government figures and a collection of relevant primary sources. Thorough yet concise, Britain and the World since 1945 is the ideal resource for students interested in the development of British foreign policy.

1

The rise and fall of the British Empire: 1496–1945

Foreign policy is about power, about getting our way in an unhelpful world. But power is relative; and it is usually imputed rather than applied: governments act on an estimate of what the other side can do. Influence, or prestige, which can be called the halo round power, normally suffices. And a confident, decisive government, particularly one with some practical successes to its credit, can acquire disproportionate influence, impose its own estimate of itself and, to some extent, live beyond its diplomatic means.

(Cradock, 1997: 199–200)

These words, written by the British diplomat Sir Percy Cradock, emphasise what should be the central tenets of any nation’s foreign policy. For more than half a millennium, Britain – and prior to that England – has sought to exercise influence at a global level. And while this has sometimes led to policy failure, on many more occasions it has resulted in outcomes that have gone beyond the country’s natural influence on world affairs given its population, geographical size and access to raw materials. At its height in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the British Empire formally controlled one-quarter of the world’s population. For many, this was an image of success, it being noted that the ‘sun never sets on the British Empire’. British influence stretched from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Britain controlled the sea arteries that provided the means for economic growth and supplied the finance and manufacturing that the rest of the world required. Britain’s imperial influence was achieved by a mix of formal power through colonies and Dominions and informal power through economic influence over many other countries. The legacy of the British Empire continues to this day. From language to literature, economics to politics and the military to the sports field, Britain’s influence can be seen throughout the world. The legacy of Empire can also be found in the migration of peoples. In some instances this was forced, such as through the slave trade between Africa and North America and in the transportation of convicts to Australia. But in other instances it was encouraged, such as the settlement of Canada or the movement of traders from India to Africa in search of new commercial ventures. This would in turn have an impact on Britain in future years, with decolonisation resulting in significant immigration in the post-war era that was marked by the arrival of the SS Windrush at Tilbury docks on 22 June 1948 carrying nearly 500 Caribbean immigrants to Britain.

Decolonisation: The process of colonial powers granting independence to their former colonies. Many of the countries that have been granted independence have suffered from poor economic and political governance and while the roots of such problems can be traced back to the colonial authorities, it is also the case that the decolonised countries have not always benefited from democratic governments.

In looking at these issues, this study provides an overview of the post-1945 period by chronicling the key episodes and decisions that have shaped Britain’s foreign policy, with a notable focus on the relative nature of Britain’s decline. To provide a context to this analysis, this chapter looks at the rise and fall of the British Empire.

THE BIRTH OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

The origins of the British Empire can be traced back to a calculated effort in the latter years of the fifteenth century to expand England’s influence at a time when other European nations, particularly Portugal and Spain, had already established considerable footholds abroad. England, along with France and the Netherlands, were envious of the wealth that Portugal and Spain had accumulated. Consequently, England, France and the Netherlands began a process of trying to establish colonies and trade networks, with a particular focus on the Americas and Asia. For the majority of studies a common starting point in their analysis of the British Empire is 5 March 1496 when King Henry VII of England granted letters patent to the Venetian navigator John Cabot to lead a voyage in search of unknown lands.

The first voyage undertaken in 1496 by Cabot and his family proved unsuccessful. In May 1497 Cabot and his son Sebastian tried again. Setting sail from Bristol with a crew of 20 in the ship Matthew, they found land 35 days later, on 24 June 1497, which they called Newfoundland. Cabot spent the better part of the next month exploring the coast of North America and claiming a considerable amount of land for England. When he returned to England later that year, he did so to a hero’s welcome, pointing out the opportunity for trade. The following year Cabot set sail once more with five ships to further explore the area. But sadly this crossing ended with Cabot being lost at sea. Despite these voyages, it would not be until the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) during the last decades of the sixteenth century that a more coordinated effort to expand England’s influence took shape. During Elizabeth’s reign focus was attached to establishing lands in North America that would increase the possibilities for trade and access to resources, such as timber, which would in turn fuel economic expansion and support the military. In 1578 Elizabeth I provided a patent to Humphrey Gilbert for the discovery of overseas exploration. In that year Gilbert set sail for the West Indies with the idea of establishing a colony. Although that expedition failed, Gilbert sailed for a second attempt in 1583, which resulted in him claiming some 400 miles of the Newfoundland coast for England. In 1607 a settlement was established in Jamestown. A focus on expansion into North America provided a base from which English forces could defend themselves from French and Spanish attacks. When English ships could not find the precious goods, such as gold, that they had sought on their journeys, they turned to attacking the bases of other powers in the new lands and looted whatever they could get their hands on. In these early years England’s expansion overseas was basically undertaken by privateers. This was piracy in all but name. Elizabeth I took the decision to licence this system of privateering and, as a result, many ships set off in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries with the sole intent of harassing the ships of other powers. This tactic proved remarkably successful; it is estimated that from 1585 onwards between 100 and 200 vessels set sail with a view to capturing Spanish vessels – the annual value of their finds amounted to at least £200,000 (Burke, 2007: 25). This was empire building on the cheap.

The start of the seventeenth century witnessed the first steps towards the creation of a British (rather than just an English) Empire. In 1603 King James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, and in so doing became King James I of England. It would be another hundred years before both countries came together in the 1707 Act of Union when the Parliament of Great Britain was formed. For Scotland, a key motivating factor behind the Union was that it provided the opportunity to get involved in the colonial trade where many Scots flourished (Ferguson, 2004: 33–4), while for England it provided an opportunity to secure its own borders at a time when its interests were increasingly focused on foreign affairs (Gamble, 2003: 45). The 1604 Treaty of London ended hostilities with Spain. Now that England was at peace with its main rival, the focus shifted to establishing overseas colonies. In the early seventeenth century the British Empire started to take shape, as merchants began to trade with far-flung territories, notably North America and a number of islands in the Caribbean. Virginia was settled in 1607, Bermuda in 1609 and Barbados in 1625. At the same time there was also significant expansion in Ireland. Private companies were established, most notably the East India Company in 1600, which focused on the spice trade, and the Hudson Bay Company in 1670, which concentrated on the trade in Canadian furs. The exploration of the New World of the Americas also provided a place of refuge for people who felt that their way of life was threatened at home in England and other European countries, the most notable example of which was the Pilgrim Fathers who set sail from England in 1620 to escape religious persecution and in so doing established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts Bay.

By the eighteenth century the British Empire had expanded further. Although not yet in name, the beginnings of globalisation were taking place. Goods that were once the preserve of the wealthy elite, such as sugar, tea, tobacco and coffee, were being imported in ever-greater quantities year-on-year to supply the tastes of a growing body of English consumers. While overseas expansion provided products to satisfy the domestic market, it also provided the goods that would in turn be re-exported in a manufactured form to countries near and far. Cotton manufacture was the first industry to be tied to overseas trade. Between 1750 and 1770 export industries increased their output by 80 per cent, which contrasted with a growth of 8 per cent for domestic industries (Hobsbawm, 1969: 48). British manufacturers who were at the centre of these developments benefited from a government that was prepared to protect its interests by entering into conflict with other countries and to colonise for the benefit of the manufacturers (Gamble, 2003: 45). What this amounted to was that Britain’s foreign policy was shaped by the realpolitik of economic and political objectives. British naval power supported the growth in overseas commerce and made the world safe for British trade. An aggressive foreign policy meant that by the eighteenth century Britain was in a pre-eminent position among European powers in terms of colonialism and had a worldwide dominance of the sea-lanes. As Jeremy Black has commented, ‘In 1740 Britain and France were both important colonial and maritime powers, though neither ruled the extent of territory or number of people that Spain possessed. By 1815 Britain was clearly the leading European commercial, colonial and maritime power’ (Black, 1998: 10). The attainment of this position had been achieved through a dramatic increase in the size of the Royal Navy, which by 1815 had 214 ships. In comparison, France had 80 ships, Russia 40 and Spain 25 (Kennedy, 1988: 129).

Colonialism: Refers to the establishment of control by one country over another.

The very process of expansion into new lands brought with it a need for labour. This resulted in Britain taking a leading role in the monstrous practice of slavery through the establishment of slaving stations in Africa, which resulted in the forced mass movement of peoples. The slaves provided the colonies with labour for backbreaking work on the likes of sugar and tobacco plantations and, in later years when they became free, would transform the nature of the population of these countries. Expansion abroad also provided an opportunity for people to seek opportunities in new lands and by the end of the seventeenth century it was estimated that at least 350,000 people had emigrated from England to North America. This was a sizeable number given that the total population of England and Wales was estimated to be just fewer than 5 million in 1600 (it was only with the introduction of a census in 1801 that more precise figures became available). The colonies also provided a ready means of dealing with a prison population at home by transporting prisoners overseas. Elsewhere, Britain obtained a small foothold in India as the process of expansion turned eastwards. A focus on India accelerated after 1776 when the American Revolution resulted in the Empire losing half of its holdings in North America when the Declaration of Independence formed the United States from the 13 former British Colonies (Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Georgia). And some 200 or so years on from the time of Elizabeth I, this period marked the end of what became known as the first British Empire.

WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD

The next phase in the expansion of the British Empire from the late eighteenth century onwards would see Britain becoming the ‘workshop of the world’ as the industrial revolution took hold (Deane, 1979; Mathias, 1983). This period would see a significant growth in the British population. Whereas in the hundred years from 1700 to 1801 the population increased from some 6 million to 10.5 million, by 1851 the population had reached 20.8 million, and by 1911 totalled 40.8 million (Crouzet, 1982: 20). This increase in population would have been greater if it had not been for the significant emigration that primarily took place to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This emigration saw more than 20 million people leave the British Isles between the early 1600s and the 1950s, and was the biggest migration in human history (Ferguson, 2004: 45–6). The increase in population that did take place in Britain, combined with emigration, resulted in a surge in manufacturing output and a concurrent demand for the importation of raw materials and the exportation of finished products, with the Empire being at the centre of these developments.

To compensate for the loss of the 13 North American colonies, the Empire began to reshape. Australia came under British control, with the first British fleet sailing into Botany Bay in 1788. One of the most important reasons for expanding into Australia was that there was a need to find a suitable place for the transportation of British convicts following the loss of the North American colonies (Judd, 1996: 29). The established practice was that penal transportation was an important means of clearing out unwelcome sections of society from the country, with the last convicts arriving in Western Australia in 1868. Over the period as a whole, more than 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Britain’s approach to the newly colonised territory was to follow a similar practice of imperial control as it had done in North America. This allowed the white settler population in Australia to rule themselves and this tendency towards control and influence at a distance was a notable factor in the way that the British Empire was run. But while Australia provided a ready-made alternative for Britain’s convict problem, its remoteness, geography and sparse population meant that it did not provide a substitute for the loss of the North American colonies and the growing wealth and prosperity that was to be found in the new United States of America (US).

As a result of this the Empire began to turn eastwards towards Asia. In 1773 the British government was forced to take over the East India Company as a result of financial difficulties. By the end of the eighteenth century, Britain’s control over India extended into Afghanistan and Burma. Additional territories were obtained during the long war with France from 1793 to 1815, notably Guyana, the Cape Colony, Ceylon, Mauritius, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago. The war would see Britain defeat Napoleon’s navy at Trafalgar in 1805 and his army at Waterloo in 1815. Britain emerged as a dominant global power in the wake of the agreements reached at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 that owed much to the skill of the Foreign Secretary Viscount Castlereagh (Hayes, 1975: 3–23) and that led to the re-establishment of a balance of power among the Great Powers of Europe. The period that followed was a time of British overseas expansionism, with Britain controlling the main maritime sea-lanes. This saw Britain taking South Africa from the Netherlands as well as maintaining India in the face of the threat of Russian expansion. Britain was emerging as the first industrial nation and the technological innovations that came with this directly led to a lowering in the costs of production through a move to mass manufacturing (Mathias, 1983). And as British industry experienced cheaper production costs than those of competitors in other countries there was a significant expansion in the export of products, from cotton to iron (Crouzet, 1982: 7–8).

Great Powers: A term that came to prominence at the time of the 1815 Congress of Vienna. The term tends to be used as a method of differentiating the influence of countries in world politics.

Britain was the only country that was able to provide the commercial and financial backing that was necessary to support new markets. As a result, British businesses took a leading role in providing the services that facilitated this growth in global trade, from providing the merchant fleet through to the insurance and banking services that were essential to the enterprise (Mathias, 1983: 282–4). Britain accounted for over 40 per cent of the world’s output of manufactured goods in 1850 and by 1876–80 controlled 30 per cent of world trade in primary products (Crouzet, 1982: 343). Such a dominant role ensured that Britain had a leading role as a technological innovator, typified by the launch of the SS Great Britain in 1843. Designed by the greatest engineer of the time, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the ship was not only the largest ship, but also the first to be built of iron and to make use of a screw propeller rather than conventional paddle wheels.

Technological innovation and expansion into new lands would become synonymous with Queen Victoria who, having ascended the throne in 1837, was crowned Empress of India in 1877 at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. The focus on India was important for a number of reasons. The first was that Africa had become less lucrative for Britain with the end of the slave trade. (Britain had abolished slavery at home in 1807 and in its colonies in 1833. France abolished slavery in 1794, while slavery was abolished in much of Latin America in the 1820s.) Second, India was an increasingly crucial market for cotton, which was Britain’s main export. Finally, India was a vital linchpin in the broader trade with the Far East, where its exports primarily consisted of opium, which was overseen by a state monopoly that Britain had diligently encouraged. Such was the demand for opium that even by as late as 1870 it accounted for approximately half of China’s total imports (Hobsbawm, 1969: 149). For Britain, the revenues it obtained from India’s trading surplus were central to its overall wealth.

SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA

Many scholars refer to the period between 1815 and 1914 as Britain’s imperial century, with British foreign policy during this period being greatly shaped by Lord Palmerston, who served as both Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister. The national interest was the cornerstone of British foreign policy, Palmerston noting in a speech to the House of Commons on 1 March 1848 that ‘We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow’. During the period from 1848 to 1914 approximately 400 million people and 10 million square miles were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleon meant that Britain did not have a serious international rival, albeit with the possible exception of Russia in central Asia. Britain was unchallenged at sea. This period would be known as Pax Britannica, referring to the ‘relative’ peace that existed in Europe from the Battle of Waterloo until the outbreak of the First World War. Britain’s growth in influence was not, however, a result of a coordinated strategy on the part of London, as Britain’s Empire emerged in something of a disorganised fashion. As John Young has written, ‘The Empire was a scattered and ramshackle affair with many different forms of government, including crown colonies, protectorates and self-governing entities’ (Young, 1997: 9).

Life outside of Europe was not so settled. In the nineteenth century there was notable tension between Britain and Russia whereby these two countries helped to fill the power vacuums left by the declining Ottoman and Persian Empires. This rivalry in Eurasia came to be known as ‘The Great Game’. For Britain, the defeat that Russia inflicted on Persia and Turkey in the Russo-Persian war of 1826–8 and the Russo-Turkey war of 1828–9 demonstrated the imperial ambitions and capabilities of Russia and resulted in fears that Russia would invade India. To counteract this fear of Russian encroachment into Central Asia, Britain invaded Afghanistan in 1839 to install a new leader, Shuja Shah Durrani. While this was viewed as a pretext for incorporating Afghanistan into the British Empire, and thereby bolstering British influence in Central Asia, the first Anglo-Afghan war of 1839–42 proved to be a disaster for Britain, with nearly 20,000 troops killed. In 1853, when Russia invaded the Turkish Balkans, there were real fears that Russia would dominate the Mediterranean and the Middle East, which resulted in Britain and France declaring war on Russia on 28 March 1854 and invading the Crimean Peninsula in order to destroy Russian naval capabilities. This would lead to the Crimean War of 1854–6, which was the only war that was fought between Britain and another imperial power during the Pax Britannica and resulted in a significant defeat for Russia.

In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened, linking the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean. Although Britain was initially opposed to the canal, the government very quickly recognised its strategic importance in reducing the cost and time in the transit of goods t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Introduction to the series
• Table of Contents
• List of plates
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Chronology
• Who’s who
• Glossary
• 1 THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE: 1496–1945
• 2 THE EARLY POST-WAR YEARS: 1945–1955
• 3 THE LIMITATIONS OF POWER: 1955–1970
• 4 FINDING A WAY: 1970–1979
• 5 RESURGENCE: 1979–1990
• 6 POST-COLD WAR ORDER: 1990–1997
• 7 TRANSFORMED WORLD: 1997–2013
• 8 ASSESSMENT
• DOCUMENTS
• REFERENCES
• INDEX