Suez Crisis

When President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, the French and British response was to plot with Israel to got to war against Egypt. American threats to sell their sterling reserves, and Arab threats of oil embargo, forced a hasty and shamefaced British withdrawal, and a rethink about Britain's imperial future.

The newsreel used in class:


Further images and information, from a recent BBC documentary:

Elizabeth II

George VI, at his coronation in 1936, was styled "By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India".

Elizabeth II, at her coronation in 1953, was styled "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith".

This already indicates major changes, all of which took place in the late 1940s: the independence of India and Pakistan; the establishment of the Republic of Ireland; and the replacement of imperial claims with headship of the Commonwealth. The two unchanging elements are being king or queen of Great Britain, and Defender of the Faith.

Nevertheless, the coronation was the occasion for much celebratory propaganda about a "second Elizabethan age", in which Britain would, by courage and ingenuity, (again) carve out a place for itself in a world dominated by much stronger global powers.





Pay close attention to the Queen's words in her first televised Christmas broadcast, the year after Suez.

The Fifties

Most of the notes for class 4 seem to have vanished into cyberspace, leaving only the powerpoint slides (on icampus). Fortunately, this is a period extremely well covered by Andrew Marr (as you will all be aware, but here it is again).

The main events outlined in class were:

• the coronation: a moment of jubilation, the first mass ceremony of the television age (Princess Diana's funeral, at the end of our period, makes a nice complement), and a time for new hopes of British "greatness" emerging from wartime deprivation and postwar austerity.
• British achievements in science and technology (the first jetliner, the first nuclear facility for non-military purposes, an independent atomic bomb, describing the structure of DNA, etc.), giving science-fiction writers the impression that Britain would stand at the forefront of the future
• the attempts to maintain some independent standing in world affairs, and to reassert British power in Malaya and Kenya
• the Suez Crisis, for which follow this link (it's important, so do click), revealing the illusory nature of any hopes for Britain being an independent world force; two of the films used in class are here
• a long period of economic growth and prosperity, despite on-going inefficiencies in British industry
• the "Profumo Affair" (covered in detail by Marr)
  

The Mini

The Arab oil embargo at the time of the Suez Crisis had stimulated demand for small cars that were economical to run, such as the Citroën 2CV and the Volkswagen Beetle. British manufacturers had not previously considered the market for cars with low fuel consumption, so were in a hurry to build something to compete.

The most successful design for a low cost car was the mini, designed by Alec Issigonis and produced by the British Motor Corporation. Like the miniskirt, pop music, and buses that passengers could hop in and out of at will, the mini became an icon of the new, young, stylish Britain. In 2009 it was one of the "British Design Classics" celebrated on a special stamp issue.

Foreign manufacturers could not understand how Morris was making the Mini so cheaply, but in fact poor costing meant that the mini was initially being sold at a loss. This is bleak testimony to the general inefficiency of postwar British industry.