The British Empire is often described as the largest formal empire at its peak in terms of its massive expansion of authority and far-reaching influence all over the world, as is evident from its territory comprised of more than a quarter of the land area of the globe.
The Suez Canal which was opened in 1869 hugely contributed to maintain the empire by providing a shorter link to the sea between Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
Its geo-strategic importance is illustrated in the comment of Anthony Eden, “If the Suez Canal is our back door to the East, it is the front door to Europe of Australia, New Zealand and India. If you like to mix your metaphors it is, in fact, the swing-door of the British Empire.”
However, in the same way as most …show more content…
At this point, the USA became the superpower and the British Empire was no longer the world leader.
At first it seems that the British government did not fully appreciate this fact but they became to be made aware of it because of the Suez Crisis.
When the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser proclaimed to nationalise the Suez Canal Company, Britain and France invaded Egypt in order to regain the control of the Suez Canal.
Nevertheless, the USA opposed the military intervention of Britain and France, and asserted its power.
This assertion of the USA can be seen in the letter from Eisenhower, the President of the USA to Eden, the prime minister of Britain.
Eisenhower insists in his letter, “The use of military force against Egypt under present circumstances might have consequences even more serious than causing the Arabs to support Nasser”, implying the fear of the possibility of the Egyptian alliance with the Soviet Union.
Britain and France consequently withdrew their armed forces from Egypt due to American pressure in a few days and the crisis just ended with their …show more content…
The phrase ‘special relationship’ used by Winston Churchill illustrates the strong political, economic, historical and diplomatic relations between Britain and the USA.
Lucas illustrates that a continued British presence in the Middle East was heavily supported by the strong relationship with the USA as the USA assisted British diplomatic position by providing militarily and economic aids.
Nonetheless, Stockwell states that Eden damaged this important relationship between the Britain and the USA by colluding secretly with Israel and France and by resorting to force in the absence of sanction from the United Nations.
When Macmillan intended to cope with the financial problem, he realised the fact that Britain no longer has a ‘special relationship’ with the USA.
Though this Anglo-American relationship deterioration was repaired to some extent by Macmillan, it did not recover fully.
Considering the above, it appears to be that the British government did not completely understand the importance of the ‘special relationship’ with the USA and Britain made light of the significance of
The Suez Canal which was opened in 1869 hugely contributed to maintain the empire by providing a shorter link to the sea between Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
Its geo-strategic importance is illustrated in the comment of Anthony Eden, “If the Suez Canal is our back door to the East, it is the front door to Europe of Australia, New Zealand and India. If you like to mix your metaphors it is, in fact, the swing-door of the British Empire.”
However, in the same way as most …show more content…
At this point, the USA became the superpower and the British Empire was no longer the world leader.
At first it seems that the British government did not fully appreciate this fact but they became to be made aware of it because of the Suez Crisis.
When the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser proclaimed to nationalise the Suez Canal Company, Britain and France invaded Egypt in order to regain the control of the Suez Canal.
Nevertheless, the USA opposed the military intervention of Britain and France, and asserted its power.
This assertion of the USA can be seen in the letter from Eisenhower, the President of the USA to Eden, the prime minister of Britain.
Eisenhower insists in his letter, “The use of military force against Egypt under present circumstances might have consequences even more serious than causing the Arabs to support Nasser”, implying the fear of the possibility of the Egyptian alliance with the Soviet Union.
Britain and France consequently withdrew their armed forces from Egypt due to American pressure in a few days and the crisis just ended with their …show more content…
The phrase ‘special relationship’ used by Winston Churchill illustrates the strong political, economic, historical and diplomatic relations between Britain and the USA.
Lucas illustrates that a continued British presence in the Middle East was heavily supported by the strong relationship with the USA as the USA assisted British diplomatic position by providing militarily and economic aids.
Nonetheless, Stockwell states that Eden damaged this important relationship between the Britain and the USA by colluding secretly with Israel and France and by resorting to force in the absence of sanction from the United Nations.
When Macmillan intended to cope with the financial problem, he realised the fact that Britain no longer has a ‘special relationship’ with the USA.
Though this Anglo-American relationship deterioration was repaired to some extent by Macmillan, it did not recover fully.
Considering the above, it appears to be that the British government did not completely understand the importance of the ‘special relationship’ with the USA and Britain made light of the significance of