Europe and the Suez Crisis 1956 Essay Example for Free

atomic number 63 and the Suez Crisis 1956 EssayTo what extent was the phalanx action under taken by the British and cut in the Suez Crisis 1956 really essential?This historical investigation seeks to evaluate and comp are the factors influencing the relationships and discussions mingled with France and Britain during the Suez Crisis and thereby provoked them to commit military line to the region. The mainbody will look at the differences and similarities in Britains and Frances intentions in the Middle East, the internal situation (mainly in Britain), Nassers actions, public opinion in westbound Europe as well as American and UN policies on the crisis. In order to carry out his investigation a variety of sources will be consulted master(a) and secondary, from which relevant information will be selected. Carltons Britain and the Suez Crisis and Thomas The Suez procedure will be of particular(prenominal) drop. The sources used reliability (date of publication, author etc ) will be discussed. An analysis of the main arguments of the authors as well as an evaluation of different historical interpretations will be carried out.B. Summary of evidenceWhen Britain and France cancelled the loans to the Egyptian president, Nassers hydro military force project, the Aswan dam, Nasser responded by nationalizing the Suez Canal Company on the 26th of July 1956. Information given in the concur The Suez conflict tells us that the company was largely owned by British and french shareholders.1Britain and France saw the Nassers nationalization as a violation of international law and feared that this could create a power of vacuum, which could be filled by the Soviets, who were their communist enemy in the cold contend. Along with this, the nationalization of the canal directly threatened British and french influences in the area, which was rich on oilsupplies and secured Britains way to India. In a letter to the US chairwoman in September 1958, the British Prime Minister Eden wroteWe ought in the first instance to film the maximum political pressure to bear on Egypt (but) my colleagues and I are change overd that we essential be ready, in the last resort, to use force to bring Nasser to his senses. 2In Mastering Modern foundation History it is revealed that a secret Anglo-American plan called Omega suggested to overthrow Nasser by using political and economical pressure3. Despite of this plan, the consequent of using military force in Egypt remained a burning unloosen among the British Conservatives. According to Carlton, the British Cabinet, appeared divided on the matter of straight bash on the Canal issue by early September.4 The public opinion was strongly pro-military actions and called Nasser a new Hitler.5 The cut Minister Mollet, did non attempt to keep in good terms with any Arab, whom he felt distrust towards, and was to be a strong supporter of the decision to use military force. They believed that the m iodiny of the Algerian rebels, which they fought against, came from Cairo.Both the French and the British associated Nassers nationalization of the Canal with historical analogies, which was not going to be repeated Hitlers occupation of The Rhineland as well as his take over of Czechoslovakia. The US-president, Eisenhower, strongly expressed his hostility on the matter of forces being used in Egypt. According to Peter L. Hahn, Eisenhower viewed Nasser as a danger of Western threat but believed that force only would facilitate Soviet infiltration in the region.6 So the Americans proposed an tie beam of canal users, the SCUA, when it was revealed that the British and French tried to seek approval in the UN, where their actions could be justified delinquent to the Soviet veto. The British did accept the SCUA, but its impact on Nasser was destined to be negligible.With the end of the SCUA Conference, French and British Ministers, engaged in negotiations with their Egyptian counterpart and agreed t o the Six Principles7 (see Appendix). Although this seemed to suggest a sedate settlement, French and British military preparations to invade Egypt continued. On 24 October the British and the French Foreign Ministers held a secret meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister who was determined to force Egypt to recognize the state of Israel. tail fin days after this meeting, Israeli forces invaded Egypt. When Egypt refused to withdraw from the Suez Canal, British and French bombed Egyptian airfields and landed troops at Port Said.The British-French attack on Egypt was greeted with angry protests all over the world.According to Keith Robbin, the UN unanimously condemned the Franco-British action on 2nd November8 At last, the UN proclaimed cease-fire on November 6 and British and French forces withdrew.C. Evaluation of sourcesThe Suez Affair was published in 1966 (latest edition published in 1986), and was write by Hugh Thomas who resigned from the British disposal after the Suez Crisi s. Thomas stated purpose for this book is that It is an interim Report.9 in which he has used materials addressable and interviewed people, mainly British, involved in the Crisis. The value of this book is that it is a detailed and fascinating description of the British governments handling of the Crisis, professionally narrated by Thomas who himself experienced the Suez Crisis has an insight in the internal situation in Britain during this period of time. However, this may similarly make the source biased as it is very much written from a British stand topographic point. This method has certain limitations as memories can alter and are not reliable.David Carlton, who also has written a bibliography about Anthony Eden, published Britain and the Suez Crisis in 1988. The book is aimed at undergraduates school students and other fire in post war British score. The purpose of the book is to inform people about the new-fashioned past, in order to prevent recent political indoctrinat ion. Although it is acknowledged in the preface that there are problems of bias, subjectivity and perspectives in studying the past, the value of reading history outweigh the drawbacks10. Carltons book is remote more analytical than Thomas and includes different historical interpretations of the Crisis, which is of usefulness when studying the crisis from a broader perspective. However, Carltons book might be quite biased as it is very much written from a British perspective.Although both Carltons and Thomass books are British, they present a different view of the Suez Crisis, likely due to the different date of publication of the sources first edition. Although Thomas rewrote some parts of the book in his latest edition, the most substantial parts of his book, are based on sources available when the condemnation of the military action after the crisis made the propaganda turn against the British and French. In Carlton case, he has made an extensive use of materials released in th e 80s, which seem to be friendlier towards he British and the French. By taking both sources in count on they tell us how the history of the Suez Crisis has been reshaped due to political controversy and propaganda.D. AnalysisIf the Suez problem possibly could soak up been solved in a more diplomatic way, British and French prestige during the Cold War would doubtlessly have been more favorably after the crisis. According to the American journalist Donald Neff the Suez Crisis was a hinge point in history as it discredited France and Britain as participators in the Cold War it strained the Anglo-American alliance, increase Egyptian nationalism and increased Soviet influences in the region. Along with that, the attention was driven away from the Hungary uprising, for the Soviets advantage, as the shadow of Europe fell over the Suez.Hugh Thomas presents a view in his book The Suez Affair that the French and the British initially were determined to use military force in Egypt. He sug gests that they acted in an opportunistic way Nassers nationalization of the Suez Crisis gave them the opportunity to justify the use of military force. He suggests that the British and the French had strong intentions in the Middle East and to weld as many countries of the area as possible into an anticommunist defense pact. This can to some extent be true, as the Suez Crisis was an event in the Cold War, when the British and French democracies tried to, together with America, contain the expanding Communist bloc. However, other possible interpretations of the Crisis and the British and French intentions conflict this view.The historian Lowe presents evidence of the Omega plan, which suggests that Britain intended to get rid of Nasser by more peaceful means. another(prenominal) evidence also supports this view. For example Eden, as quoted in section B, wanted to use military power as only a last resort. As we can see from the evidence given, the Americans tried to rent a more pe aceful policy in Suez. The Six Principles, as well as the word meaning of the SCUA, showed signs that the British were approaching a peaceful settlement, on Americas initiative which, perhaps, could have saved them from an international defeat. However, one can argue that these diplomatic negotiations can be seen as prolonging the process in order to convince America to accept the use of military force. They were not real but merely a facade, which cover the militant intentions of Britain and France.The more contemporary view suggests different circumstances drew Eden take the blackened decision to use military force. Eden was faced with unprecedented pressures (). 11. According to Carlton, the conspiracy between France and Israel was not really in the hands of Eden. Eden didnt know with certainty that Israel would attack Egypt.12 The role of France in the Suez Crisis must not be underestimated as she actually, in contrast to Britain, wanted to undermine Arab influences in the Mid dle East.Hahn and Carlton suggests that France and Britain didnt amply understand that the Americans were going to fear that military action would open Egypt and other Middle East states to Soviet influences, undermining the policy of containment. They didnt calculate with the fact that the Americans were going to choose to, in the first place, pursue containment rather than concede the allys action. One can argue that if the American standpoint had been clearer for the French and the British, perhaps the course wouldnt have taken the militant direction that it took.E. ConclusionWhether the military action undertaken by the French and the British was really necessary is a mere question of speculation. It is difficult to make a valid judgement on the issue as different sources present different information, which is one of the major difficulties in studying contemporary history and finding its truth. Sources published not a very long time after the Crisis, such as Thomas first edi tion The Suez Affair indicate that the military action undertaken by the British and the French was inevitable the countries were highly determined to use force against Egypt. More recent materials about the Suez Crisis, presented by historians such as Lowe and Carlton, suggest that Britain and France could have solved the Suez Crisis with more peaceful means. However, it is most likely that the British and French response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal will remain an issue of controversy among the historians for the nearest future.F. List of sourcesRobbins, Keith, The overlook of Great power, Modern Britain 1870 1975, Longman, New Work, U.S, 1983Eden, Anthony, Memoirs Full Circle, Book three Suez, Cassell Company Ltd, London, 1960Carlton, David, Britain and the Suez Crisis, Basil Backwell, Northern Ireland, 1968Calhoun, Daniel F. , Hungary and Suez, 1956 An exploration of who makes history, University Press of America, United States of America, 1991Thomas, Hugh, The Su ez Affair, Wiedenfeld Nicolson Limited, London, 1967Hahn, Peter L., The United States, Great Britain and Egypt, 1945-1956 Strategy and Diplomacy in the early Cold War, The University of North Carolina Press, United States of America, 1991Bowne, Colin and Mooney, Peter J., Cold War to Dtente 1945-85, Second Edition, Heinemann Educational Books, printed by Richard body Ltd in Great Britain 198iCalvacocoressi, Peter, World politics since 1945, sixth edition The Arabs and Israel to the Suez War, Longman, New York, 1991Cornwell, R.D, World History in the twentieth century, Longman, England, 1984Lowe, Norman, Mastering Modern World History, Third Edition, Macmillian Master Series, Biddles Ltd, Britain, 1997Gildea, Robert, France since 194, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.AppendixThe Six Principles1. There should be free and open transit through the Canal without discrimination, overt or covert.2. The sovereignty of Egypt should be respected.3. The deed of the Canal should be ins ulated from the politics of any country.4. The manner of fixing tolls and charges should be decided by agreements between Egypt and the users.5. Unresolved disputes between the Suez Canal Company and Egypt should be settles by arbitration.1 Hugh Thomas, The Suez Affair, summon 392 Ibid., page 413 Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern World History, page 2304 David Carlton, Britain and the Suez Crisis, page 505 Hugh Thomas, The Suez Affair, page 406 Peter L. Hahn, The United States, Great Britain, and Egypt, 1945-1956, page 2117 David Carlton, Britain and the Suez Crisis, page 528 Keith Robbins, The Eclipse of a Great Power, page 1959 Hugh Thomas, The Suez Affair, page 710 David Carlton, Britain and The Suez Crisis, General Editors Preface11 David Carlton, Britain and the Suez Crisis, page 10912 Ibid., page 63