BRITAIN AND ALGERIA, 1945-1965 By Geoffrey Barei Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for degree of Doctor of Philosophy. (History) University of London School of Oriental and African Studies 2003 ProQuest Number: 10672941 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672941 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Acknowledgements Throughout various stages of this thesis, many people have made valuable criticisms and suggestions, and I am extremely grateful for their assistance. First, I would particularly like to express my extreme gratitude to Dr Michael Brett who supervised and guided this research throughout all its stages, and read the draft manuscript with great patience and made invaluable constructive comments and criticisms. Special thanks also go to lecturers and students of the History Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) for the friendly help and advice they have given me throughout my years there. Of special mention, is the introductory course on research methods by Professor Richard Rathbone. Indeed, it was worth attending the sessions. Added to this and proved crucially important was the SOAS Wednesday weekly African history seminars which covered a variety of themes and aspects and enabled me to meet and interact with many different scholars who in different small ways enriched and broadened my intellectual thinking. I am also indebted to the staff of the archives and libraries that I used in England, Public Record Office at Kew, Newspaper archives at Colindale, Senate House Library, SOAS Library, Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library, Institute of Historical Research and the British Library. I also hope that all the historians whose work I have acknowledged or incorporated in this work will feel that I have paid my due debt to them. Lastly, and most importantly, special thanks to my wife Essie for her encouragement and support. Abbreviations AEF French Equatorial Africa ALN National Liberation Army ANC African National Congress AOF French West Africa CCE Committee for Coordination and Execution CIA Central Intelligence Agency CNRA National Council of the Algerian Revolution CNRFA National Council of the French Resistance in Algeria CPP Convention Peoples Party CRUA Revolutionary Committee for Unity and Action EEC European Economic Community FIDES Economic and Social Investment and Development Fund FFS Socialist Forces Front FLN National Liberation Front FRELIMO Front for the Liberation of Mozambique GPRA Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic ICADU Kenya African Democratic Union KANU Kenya African National Union MCP Malawi Congress Party MNA Algerian National Movement MTLD Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Freedoms NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NKG New Kenya Group OAS Secret Army Organisation OAU Organisation of African Unity OPA Political and Administrative Organisation OS Secret Organisation PAC Pan African Congress RAF Royal Air Force SCUA Suez Canal Users Association TANU Tanganyika African National Union UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence UDMA Democratic Union of the Algerian Manifesto UGCC United Gold Coast Convention UGTT General Union of Tunisian Workers UNIP United National Independence Party UNO United Nations Organisation ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union Abstract Algeria’s achievement of independence in 1962, after a bloody war served as an inspiration to the rest of Africa still under colonial rule. As a result, many studies have been done on French colonial rule in Algeria, and the latter’s resistance to it. But, these studies have not fully attempted to link the implications of French decolonisation of Algeria to British decolonisation of her African territories, hence this study attempts to fill this gap. The thesis is about Britain and the Algerian war, with particular reference to Britain in Africa. It deals with decolonisation and the “wind of change” and presents the history of North Africa in the context of Africa as a whole. From its beginning in 1954, the Algerian war has occupied a unique place in the history of decolonisation. Its repercussions for French colonial policy were followed with keen interest by the British, who like the French had a huge empire in Africa, and also had potential trouble spots of the magnitude of the Algerian quagmire. The thesis begins with a description of the post-war international situation, in which America and the Soviet Union emerged as the two super-powers, while the resources of the old imperial powers of Britain and France did not match the growing needs of government in their colonial possessions. They were put on the defensive by nationalism in Asia and Africa, supported by American anti-colonialism. The outbreak of the Cold War and the fear of communism seemed to provide them with some justification for resisting demands for independence, but made America all the more anxious for the “end of empire,” to win the battle of third world “hearts and minds.” The thesis investigates the extent to which British and French colonial policies had an influence on each other during the period of decolonisation. Against this background, the thesis traces the history of the war in Algeria, 1954-62, and the post-war settlement down to 1965, together with the histories of French and British decolonisation in Africa over the same period, in order to follow the history of British concern with the problem. It shows how this concern was at its height under the Macmillan government, but came down to the promotion of British business interests after the end of the war, when Algeria’s internal problems and continued dependence on France reduced the fear that it would seek to cause difficulties for the colonial powers in Africa. Table of Contents Page Nos. Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... i Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ii Abstract .................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: Sources.............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Introduction: Britain and France after World War II ...................5 a. Introduction b. The World Situation after 1945 to 1953 c. The British Empire to March 1957 d. The French Empire to November 1954 e. Conclusion Chapter 3: France and Algeria, 1945 to November 1954 ......................... 26 a. Introduction b. France and North Africa, 1945 to 1 November 1954 c. Britain and Algeria, 1945 to November 1954 d. Conclusion Chapter 4: Algerian War, November 1954 to Suez, 1956......................44 a. Outbreak and Escalation of War, 1 November 1954 to September 1956 b. Britain and Algeria, November 1954 to September 1956 c. Britain and Egypt, 1945 to Nationalisation of Canal, 1956 d. The Suez Crisis e. Conclusion Chapter 5: Algerian War, end of 1956 to May 1958........................... 68 a. Introduction b. Course of the war, end of 1956 to end of Battle of Algiers c. Britain, post-Suez, and Africa, end of 1956 to March 1958 d. Britain and Algeria, end of 1956 to March 1958 e. Sakiet Sidi Youssef and the Good Offices mission f. The revolution of May 1958 g. Conclusion Chapter 6: De Gaulle and Algeria, May 1958 to January 1958..................100 a. The coming to power of de Gaulle b. De Gaulle and the French empire, May 1958 to January 1960 c. De Gaulle and Algeria, May 1958 to January 1960 d. Britain and Africa, May 1958 to January 1960 e. Britain and Algeria, May 1958 to January 1960 f. Conclusion Chapter 7: The End of the War, January 1960 to Evian 1962.................124 a. De Gaulle and Africa, January 1960 to Evian 1962 b. De Gaulle and Algeria, January 1960 to Evian 1962 c. Britain and Africa, January 1960 to March 1962 d. Britain and Algeria, January 1960 to Evian 1962 f. Conclusion Chapter 8: Algerian Independence, 1962 to 1965 ................................... 157 a. Introduction b. Ben Bella to Boumedienne c. France and Algeria, 1962 to 1965 d. Britain and Africa, 1962 to 1965 e. Britain and Algeria, 1962 to 1965 f. Conclusion Epilogue-Literature Review.................................................I l l Bibliography..........................................................................185 CHAPTER 1 SOURCES In writing this thesis I relied on four broad sources of information namely, official British records at the Public Record Office, the British press, Parliamentary papers and the published secondary literature on the Algerian war. My main research base was London and travels were centred around the Public Record Office at Kew, Newspaper archives at Colindale, School of Oriental African Studies Library, Senate House Library, Institute of Historical Research, British Library and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies