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Final Thesis Monstrous predatory vampires and beneficent fairy-godmothers: British post-war colonial development in Africa Charlotte Lydia Riley UCL This thesis is submitted for the degree of PhD. 1 I, Charlotte Lydia Riley, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Abstract This thesis explores the concept of colonial development, as enacted by the Attlee government during the immediate post-war period. It focuses on Africa, reflecting the ‘second colonial occupation’ of the continent during this period, and examines both economic and social welfare development initiatives. Post-war colonial development in the British African territories had two main aims: firstly, to increase the production of raw materials, to aid the reconstruction of the metropole and earn dollars on the international markets; and secondly, to improve the standard of living among colonial populations. This thesis explores the contradictions inherent in these two types of development. It can be seen that, although Britain was largely unsuccessful in this period with economic development programmes in Africa, it had some modest success with colonial social-welfare initiatives. The thesis also examines the extent to which Arthur Creech Jones, Colonial Secretary 1946-1950, shaped colonial policy in Africa based on his Fabian beliefs. It examines how far British colonial policy in this period can be characterised as ‘socialist’, and how far metropolitan and colonial populations were separated by narratives of progress and development in this period. This thesis also argues that colonial development in Africa in this period was shaped, rhetorically, ideologically and pragmatically, by the context of British reconstruction under the Marshall Plan. Colonial development was an arena in which Britain’s relationships with western Europe and the United States (the ‘special relationship’) could be explored, strengthened and sometimes challenged. The incipient Cold War imbued British policy in Africa with specific tensions, particularly relating to American ‘anti-imperialism’ and the threat of Soviet communist expansion across the continent. Colonial development, and the negotiation of such against the pressures exerted by Britain’s international political role, can thus be used as a lens, through which to view British foreign policy under the Attlee government. 3 Table of Contents Abstract.............................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................... 8 An Introduction: British Colonial Development in the Marshall Plan Era. ......10 Thesis method ...............................................................................................................................11 Sources .............................................................................................................................................11 Britain’s Post-war Empire .........................................................................................................12 Defining Colonial Development...............................................................................................14 British Post-war Foreign Policy and the Labour Government ......................................18 Anglo-American Relations.........................................................................................................20 Post-war Reconstruction and The Marshall Plan ..............................................................24 Thesis Structure............................................................................................................................29 Chapter One: Juggling the Three Spheres: Britain and its Post-War World. ...31 Britain At Home.............................................................................................................................32 Britain in Europe ..........................................................................................................................36 The Marshall Plan and Europe.................................................................................................38 Britain, America, and the Balance of Power........................................................................41 Truman and Attlee: A ‘Special Relationship’? .....................................................................43 The Left and the Right – Socialism and Anglo-American Relations.............................48 Britain’s African Empire.............................................................................................................57 1948: African Nationalism........................................................................................................58 Imperial Pressures in the Special Relationship .................................................................65 Conclusions.....................................................................................................................................71 4 Chapter Two: Bureaucracy, Negotiation and Administration: the Politics of Colonial Development........................................................................................................72 The Colonial Development and Welfare Acts......................................................................73 Colonial Development: the African Economic Context ....................................................75 Why did Britain prioritise colonial development after the Second World War?....77 British Colonial Development: The Fabian Influence ......................................................83 British Development in Africa: Ideological Conflict..........................................................88 British Colonial Development: the Corporations. .............................................................92 The Overseas Resources Development Bill .........................................................................96 The Development Corporations in Action......................................................................... 103 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................. 108 Chapter Three: Working Together, Working Apart: Britain, Europe and African Colonial Development. ....................................................................................110 The Attlee Government and Europe.................................................................................... 110 European Colonial Development: Britain and Europe.................................................. 118 Colonial Development and the Marshall Plan.................................................................. 120 European Colonial Development and the OEEC .............................................................. 123 European Colonial Development: the British Perspective .......................................... 132 The OEEC and the Colonial Territories............................................................................... 136 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................. 137 Chapter Four: Anglo-American Africa: A transatlantic approach to colonial development, 1947-51....................................................................................................140 Defend and Attack ..................................................................................................................... 141 A Hand Stretched Across the Water .................................................................................... 146 The Marshall Plan and Empire.............................................................................................. 151 Colonial Development and the ECA ..................................................................................... 154 5 Liberia: Home of Glorious Liberty?...................................................................................... 163 Point Four: The Dawn of American Aid.............................................................................. 168 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................. 176 Chapter Five: Tropical Allsorts: Colonial Development in Africa, 1947-51..178 Why did Africa need Economic Development?................................................................ 179 A Case Study in Failed Economic Development............................................................... 181 Economic Development: Beyond Groundnuts................................................................. 186 Colonial Development: Infrastructure ............................................................................... 188 Colonial Development: Communicating to the Colonies .............................................. 191 Colonial Development: Broadcasting and the BBC......................................................... 193 Colonial Development: Social Welfare ............................................................................... 200 Colonial Development: In Sickness and in Health .......................................................... 202 Colonial Development: Mothers and Babies ...................................................................
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