Challenges to British Imperial Hegemony in the Mediterranean 1919-1940 Iliya John Marovich-Old BA(Hons 1st Class), LLBLP(Hons) Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of History and International Relations Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences Flinders University March 2017 Abstract This thesis is about challenge and control, a constitutive dynamic which helped shape Britain’s inter- war Mediterranean Empire. The challenge came in the form of a significant external threat from Italy and the constant high level of internal dissent within the colonies. This study questions how British governments were able to deal with these challenges and suggests that this affected their ability make effective policy decisions in response. In the Mediterranean the external pressure and international threat to empire was best represented by Fascist Italy, with imperial ambitions of their own and belief that Britain could fetter their growth and their ambitions. Italian activity in the Mediterranean circumscribed British activity in the region, and exacerbated colonial tensions. In response to Italian aggression Britain consistently pursued a flawed policy of appeasement. In this period the Empire was subject to significant challenge but was not in decline. The British state faced economic constraints and a changing international environment which was less favourable to the maintenance of its Empire but it retained the ability to respond to these threats. This study focuses on the colonies of Malta and Cyprus as examples of colonial dissent and finds that Britain exerted high levels of control, which they attempted to conceal through illusory constitutions and a constant resort to a state of exception. This thesis suggests that the inter-war Mediterranean Empire was under greater pressure than is generally acknowledged and that this explains the tight control it was under and the way it was governed. Although British governments were able to easily combat local unrest in Malta and Cyprus through the temporary use of basic military force, they preferred to use changing constitutional and legal arrangements to keep both of these colonies under their control in the long-term. The self- representation they granted was illusory and the British were able to utilise a ‘state of exception’ at will to maintain their control. The legal fiction of these colonial constitutions had a fading legitimacy as the entire ideological basis of imperialism faced challenge in the inter-war period. The policy was however implemented differently in Malta and Cyprus. While there was rancour and anger in Malta, its strategic importance, and the constant input of funds helped limit the level of dissent and consequently the level of repression. In Cyprus a more robust and martial approach, an authoritarian turn made by the local administration resulted in a divided and stunted polity. The British government maintained imperial hegemony in the Mediterranean through the use of military power and authoritarian rule. The British response to inter-war threats in the Mediterranean provide a salient example of the way in which empires, subject to internal and external pressures respond with violence, and flawed policy solutions. ii Declaration I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. iii Acknowledgements I would like firstly to acknowledge the great debt of gratitude that I owe to my supervisors Associate Professor Andrekos Varnava and Associate Professor Matthew Fitzpatrick. They have been supportive, encouraging, hard-working and patient. I have relied upon their advice and suggestions over the years, and I have always appreciated their considered input. I have been the recipient of a faculty scholarship and travel grants from Flinders University and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity this has afforded me to spend such a significant amount of time engaged in study, research and thought. The valuable assistance of those working at the Flinders University Library and in particular the Document Delivery has been vital to my work. The staff at the British National Archives in Kew were also of great assistance in navigating such a large and imposing collection of documents. I would also like to thank the staff and my fellow students from the History Department at Flinders University. Since my honours year I have engaged with many of them in different roles, and those interactions have always been positive and encouraging. My friends both old and new have been a great support to me over the journey. Friends from outside of university have always patiently enquired about progress and provided me with an outlet, when I wanted to think about anything but my thesis. I have also enjoyed the comradery of my fellow PhD students at Flinders, chief among them my good friend Darryl Burrowes, an encouraging, positive and pro-active presence who has always been up for a good chat. I have had the constant love and support of my parents, John and Aneta who, along with my family, have always been accepting and encouraged me as I embarked on this endeavour. I am so very grateful and feel lucky to have such people behind me. Lastly to my beautiful wife Amy, who has been unwavering in her support and belief in me, even as she completed her own doctorate and brought our daughter Sophie into this world. Without her none of this would have been possible. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ ii Declaration .................................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Theoretical Contexts .............................................................................................................................. 5 Methodology.......................................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 1 - The Mediterranean Empire and those that exerted control over it .............................. 27 Who was in control? – British Politics and the machinery of government ................................. 27 Why was Malta part of the Empire and what role did it play? ....................................................... 37 Colonial Governance in Malta ............................................................................................................ 43 Why was Cyprus part of the Empire and what role did it play? .................................................... 49 Colonial Governance in Cyprus ......................................................................................................... 55 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 58 Chapter 2 - The External Threat to the Mediterranean from Italy – From Ally to Rival .............. 60 Italy’s Existing Empire ......................................................................................................................... 63 The Inter-War Anglo-Italian Relationship ........................................................................................ 65 Post-War Italy and the transition to Fascist government ............................................................... 67 The Corfu Incident ............................................................................................................................... 73 The Stresa Front ................................................................................................................................... 76 Abyssinian Crisis – 1935 ...................................................................................................................... 79 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 96 Chapter 3 – The Italian threat to Britain after the Abyssinian Crisis and Italian Appeasement ... 99 Italian Appeasement after the Abyssinian War .............................................................................. 100 Propaganda .......................................................................................................................................... 105 v Review of Defence Policy ................................................................................................................. 109 The late stage of the inter-war Anglo-Italian relationship ............................................................ 112 The Effect of Italy upon the Anglo-Egyptian relationship .........................................................