Progressive Historians: History For Our Future: "Most people think that all you need to maintain an empire is guns, bombs, and soldiers. They are wrong.
To maintain an empire what you need above all else is money. Lots and lots of money. A victorious army in the field is useless without the wealth behind it.
A good example of this is the Suez Crisis of 1956, which marked the end to the British Empire.
America is following in Britain's footsteps.
Britain's attempt to strong-arm Egypt had indirectly caused a nationalist backlash and Gamal Abdul Nasser's rise to power. When Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, Israel, France, and Britain invaded and quickly routed the Egyptian army.
But they had forgotten to do one thing - clear it with America.
Eisenhower was afraid the middle east would embrace the Soviet Union. But what could America do to stop it from the other side of the world? Plenty, as it turned out.
When the U.S. tried to pass a resolution through the U.N. Security Council that condemned the invasion, France and Britain vetoed it. So Ike took a different tactic.
Eisenhower threatened to sell the British Pounds that were sitting in America's currency reserves. What's more, he blocked attempts by Britain to withdraw their funds from the IMF.
The markets reacted by dumping Pounds as fast as they could. Suddenly Britain had a full-scale currency crisis. Chancellor of the Exchequer Maurice Harold Macmillan described it as a "catastrophe affecting not merely the British cost of living but also all our external economic relations."
Within two weeks the British were withdrawing troops from Egypt. But that wasn't enough.
Britain had to cave into America so completely that relations with America didn't return to normal until Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden agreed to step down. In other words, we caused a regime change in our allie's government without even threatening to fire a single shot. Britain had been humbled."
To maintain an empire what you need above all else is money. Lots and lots of money. A victorious army in the field is useless without the wealth behind it.
A good example of this is the Suez Crisis of 1956, which marked the end to the British Empire.
America is following in Britain's footsteps.
Britain's attempt to strong-arm Egypt had indirectly caused a nationalist backlash and Gamal Abdul Nasser's rise to power. When Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, Israel, France, and Britain invaded and quickly routed the Egyptian army.
But they had forgotten to do one thing - clear it with America.
Eisenhower was afraid the middle east would embrace the Soviet Union. But what could America do to stop it from the other side of the world? Plenty, as it turned out.
When the U.S. tried to pass a resolution through the U.N. Security Council that condemned the invasion, France and Britain vetoed it. So Ike took a different tactic.
Eisenhower threatened to sell the British Pounds that were sitting in America's currency reserves. What's more, he blocked attempts by Britain to withdraw their funds from the IMF.
The markets reacted by dumping Pounds as fast as they could. Suddenly Britain had a full-scale currency crisis. Chancellor of the Exchequer Maurice Harold Macmillan described it as a "catastrophe affecting not merely the British cost of living but also all our external economic relations."
Within two weeks the British were withdrawing troops from Egypt. But that wasn't enough.
Britain had to cave into America so completely that relations with America didn't return to normal until Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden agreed to step down. In other words, we caused a regime change in our allie's government without even threatening to fire a single shot. Britain had been humbled."
Comments