Anglo-American Relations and the Franco Question: 1945-1955

309 Pages·2009·1.41 MB·English

by  Jill Edwards

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ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS
AND THE FRANCO QUESTION
1945‒1955
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Anglo-American Relations
and the Franco Question
1945‒1955
JILL EDWARDS
CLARENDON PRESS · OXFORD
1999
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Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox26dp
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Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press
Published in the United States
by Oxford University Press Inc., New York
© Jill Edwards 1999
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First published 1999
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press,
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Edwards, Jill.
Anglo–American relations and the Franco question
1945–1955/ Jill Edwards.
p. cm.
1. United States—Foreign relations—Great Britain. 2. Great Britain—Foreign relations—
United States. 3. United States—Foreign relations—Spain. 4. Spain—Foreign relations—
United States. 5. Great Britain—Foreign relations—Spain. 6. Spain—Foreign
relations—Great Britain. 7. United States—Foreign relations—1945‒1989. 8. Spain—
Politics and government—1939‒1975. 9. Franco, Francisco, 1892‒1975. I. Title.
E183.8.G7E36 1998 327.73046'09'045—dc21 98‒7146
ISBN 0‒19‒822871‒6
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Typeset by Jayvee, Trivandrum, India
Printed in Great Britain
on acid-free paper by
Bookcraft Ltd., Midsomer Norton
Nr. Bath, Somerset
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Acknowledgements
Duringthe research and writing of this book I received help from many quar-
ters, and gratefully acknowledge the contribution of colleagues, librarians,
archivists, associates, and friends. I owe particular thanks to Lord Thomas of
Swynnerton for generous access to his own research materials in the early
phases of the book; to the Honourable Georgina Stonor for invaluable archival
and bibliographic advice and support throughout the project; and to Profes-
sor Paul Preston for two years as a teaching fellow in the Institute of Contem-
porary Spanish Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London.
I am grateful to colleagues of the History Department at the University
of Reading and to Fellows of St. Anthony’s College, Oxford for providing
vital academic bases in England. My thanks are due to Dr Anne Deighton
and Professor Geoffrey Warner for reading parts of the manuscript, and to
them and Dr Keith Hamilton for drawing my attention to various sources.
The late Sir John Balfour was generous with his time in discussing his ex-
periences in Spain, as was Lord Healey of Riddlesden in allowing me to
interview him on his time in the international department at Labour Party
Headquarters.
The book is based mainly on primary sources, chiefly from government
archives in Britain and America, and I thank the authorities of the Public
Record Office in Britain, and the National Archives in the United States for
kind permission to quote from those collections. I am particularly indebted
to the celebrated expertise of archivists such as Denis Bilger at the Harry S.
Truman Library, Independence, Missouri, and at the National Archives,
Washington of John Taylor of the Modern Military records, and Stephen
Tilley of the Judicial records. Sally Marks gave splendid advice on the
Diplomatic records and I particularly wish to express my appreciation of
her kindness and generous hospitality. I am indebted to my colleague Dr
Holly Shulman for inspiring conversation, and her warm hospitality on my
many visits to the United States.
I thank the Harry S. Truman Library Institute and the British Academy
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vi Acknowledgements
for funding research in the United States, and colleagues at the American
University in Cairo for their support during the completion of the manu-
script. I am indebted to the splendid team at the University of Reading’s
Computer Centre, who rescued the manuscript from what seemed a near
fatal virus just before the final print out, and to the computer skills of
Jonathan Hill at the American University. I have been most fortunate in the
copy editing expertise of Michael Belson, and in the encouragement and
patience of my editors at Oxford University Press, Tony Morris and Anna
Illingworth.
Despite exemplary assistance from all quarters I could have accom-
plished little during my years abroad without the help of Susan and Alan
Edwards. Their unstinting support, like that of my daughters, Sarah and
Katie, to whom this book is dedicated is beyond thanks. Errors are my
own.
J.E.
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Contents
List of Tables xi
Introduction xiii
Part One: Pariah
Chapter 1 The Scene is Set
Introduction 3
Spain in the Mid-Twentieth-Century International Context 6
Helping Roosevelt Win the Election 9
Allied Victory and Post-War Planning 12
Chapter 2 The End of the War
Churchill’s Role in Roosevelt’s 1944Election Campaign 15
The Anglo-Soviet Treaty 24
Chapter 3 Peace and the New World Order
Spanish Republicans 30
Allied War Propaganda 32
Neutrality and Hispanidad 33
Preparing for the Crimean Conference 35
The War in the East 38
Chapter 4 San Francisco and Potsdam
The San Francisco Conference 40
Truman and Franco 42
Potsdam: The Berlin Conference 44
Labour and British Naval Interests in Spain 47
Labour and Strategic Iberian Bases 50
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viii Contents
Chapter 5 Shades of the Gestapo
Franco Presents a Scintilla of Legitimacy 53
Allied Response 57
The United Nations 63
Options 69
Dominion Pressure 71
Chapter 6 The Monarchist Option
Section 1 Shadows of the Civil War 73
The Restoration Option in Post-War Planning 75
The Pretender 77
Franco’s Military Tribunals 82
The Alianza 86
Section 2 Discarding the Monarchist Option 88
The United States Takes the Lead 90
Part Two Spain and the Question of Aid
Chapter 7 Aid and Democracy
Britain and the Question of Economic Sanctions 103
The Marshall Plan—Support to ‘Free Nations’ 111
The O’Konski Amendment 113
Franco’s Response 119
Spain’s Improving Commercial Relations 120
Chapter 8 The Senate, Spain, and the North Atlantic Treaty
The Domestic Context 126
Spain—A Moral Dilemma 131
British and French Reassessment of Spanish Policies 134
Chapter 9 Trouble at the United Nations
Trouble at the United Nations 137
Soviet Propaganda 139
Abstention 143
Acheson and the Senate 147
Chapter 10 The Cotton Lobby and the Spanish Loan
Post-War Overproduction 152
The United States Cotton Industry 158
The Spanish Textile Industry 160
The Lobby and the Loan 165
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Contents ix
The Fight for an Official Spanish Loan 168
The Appointment of the United States Ambassador 172
Chapter 11 Battle Lines
Rights of Association vs. Trade and Commerce 175
The Unions 180
The International Labour Connection 182
Part Three Western Security and Spain
Chapter 12 The European Context
The Mediterranean Gateway 193
The Rock of Gibraltar 195
Portugal 201
Iberian Uranium: Prospecting in Spain 204
British Strategy 212
Chapter 13 The ‘Tail of the Kite’
American Opinion and Spain 218
Post-War Planning: Plans and Factions; Spain and ‘Drumbeat’ 219
Nuclear and Other Bases 224
NSC Policy Updated 225
The USA Goes Ahead 229
Chapter 14 The Long Haul to the Accords
Bases and the Accords 234
Britain and Mediterranean Defence 235
The British Armament Industry and Spain 237
Chapter 15 The Accords and British Reaction
United States Aid to Spain 249
Irresolution: the British Response 250
The Conservative Government 251
Slow Progress 252
The Base Agreements and their Aftermath 255
Britain and the Base Agreements 259
Conclusion 263
Bibliography 267
Index 277
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