1. 'A Vulnerable Point in the Sterling Area': Kuwait in the 1950s.
- Author
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Smith, Simon C.
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic relations , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *PETROLEUM industry - Abstract
The extraordinary expansion in Kuwait's oil revenues in the 1950s presented Britain with a formidable challenge. Britain's relative indifference to Kuwait before 1939 had allowed the Shaikhdom to develop a strong sense of independence, especially in the conduct of internal affairs. Local autonomy, however, conflicted with Britain's determination to manage the economy of Kuwait in a manner which would bring maximum benefit to the sterling area, while minimising the potential damage which Kuwait's sudden acquisition of oil wealth could inflict on sterling. Britain's support for Kuwaiti independence from the late 1950s did not signify a decline in the value which Britain placed on the sterling area in general, or on Kuwait in particular. Instead, it reflected a belief that an independent Kuwait represented the best means of preserving British economic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2003
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