Malcolm MacDonald : bringing an end to empire / Clyde Sanger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sanger, Clyde.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

MacDonald, Malcolm, 1901-1981.

MacDonald, Malcolm.

Colonial administrators--Great Britain--Biography.

Colonial administrators.

Diplomats--Great Britain--Biography.

Diplomats.

Decolonization.

Great Britain--Colonies--Administration--History--20th century.

Great Britain.

Scotland--Biography.

Scotland.

Physical Description:

xxi, 498 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Buffalo : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1995.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

As colonial secretary MacDonald moved British colonial policy from a laissez-faire attitude to a developmental view; he was responsible for creating the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund, the first aid program. His last Cabinet post was as health minister during the London blitz, where he worked with Winston Churchill. Sent to Canada as British high commissioner, MacDonald became Mackenzie King's confidant during the conscription crisis, the Gouzenko spy revelations, and the American "occupation" during the building of the Alaska Highway. His greatest work was done during his fourteen years in Asia, most notably in preparing Malaya's different racial groups for independence and mending fences between India and Britain after the Suez invasion of 1956. MacDonald's skill as a negotiator came from a combination of hard work, patience, and a great sense of fun and humanity. Walking on his hands around Nehru, swapping bird-watching tales with de Valera, discussing Chinese ceramics with Marshal Chen Yi, or playing nursery games with Jomo Kenyatta and the Iban head-hunter family who adopted him, he charmed his way to a remarkable series of diplomatic successes.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Prologue

Out of Africa, Amiably, December 1963

Early Years

The Family in Lossiemouth

Margaret’s Short, Crowded Life, 1870–1912

Schooldays at Bedales, 1912–20

Oxford Years, 1920–24

Three Travelling Tongues, 1924–25

Authors and Antilopes, 1925–29

Parliamentary Years

Bassetlaw and Five Elections, 1923–35

Learning under Ramsay, 1929–35

Palestine: Under Weizmann’s Charm, 1922–36

Ross and Cromarty – and the Churchills, 1936

Bringing Peace to Ireland, 1935–38

The Abdication and Dominion Crises, 1936–38

Bereavement and Appeasement, 1937–38

Moyne, Hailey, and a New View on Colonies, 1935–40

Palestine: The Split over Partition, 1938–40

In Search of Beauty

London under Attack

The Submarine War and Ireland, 1940–41

Canada

Ottawa, 1941

Mackenzie King and the Conscription Crises, 1942–44

Balancing the Triangle, 1941–43

Twists over “Tube Alloys,” 1942–46

Birds and Other Pursuits, 1941–45

Love on the Ski Slopes, 1946

Asia

Malaya: Salvaging a Federation, 1946–48

Old Attitudes and Closed Clubs, 1947–54

The Malayan Emergency, 1948–53

Building Trust between Communities, 1948–51

Fast Friends

Borneo People, 1946–56

Brunei and Singapore, 1946–55

The Colombo Plan and Vietnam, 1948–54

Siam, Sihanouk, Sukarno, and Seminars, 1948–55

India: Picking Up the Pieces after Suez, 1955–60

Leading Laos to Neutrality, 1961–62

Africa and Later Years

Kenya: Preparing for Uhuru, 1963–64

Rhodesia, South Africa, and Nigeria, 1965–74

Bridges to China, 1962–75

Years of “Retirement,” 1969–81

An Assessment: Man and Diplomat

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85746-0

9786612857461

0-7735-6539-6

OCLC:

732601190