- Saw drastic change in wake of international, domestic and colonial upheavals. Despite loss of India, Palestine and Burma in 1947 and 1948, in the 1950s, there was belief that Britain’s future prosperity lay in trade with Empire and Commonwealth rather than Europe à reestablishment of ‘Great Power’ status. This shifted to Europ in the 1960s-70s.
- Colonial administrators took different role. Rapid improvements in agriculture, as well as industrialisation and training. Sir Ralph Furse seen as ‘master of modern civil service’. When retiring in 1948, only 66,000/250,000 employees of Colonial Office were British.
- Colonial administrators also had to be proactive meaning giving less to indigenous leaders, i.e. in Malay and Kenya. As Britain began to force economic change – advancing credit, sending in experts and settlers in a ‘second colonial occupation’, local chieftains cast aside and officials fell back on own monopoly of office.
Creation of legislative assemblies in Gold Coast, Nigeria, Central African Federation, Kenya and Malaya à led to Western educated elite taking up positions and eventual independence.