Britain And The Ruhr Crisis (1920-1923)

This dissertation precisely reconstructs and analyses the cause, process and the formation and development of the British policy in Ruhr crisis from 1920 to 1923. It elaborates the producing, continuance and termination.This study includes five chapters.Chapter One expounds the profound historical background about the occurrence to Ruhr crisis. This part dwells on the occurrence to Ruhr crisis result from the vast economic potential in Ruhr, French anxiety about the safety and the contradiction to reparation between France and Germany.Chapter Two treatises on the coming on of British compromise to France ; On 6 May 1920 because Germany didn' t abide by the obligation to reparation in the Treaty of Versailles and sent armies into Ruhr to suppress the riot, France dispatched armies to occupy the Ruhr irrespective of British objection. Although Britain disapproved of French action, it resorted to compromise policy to France in that they needed to cooperation with each other in Near East.Chapter Three treatises on the continue of British compromise to France ; France brought pressure to bear on Britain by virtue of Turkey problem at the London Conference in February 1921. This made Britain continue to compromise to France, and they sent troops together to occupy the three towns of Ruhr.Chapter Four treatises on the termination of British compromise to France. InJanuary 1923 France and Belgium occupied Ruhr once more just making German failure to implement reparation as a pretext. After occupying Ruhr France wanted to gradually desist German economical lifeblood-coal mine and tried to push Britain out of charcoal markets. Just then the Near East problem had been solved, these two factors urged Britain to abandon the compromise to France in the end, and turn away to contain France.Chapter Five analyses the background of the British foreign policy after the Great War. The dissertation points out that the British policy to France went through the change from compromise to containment. It was the following stipulations that determined the change: the British conventional policy and its international and domestic situations of the day.