GREAT BRITAIN MEDITERRANEAN AXIS: STAGES OF FORMATION AND ROLE IN THE COLONIAL SYSTEM

Stanislav Kovalskyi,

Ph.D. (History), Associate Professor,

K.D. Ushinsky South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University, Odesa, Ukraine

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2524-048X.2024.29.9

 

Abstract.

The purpose of the paper is a comprehensive analysis of Great Britain’s colonial policy in the Mediterranean. The stages of the Mediterranean axis formation were studied also. The author shows Great Britain’s Mediterranean policy background from its origins to the mid-twentieth century. Focused on the integration of Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus and the Suez Canal into the British colonial system. The historical context of these territories’ entry into a single geopolitical structure that guaranteed Britain the security of routes from the metropolis to India was reflected in the paper. The strategic value of these Mediterranean axis elements was analyzed and the impact on the world system of colonialism as a single geostrategic complex was proved.

The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the author for the first time studied the Mediterranean policy of Great Britain as a purposeful action aimed at forming a single complex that provided infrastructure for transit routes between Europe and Asia. The article provides the author’s interpretation of the phenomenon of the Mediterranean axis and its development timeline.

The author concludes that the Mediterranean axis played an important role in the colonial policy of Great Britain and forced it to make efforts to preserve this structure. There are several stages of the Mediterranean axis`s evolutionary path associated with a particular period of the British Empire`s history. The initial stage was marked by the understanding of the Mediterranean Sea’s importance in terms of its strategic and economic interests. This was manifested in Britain’s participation in the European wars of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The key event of this stage was the conquest and retention of Gibraltar. In the subsequent period, the United Kingdom actively built an ‘axis’ that included different territories in the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar to the Suez Canal. From the 1870s to 1945, Great Britain actively exploited this route, expanding and improving its infrastructure. Between 1945 and 1960, the Mediterranean axis collapsed amid the general process of decolonization. At the present stage, we can observe the relic state of the former route, where Great Britain uses only Gibraltar and two Cyprus naval bases for its strategic purposes. The subject of the Mediterranean axis has perspectives for further research, as it allows for a comprehensive analysis of the problems of international relations in the Mediterranean region and Great Britain’s colonial policy.

Key words: Colonial policy of Great Britain, the Mediterranean Sea of the 18th – 20th  centuries, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, the Mediterranean axis.

 

Submitted 23.10.2024

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