ABSTRACT
One o f the best know n themes in the history o f the British empire betw een the wars is the steady m ovem ent o f the white Dom inions towards political independ ence.1 The Balfour R eport o f 1926 gave birth to, and the Statute o f W estminster in 1931 legally enshrined, the concept o f equality o f status between Britain and the major settlement colonies. But in many ways the notion o f equality was no more than a polite fiction. All the white Dominions, save Canada, relied ulti mately upon the pow er o f Britain and her ability to defend them; Canada escaped this dependence only because she was protected by proximity to the U nited States.2 In matters economic, the Dom inions were similarly placed. Between the wars all o f them were highly dependent for their prosperity on trade, despite tariff-aided import substitution during W orld W ar I and in the depression o f the 1930s. Britain remained easily the most im portant trading partner o f the Dom inions throughout the period, the only exception being Canada, whose trade w ith the U nited States was o f great importance (Table 21.1). The importance o f the British market for D om inion exports diminished somewhat in the 1920s as the world struggled back to multilateralism and Britain made slow progress in com parison with her rivals. W ith the exception o f South Africa, Britain’s share increased again, dramatically, in the 1930s w hen depression struck and the O ttawa system was set in place. Similarly, while reliance on British manufactured goods in the Dominions was weakened after the war, especially in Canada, the 1930s saw a modest reversal o f the trend.
