This is the first volume of Documents of British Policy Overseas ever to be produced in electronic format, complementing three earlier volumes in the series covering East/West relations between 1968 and 1976. Focusing primarily upon intra-allied relations, this new text also traces the evolution of the transatlantic relationship during Britains first year in the European Community. Drawing upon the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office and other Whitehall Departments, it reproduces on CD-ROM 568 fully-searchable facsimile documents, over fifty of which (mainly from the Brimelow and Douglas-Home papers) are otherwise unavailable to researchers. The documents official correspondence, ministerial briefing notes, Cabinet papers and Joint Intelligence Committee reports cover British reactions to Henry Kissingers attempt to redefine Americas link with Europe through his Year of Europe initiative, the energy crisis and the fourth Arab/Israeli War of October 1973.
They shed new light on some of the more occult aspects of President Nixons diplomacy, and reveal the problems faced by Edward Heaths government in seeking to maintain its close ties with Washington while trying to establish its credentials as a fully committed EC member state.
The hard copy volume accompanying the CD-ROM includes: 1. Preface with Acknowledgements and Guidance on Use of the CD-ROM 2. List of Abbreviations 3. Historical Introduction, Putting in Context the Main Themes of the Volume 4. List of Persons 5. Document Summaries, Providing Very Brief Summaries of Documents Reproduced on the CD-ROM