1947 CE–1974 CE
The sterling area and its guarantees prolong an imperial financial network
British Empire · Colonization & sovereignty · Companies, trade & extraction · Resistance & colonized agency · Self-government & Commonwealth · Decolonization & independence
After the Second World War, the sterling area grouped territories and states that held reserves in pounds and applied exchange controls coordinated around London. The 1947 convertibility crisis, devaluations and the 1968 guarantee agreements show that constitutional independence did not immediately end monetary dependence or the Bank of England’s centrality. The official archive records renewals and short extensions until the guarantees ended in December 1974; this does not imply that every exchange control ended at that point
Precision, calendar, and review
- Start
- year · no uncertainty qualifier in this record
- End
- year · no uncertainty qualifier in this record
- Calendar and convention
- Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
- Year zero
- The scale goes from 1 BCE to 1 CE without year zero. Changing era names changes labels only.
- Documentary review
- Date not recorded
Reading the date: duration of a process.
Sources
- 1. www.bankofengland.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Not identified in metadata; document review pending
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
The correspondence between this reference and individual claims has not yet been itemized.
- 2. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Pending verification: the source could not be accessed
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
The correspondence between this reference and individual claims has not yet been itemized.
- 3. www.bankofengland.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Not identified in metadata; document review pending
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
The correspondence between this reference and individual claims has not yet been itemized.
This record is an editorial synthesis. Consult the sources to check claims and their limits. Chronological relationships alone do not establish causation.