Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was part of the price extracted from England by the Americans for support during the Second World War. It made some high sounding propositions which were inconvenient because they were taken seriously by colonies that wanted to have self government. Then Churchill revoked later. This made matters worse not better.

Atlantic Charter ex Wiki
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The Atlantic Charter established a vision for a post-World War II world, despite the fact that the United States had yet to enter the war. The participants hoped that the Soviet Union would adhere as well, after having been attacked by Nazi Germany in June 1941 in defiance of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

In brief, the eight points were:

  1. No territorial gains were to be sought by the United States or the United Kingdom.

  2. Territorial adjustments must be in accord with the wishes of the peoples concerned.

  3. All peoples had a right to self-determination.

  4. Trade barriers were to be lowered.

  5. There was to be global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare.

  6. Freedom from want and fear.

  7. Freedom of the seas.

  8. Disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common disarmament.

Point Four, with respect to international trade, consciously emphasized that both "victor [and] vanquished" would be given market access "on equal terms." This was a repudiation of the punitive trade relations that were established within Europe post-World War I, exemplified by the Paris Economy Pact.
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Freedom of the seas now means that pirates are allowed to ply their trade rather than a fair trial and being hanged in chains at Execution Dock