World History

The end of world war ushered in the world which was filled with ideas like self-determination, national sovereignty and equality, and cooperation in international relations. Thus the efforts to maintain colonial rule were no longer popular with the people even of the imperialist countries. These factors led to the breakup of Empires. Decolonization was one of the most significant events in modern world history. At the dawn of the twentieth century, most of the globe was ruled from Europe. By 1963, the overseas empires had seemingly evaporated and by 1975 the process of decolonisation was almost complete.

Factors That Led To Decolonization

1. Nationalistic movements in the colonies over the years created an anti-imperialistic and strong nationalistic fervour among the masses. INC of India, Vietnamese nationalists, etc waged huge movements to get rid of foreign powers.
2. However, it was only after the world war 2 the real impetus for decolonization started. Though these national movements created pressure on imperial powers for decades, the war weakened the colonial powers’ resolve to face the resistance and also their economy and military.
3. The war also created more awareness among Africans and Asian people. Soldiers recruited in the armies and went abroad to fight the war were appalled by the stark contrast between conditions in their homeland and European nations.
4. Another important development especially in Africa which hastened the decolonization process was the idea of Pan-Africanism. This thought process not only provided the impetus to decolonization but also aspired for united Africa without artificial frontiers set up by European powers.
5. There are several outside pressures too which contributed to decolonisation. The USA and USSR, the two superpowers of the postwar world, were against imperialism. FDR made it clear that the Atlantic charter is applied to all people, not just those taken over by Germany. Another factor that compelled the US to demand decolonization was to prevent the spread of communism in colonies mainly in Asia.
6. The UNO too came out with many declarations denouncing imperialism. UNO, US and USSR stood against colonialism and encouraged nationalists all over the world to intensify their campaign.

Break Up Of Empires Due To Decolonization Break Down Of Empires In Asia

1. In the late 1940s, there was a wave of decolonization in Asia and the Middle East. French forces left Syria and Lebanon in 1946. The Philippines was given independence from the USA in 1946.
2. The Dutch tried to fight nationalists in the Dutch East Indies but by 1948 the Dutch admitted defeat and granted independence to a new state known as Indonesia.
3. The French tried to keep their old colonies in Indo-China, which included the modern countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Local communists fought a war against the French. The Vietnamese communists defeated French forces in 1954 and won control of northern Vietnam.
4. Perhaps the biggest event in the saga of decolonization was the independence of India. India was the biggest colonized state at this point of time and the crown jewel of the British Empire. After a series of hard-fought national movements led by Gandhiji and INC, the British finally granted Independence to India in 1947. With these two new nations of India and Pakistan came into existence.

Break Down Of Empires In Africa And Caribbean Countries

1.Independence came a little later for African and Caribbean countries. Most French and British colonies were given independence in the early 1960s. The end of European colonialism was complicated in those countries where a large number of European people had settled permanently. 2.The government of Portugal was extremely reluctant to grant independence to its African colonies of Angola and Mozambique. There was fierce fighting between nationalists and the Portuguese before independence was granted in 1975. 3.France has a vast empire in Africa which was decolonized in stages.

1. A bitter war was fought in Algeria from 1954 to 1962 between French forces and Algerian nationalists before Algeria became independent in 1962. b.
2. France granted Independence to Tunisia in 1956 after long drawn Guerrilla warfare.
3. The situation in Morocco, which got independence in 1956 was similar to Tunisia, where king Mohammed V himself led the opposition to French rule along with trade unions playing an important role.
4. The rest of the French colonies in West and Equatorial Africa and Cameroon and Togo were granted independence in stages starting from self-rule in 1958 to complete independence in 1960.

4.The Belgian African empire in Cango and Ruanda-Urundi was also broken up after a series of riots and protests. Congo was granted ill-timed independence in 1960, whereas Ruanda-urundi was divided into two countries of Rwanda and Burundi and given independence in 1962. 5.Another major European power which had a huge empire in Africa was the British. British colonies in Africa can be divided into three groupings I,e colonies of West Africa, colonies of East Africa and Colonies of central Africa. The pattern that followed in the decolonization of all these colonies were mostly similar. Violent protests, demonstrations, and strikes. 6.The British started the decolonization process with the gold coast which became Ghana after independence in 1957. This was followed by independence for many African nations like Nigeria in 1960, Tanzania in 1964, Uganda in 1962, Kenya in 1963 and finally Zimbabwe in 1980. The process of decolonization which started after the war gained momentum in the 1950s and 60s, which saw the emergence of many newly independent nations mainly in Africa. However, this process was not done in a planned manner and with good intentions. The colonial powers wanted to give independence as they failed to confront the rising resistance to their rule. But at the same time, they also wanted to retain their influence in their former colonies. Thus the deliberate ill-timed decolonization resulted in numerous civil wars and bloodshed. But at the same time decolonization also ended the subordination of Asian and African nations to European powers and ushered in an era of progress, development in the newly independent colonies.