The End of Empires

Decolonisation is the process by which colonies become independent of the colonizing country, marking the undoing of colonialism. The period after World War II saw an unstoppable wave of decolonisation that led to the emergence of dozens of new nations in Asia and Africa, fundamentally reshaping the world map and the global balance of power.

Factors Fueling Decolonisation

Several powerful factors converged to fuel this global movement: 1. **Weakening of Colonial Powers:** The war severely weakened the main colonial powers, Britain and France, both economically and militarily. They were heavily in debt and lacked the resources and political will to maintain their vast, restive empires. 2. **Shattered Myth of Invincibility:** The myth of European invincibility was shattered by Japan's early and swift victories in Southeast Asia, where they defeated the British, French, and Dutch. This proved that European powers were not unbeatable. 3. **Rise of Nationalism:** Strong, organized nationalist movements had grown within the colonies. Leaders like Gandhi and Nehru in India, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and Sukarno in Indonesia had mobilized their populations and were demanding independence. 4. **Pressure from New Superpowers:** The two new superpowers that emerged from the war, the United States and the Soviet Union, were ideologically opposed to the old European colonial empires. For their own strategic reasons during the Cold War, they both supported the end of colonialism to gain influence with the newly independent nations. 5. **The Atlantic Charter and UN:** The ideals of freedom and self-determination, championed by the Allies in documents like the Atlantic Charter and enshrined in the charter of the newly formed United Nations, were hard to deny to the very colonies that had helped them win the war.

Decolonisation in Asia

In Asia, the process was swift but often violent. India's independence in 1947, though marred by the violence of Partition, created a domino effect. Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) gained independence from Britain in 1948. In Indonesia, nationalists led by Sukarno declared independence in 1945 right after the Japanese surrender. This led to a bitter four-year war of independence against the Dutch, who tried to reclaim their colony. The French fought a long and brutal war in Indochina (1946-1954) to retain their colony but were ultimately defeated by the Viet Minh forces led by Ho Chi Minh at the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu. This led to the creation of North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

The Liberation of Africa

In Africa, the path to independence varied. The process began in North Africa with Libya's independence in 1951, followed by Sudan (1956), Tunisia (1956), and Morocco (1956). The Algerian War (1954-1962) was another exceptionally bloody conflict for independence from France, which considered Algeria an integral part of its nation.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) became the first country to gain independence in 1957, under the charismatic leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. Ghana's independence sparked a firestorm of independence movements across the continent. The year 1960 is famously known as the "Year of Africa," as 17 African nations gained independence, mostly from France. The process continued through the 1960s. However, in southern Africa, settler-dominated regimes in Rhodesia and South Africa, and the stubborn Portuguese empire, held on for longer. The Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique only gained independence after a revolution in Portugal itself in 1974.

The Legacy of Decolonisation

Independence did not always lead to stability or prosperity. The arbitrary borders drawn by colonizers often grouped rival ethnic groups together or split communities, leading to tragic civil wars (e.g., Nigeria, Rwanda) and political instability. Many newly independent nations remained economically dependent on their former colonizers through trade and investment, a situation sometimes referred to as "neocolonialism." The legacy of colonialism—in its political structures, economic dependencies, and cultural identities—continues to shape the realities of many countries in the post-colonial world.