Decolonisation

1 Decolonisation

2 Decolonisation in Asia

3 Decolonisation in Africa

4 The Third World, underdevelopment and neocolonialism

 1. Decolonisation
Decolonisation was the historical process
through which the Asian and African
colonies of European empires became
independent. This occurred during the
Cold War, between 1947 and 1975, and
marked the beginning of the Third World.

Most of the new states achieved

political freedom but remained
economically dependent on their
former rulers.

Causes
There was increasing awareness among the European empires that colonial rule couldn’t be maintained. After the
Second World War, these countries—mainly the United Kingdom (UK) and France—also lacked the economic and
military resources to control their empires.
There was also international pressure to end colonialism from:
• the League of Nations and later the UN, as well as the Protestant and Catholic Churches.
• the socialist and communist parties in various countries.
• the international colonial peoples’ conferences and the Non-Aligned Movement.
• the superpowers, who wanted to attract new states to their blocs. To do so, they provided technological, political
and military support. The US defended peoples’ right to self-determination, while the USSR defended the need for
revolution in the states controlled by the European colonial empires.
2. Decolonisation in Asia
The decolonisation of Asia was marked by the weakened economies of the colonial powers (the UK and France)
and the effect of the Japanese invasion in the south-east of the continent. This ended the myth of European
military superiority and led to the formation of opposing forces in the colonies.

India
In 1885 the Congress party was founded, followed by the Muslim League in 1906.
India’s involvement in the First World War as part of the British Empire revived the
nationalist movement.
In 1915, the key figure in the independence process, Mahatma Gandhi, returned
to India to spread his political ideas after studying law in the UK and living in
South Africa for 20 years.
In 1918, Gandhi led a farmer’s protest against British agricultural policies. Gandhi’s
arrest caused mass demonstrations, forcing the British to release him and grant the
farmers concessions.
After the Amritsar Massacre and the Rowlatt Act, the Congress Party, led by Gandhi,
began to focus on achieving independence.
Gandhi rejected violence and armed conflict and favoured passive resistance, civil
disobedience, peaceful demonstrations and hunger strikes. In 1930, he led the Salt March.
In 1946, due to its lack of military and economic resources, the UK began negotiations for India’s independence, but
the Congress Party and the Muslim League failed to agree on partition.
In 1947, Viceroy Mountbatten declared India’s independence, and it was divided into two countries: India for the
Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. East Pakistan became the country of Bangladesh in 1971.
The extreme right-wing Hindu nationalists considered Gandhi a traitor and he was assassinated by terrorists
on 30 January 1948.
 2. Decolonisation in Asia
South-East Asia
The British colonies of Ceylon and Burma gained independence in 1948. Malaysia became independent a bit later,
due to its great strategic and economic value. It was occupied by Japan in 1942, and after the Second World War,
when the UK regained its control, until it gained independence in 1963, followed by Singapore, in 1965.
In French Indochina, the Viet Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945. France tried to reclaim
it but was defeated in 1954. The country was divided into two. North fought south in the Vietnam War until 1975.
In Dutch Indonesia, Sukarno declared independence in 1945. After four years of armed and diplomatic conflict,
the Netherlands recognised its independence in 1949.
The Middle East
After the First World War, the League of Nations assigned France and the United
Kingdom mandates for parts of the former Ottoman Empire.
• The British Mandate of Mesopotamia became the state of Iraq in 1932.
• The British Mandate of Palestine ended after the Second World War. Jordan
became independent in 1946. In the western region, the UN recommended the
creation of two states, Palestine and Israel, to reduce tensions. The Muslims
were the ethnic majority. In 1948, the Jews declared the State of Israel, which
started a conflict with the Arabs. Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq
invaded the region, marking the start of the first Arab-Israeli war.
• The French Mandate of Syria became Lebanon (1943) and Syria (1946).
In Iran, the US-supported Pahlavi dynasty ruled from 1925 to 1979, when
Ayatollah Khomeini established an Islamic dictatorship.
The Arabian Peninsula was ruled by authoritarian theocratic monarchies with huge oil reserves.
Egypt gained independence in 1952. Egyptian President Nasser joined the Non-Aligned movement in 1954.
 3. Decolonisation in Africa
Muslim North Africa
Libya achieved independence in 1951. In Algeria, conflicts between the French colonists, the pieds-noirs, and native
Algerians led to the formation of the National Liberation Form (NLF). The War of Independence began in 1954, and
lasted until 1962, when independence was finally granted.
Tunisia became independent from France in 1956, following violent confrontations.
Morocco achieved its independence in 1956 thanks to the support for the king. It was divided into French and
Spanish protectorates and passive nationalist resistance developed into terrorist attacks.

Sub-Saharan Africa
• British decolonisation began with Ghana, followed by Nigeria,
Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. South Africa gained independence in
1961 and Apartheid was imposed. Northern Rhodesia and Malawi
followed. In 1980 Southern Rhodesia became independent
Zimbabwe.
• French decolonisation was accelerated by nationalist movements and
its colonies had gained independence by 1960.
• Belgian decolonisation was rapid, beginning with the Congo in 1960,
followed by Rwanda and Burundi.
• Portuguese decolonisation was conflictive. The dictator Salazar’s
resistance caused the nationalists to form guerrilla groups in Angola
and Mozambique. After the Carnation Revolution, Portugal’s colonies
gained independence.
• Equatorial Guinea gained independence from Spain in 1968.
 3. Decolonisation in Africa The ethnic distribution of the Union
of South Africa: 67% black and 21%
South Africa and Apartheid white (British or Dutch origin,
In the mid-17th century, the Netherlands occupied South Africa. When Afrikaners), coloured (mixed-race)
gold and diamonds were discovered, the UK conquered the region and people (9%), and Asians (3%).
established colonies, which became the Union of South Africa in 1910.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the whites limited the political
representation of the black population. In 1947, the Afrikaners won the elections
and defeated the British political party. The new government began apartheid.
This was a system of racial segregation of the black population and included a
series of racist laws.
The African National Congress (Nelson Mandela’s party) began non-violent
protests and, in 1960, the police shot demonstrators in Sharpeville. In 1961, the
Afrikaner government responded to the criticism by calling a referendum for
independence, which resulted in the UK recognizing the Republic of South Africa.
In 1964 Mandela was imprisoned for treason. In 1989 the President de Klerk
reversed racist legislation and released Mandela. In 1992, after a referendum,
Apartheid finally ended. In 1994 the African National Congress won the election
and Mandela became president.
Africa after independence
• The artificial borders that had been established during colonial partition didn’t respect cultural and ethnic divisions,
which caused instability.
• The new economies lacked structure and there were few basic services. Developed countries maintained the
exploitative colonial system.
• Most states tried to establish democratic regimes, but there was no political culture, resulting in political instability.
Most African states suffered from underdevelopment.
4. The Third World, underdevelopment and neocolonialism
The Non-Aligned movement
In 1955, 29 Asian and African countries participated in the Bandung Conference. The Third World countries then met
in 1961 at the Belgrade Conference. They condemned neo-colonialism and called for an economic system that would
allow all countries to grow and progress. They founded the Non-Aligned Movement, where member states agreed
to remain neutral with respect to the two blocs’ policies.

When the communist bloc collapsed, the term ‘Third

World’ lost its original meaning and began to be used to
refer to underdeveloped countries. These new states have
had to face:
• Social problems (high population growth and poverty).
• Economic problems (lack of infrastructure and skilled
workers, foreign control of industries, economic
dependence on colonial rulers).
• Political problems (authoritarian regimes, corruption).
Neocolonialism
Neocolonialism was a new type of colonialism, in which the former imperial powers continued to control the
decolonised countries through economic means.
The newly sovereign countries became economically dependent on the former imperial powers. In many cases, the
former colonisers also created political and military dependence because they intervened in the new states.
This type of control over the former colonies continues today.