Part 3
The Road Towards Independence
Decolonization in Africa and
Asia after World War II
First Cracks in the Empire
• 1920-1930 after WWI
– Colonized peoples participate
in war effort, expect
recognition for their sacrifices
• Nationalist movements gain ground
Population becomes pro-independent
Politically more structured
Most active in India, Indochina, North Africa, Syria and
Lebanon
Favorable Context
• WWII
– 1941 – Atlantic Charter written by Roosevelt and
Churchill – affirming all nations the right to self
determination
– By the end of WWII, colonialism seemed to contradict
the spirit of the Allies fight against Nazi Germany and
Fascist Italy
– Over 200,000 Africans had fought in Europe and Asia
for the Allies’ freedom and democracy – most noticed
the contradiction
– Japanese anti-European propaganda during the war
• Surge of anti-colonial nationalism after 1945.
Leaders used lessons in mass politicization and
mass mobilization of 1920’s and 1930’s.
• New International Context
– Superpowers (US & USSR) denounced colonialism
– The U.N. supported decolonization
• In 1960 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution
1514 that supported the end of colonization
• 1961 Decolonization committee created
– 1955 Bandung Conference – attended by Third
World nations collectively denounce colonization
29 independent
countries were
present,
representing over
half the world's
population
British Decolonization
• Progressive and negotiated independence
– Only few isolated cases of violence (e.g. Mau Mau
Uprising in Kenya)
• 1931, Britain: Statute of Westminster
– converted the British Empire into the British
Commonwealth
– allowed varying degrees of autonomy
Decolonization à la française
• Brazzaville Conference (1944) de Gaulle supports
reform policy but rejects idea of independence
and autonomy
– France seeks to maintain her Empire, way to regain
lost glory after WWII
– Though limited, the French colonies were given
representation in French parliament in the 4th French
Republic in 1947
– Despite advantages, most nationalists still sought
independence
– Violent reaction to Algerian riots in May 1945 and
Madagascar in 1947
– 1958 French position evolves - de Gaulle recognizes
necessity of decolonization
Colonial Wars
• Indochina
– 1946 France enters a war
against the nationalists
– Becomes part of the
Cold War struggle
• U.S. gives financial
support to France
• USSR and China give
military aid to the
Vietminh
French Defeat & Withdrawal
– May 7, 1954, Battle of Dien Bien Phu
• French defeated and pull out
• In July 1954 Geneva Accords recognize independence
of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
India
Colonization occurs long before Africa, therefore
decolonization begins earlier
¾ Hindu
¼ Muslim
Colonial Background of India
• British East India Company had
trading rights during Mughal Empire
• Mughal Empire collapsed in 1757,
BEIC took control with Sepoy force
• Sepoy Mutiny (Great Rebellion) in
1857 - warning to British
government
• Queen Victoria’s government took
direct control of the Raj in 1857
Sepoy Mutiny
1857
British India
• Upper class Indian bureaucracy given some local
power – indirect rule (but British made decisions
and passed laws, not Indians)
• Began to become a louder voice for self-rule
• Indian National Congress Party
– Formed in 1885 with British blessing
– Forum through which views of educated Indians could be
made aware to the British government
– Members become alarmed at growing racism of Brits to
Indians, realization of shared grievances, and growth of
common Indian identity.
• New identity in some ways created by British
presence
1st Indian National Congress 1885
Mohandas Gandhi
•
•
•
•
•
Indian middle class background
Appealed to Western-educated and the masses
Sollicitor trained in London
Head of National Indian Party from 1920
Non-violent protest based on civil
disobedience
–
–
–
–
–
–
Boycotts elections
Boycotts British products, schools, courts
Refuses to pay taxes
Organizes strikes
Organizes mass demonstrations
Supports Satyagraha or
truth force/soul force
Video: Gandhi’s Non-Violent Speech
Gandhi and Salt March 1930
Video extract: Gandhi & Civil Disobedience
Steps to India’s Independence pre WWII
• London signs the India Act 1935
– Gives form of political autonomy
• 1942 Congress Party launches “Quit India”
campaign
– Leaders arrested
– Massive violence erupts
Steps to India’s Independence post WWII
• Postwar period, negotiations resume
– UK accepts principle of independence
– Wants guarantees that country will remain unified and
minority (Muslims) rights protected
• Bloodbath between Hindus and Muslims
– 1946 Great Killing of Calcutta
• British grant full independence
1947 with partition
– Territory divided into 2 nations: India
and Pakistan
– Extreme violence between
communities (300 – 500 thousand
deaths, 10-15 million people migrate
• Gandhi assasinated by Hindu
extremist in 1948
Great
partition of
India and
Pakistan 1947
Video: India Pakistan
Partition BBC Special
0 – 1’50
Jawharlal Nehru
• 1929 becomes president of Congress Party
• Fights for total Indian independence
• Becomes Prime Minister of India until his
death in 1964
Video: Partition of India
Video: BBC video on India Pakistan Partition 1’50 – 11’43
Summarize the 2 points of view (hindus vs. Muslims)
Nation-Building in Africa
• Most of African
Independence
would be achieved
well after WWII,
but the
movements
themselves began
during the interwar period
Decolonization in Africa after World
War II
Decolonization in Africa after
World War II
Pan-Africanism
• In response to war-time promises made to Africans in
exchange for their military service which never materialized
• to support the cause of African unity against foreign presence
– Marcus Garvey
– W.E.B. Dubois
– Negritude Literary Movement
• In 1945, the 5th Pan African Congress met and discussed the
prospect of independence – attending were a number of
leaders who would eventually lead their nations to
independence
Decolonization in Africa
First wave of 1950-1960
• French protectorates
– in North Africa Negotiated Independence
• 1956 Morocco and Tunisia independent in
• Algeria, completely different story
– Sub-Saharan Africa
• 1956 France concedes beginning of autonomy
• 1958 Referendum (independence or community? )
• 1959-1960 Colonies gain independence
UK
• in West Africa UK accepts decolonization
– West Africans had adopted many elements of
western civilization
– Early ties allowed more opportunities for
education and modernization
– Nationalists in West Africa drew from their own
history and western influences
– Gold Coast (Ghana) independent in 1957
• In Eastern Africa where large white minority,
Great Britain reluctant to withdraw
– Kenya, Mau Mau rebellion put down 1952
Incomplete Decolonization: South
Africa and Algeria
• The presence of sizeable European settler
populations complicated the path from colony
to nation.
– Algeria: 1 million Europeans
• French leaders claimed that Algeria was an integral part
of metropolitan France.
• The colons constituted a minority to the 9 million
indigenous Arabs and Berber peoples.
– South Africa: 4 million Europeans
• Minority white rule (Afrikaners) persisted.
Former British colonies in Southern Africa
– European minorities impose domination by
Whites
– 1980 black majority rises to power in South
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
Incomplete Decolonization - South
Africa
• Gained independence from Britain in 1910
– White minority dominated political and economic
institutions
• After winning the elections of 1948, the Afrikanerdominated National Party in South Africa enacted an
extreme form of racial segregation
• laws stripped Africans, Indians, and colored persons
(mixed descent) of their few political rights.
• Schools segregated; country divided into racial
“homelands”
– Educated Africans began
organizing movement to gain
power
– The African National Congress
(ANC) opposed legislation and
tried to reason with
government
– After a peaceful African protest
turned into a riot, (the
Sharpeville massacre of 1960)
• the government instituted strict
measures to formally separate
the races in South Africa through
a system known as apartheid
• Nelson Mandela was sentenced
to life in prison in 1962.
– The West (U.S.) supported South Africa as a
bulwark against the spread of communism in
Africa.
– Economic boycotts organized against South Africa
to put pressure on apartheid regime
– 1991 apartheid disappears in South Africa
– Nelson Mandela elected leader in 1992
Reading Assignment - Homework
• The Unfinished Nation by Alan Brinkley
“Chapter 20 The Imperial Republic”, pp 534-554
• Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
“Chapter 24 The End of the European Empires”, pp.
509-541
• The World Since 1914 by Joe Scott, “Part 8: The End
of Empire” (6 pages) (link to be found on blog)