CW - European Colonies Gain Independence (Lesson)

European Colonies Gain Independence

De-Colonization after WWII

  • The postwar-era saw a total collapse of colonial empires.
  • Between 1947 and 1962, almost every colonial territory gained independence.
  • New nations of Asia and Africa are deeply influenced by Western ideas and achievements.

Causes:

  • Modern nationalism and belief in self-determination and racial equality spread from intellectuals to the masses in virtually every colonial territory after WWI.
  • The decline of European prestige: Japanese victories; destruction of Europe during WWII.
  • After 1945, European powers are more concerned about rebuilding; letting colonies go.

Photograph of Mahatma GandhiIndia played a key role in decolonization and the end of the empire.

  • Indian National Congress: British had no choice but to develop a native political elite that could assist in ruling such a huge country.
  • Exposure of young Indians to Western ideas of nationalism, socialism, and democracy led to demands for independence by the early 20th century.
  • Mohandas K. Gandhi: after WWI, led the independence movement with the principle of passive resistance (civil disobedience).
  • Jawaharlal Nehru led the Congress Party in its push for independence.
  • Clement Attlee and others in the Labour Party back in Britain wished to focus on internal affairs.
  • Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed to supervise the transition of India to independence.
  • Divided India into two nations: India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim).

 

Vietnam

  •  Once the Japanese were removed from power after WWII, the French tried to reassert control of Indochina.
  •  Ho Chi Minh led the independence movement in the north.
  •  1954, they defeated French forces at Dien Bien Phu.
  •  1954, Vietnam was divided into North (communist) and South (pro-Western); civil war resulted.
  •  The U.S. was defeated in an attempt to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam; Vietnam unified in 1975.

 

Arab Nationalism

Arab nationalists loosely united by opposition to colonialism and the migration of Jews to Palestine.

Israel and Palestine

  • Balfour Declaration in 19.17 indicated Britain favored the creation of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine— was opposed by Saudi Arabia & Transjordan
  • Great Britain announced its withdrawal from Palestine in 1948.
  • United Nations voted for the creation of two states, one Arab and one Jewish.
  • Palestinians vowed to fight on until the state of Israel was destroyed or until they established their own independent Palestinian state; this led to several wars and numerous conflicts in the late 20th century.

Egypt

  • The Arab defeat in 1948 by Israel triggered a nationalist revolution in Egypt in 1952.
  • 1956, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, the last symbol and substance of Western power in the Middle East.
  • France, Britain, and Israel attacked Egypt, trying to take back control of the Suez Canal.
  • U.S. and Soviet Union demanded Western withdrawal and the canal remained in Egypt's control.

Photograph - Barricades in AlgeriaAlgerian Crisis (mid-1950s)

  • Algeria's large French population considered Algeria an integral part of France.
  • This feeling led to ensuing war; bitter and atypical of decolonization.
  • General De Gaulle, who had returned to power as part of a movement to keep Algeria French, accepted the principle of Algerian self-determination.
  • 1962, after more than a century of French rule, Algeria became independent and the European population quickly fled.
  • The crisis led to the fall of the Fourth Republic and the beginning of the Fifth Republic in France.

Image: Barricades in Algeria.

 

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Decolonization proceeded much more smoothly than in Northern Africa.
  • British Commonwealth of Nations: beginning in 1957, Britain's colonies achieved independence with little or no bloodshed; entered a very loose association with Britain. Exception: Mao Mao society was a Kenyan group of terrorists/freedom fighters who fought to end English control of Kenya.
  • 1958, De Gaulle offered leaders of French Black Africa the choice of total break with France or immediate independence within a kind of French commonwealth. All but one of the new states chose association with France.

Cultural imperialism, continued.

  • France and Common Market partners saw themselves as continuing their civilizing mission in black Africa.
  • Desired untapped markets for industrial goods, raw materials, outlets for profitable investment, and good temporary jobs for their engineers and teachers.

 

 

Question Mark Icon

 

In your notes, respond to the following prompt.

Study the maps in this link. Links to an external site. Make sure you understand the details of decolonization in the three affected regions: Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. For the Middle East, distinguish between the colonies and the mandates (the Ottoman territories placed under British and French control in 1919).

 

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