Decolonization in the Twentieth Century

We explain what the decolonization process was in the twentieth century. In addition, its history, causes and consequences.

What was decolonization in the twentieth century?

The decolonization was The process by which the ancient possessions of European colonial empires, especially in Asia and Africa, achieved political independence. Decolonization was one of the main consequences of World War II (1939-1945), and occurred in an international context marked by the Cold War.

Since the end of the 1940s, and especially During the 1950s and 1960s, dozens of new African and Asian states were born in the territories that had dominated the colonial powers. Together with the Latin American states that had emancipated the European domain in the nineteenth century, this set of nations constituted what was called the Third World (sometimes also designated with the term “underdeveloped countries” or “in the process of development”).

These new countries, where most of the world's population lived, They faced the challenge of building stable and efficient governmentsto overcome economic underdevelopment at a time of accelerated population growth, and, in some cases, define a national identity they had never had.

Some of the difficulties derived from colonization and the subsequent decolonization process today survive. For example, the Middle East became a focus of international tension that still lasts at the beginning of the 21st century.

See also: Imperialism

Causes of decolonization in the twentieth century

Among the causes that explain the decolonization processes in Asia and Africa are:

• He Birth of nationalist and independence ideas. Western education received by local elites and the foundation of schools allowed the inhabitants to access nationalist speeches in colonized regions.
• The effects of World War II on colonized populations. In some cases, colonized nations took advantage of the discredit of European nations that had suffered defeats throughout the war (such as France and Great Britain) to strengthen the anti -imperialist and nationalist feeling. In other cases, the participation of colonial troops in European armies legitimized independence claims.
• The effects of World War II on European countries. The economic difficulties of Europe led to concentrate efforts on the internal reconstruction policies of each country, while some political leaders and public opinion were favorable to the right of self -determination of the nations of Asia and Africa.
• He UN impulse (United Nations Organization) to suppress colonialism. In the context of the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR), had erected themselves as world powers, and were now contrary to the enduring of the old European colonial order.

THE BIRTH OF NATIONALISMS

World War I (1914-1918) accelerated the emergence of nationalist movements in the colonized countries of Asia and Africa. This was possible because Indigenous elites had sent their children to study European universitieswhere they familiarized themselves with ideas of democracy and political freedom.

When returning to their countries of origin They suffered the discrimination of the colonial system, which excluded them from administrative and political positionsso they formed the first nationalist and anticolonialist groups. Each nationalist leader took their own path: Mahatma Gandhi In India he appealed to Hindu religious consciousness; Habib Burguiba in Tunisia was inspired by the lay nationalism of Turkish Kemal Atatürk; While Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam joined the anticolonial revolt with the communist revolution.

Economic modernization – infrastructure, hospitals, schools – promoted in the colonies by the metropolis had a double contradictory result. On the one hand, medical advances caused the beginning of An accelerated population increase. On the other hand, the economic development It was insufficient and unequal. This generated unemployment in the field and overcrowding in the cities, and The consequent social discontent was used by anti -colonialist nationalisms.

The effects of World War II

World War II (1939-1945) precipitated the crisis of colonial systems. Several factors explain it:

• The rapid defeat of France, Belgium and the Netherlands was a strong discredit of the metropolis in their respective colonial empires. Japan's victory over English imperialism in much of Asia caused a similar feeling, prompted by the Japanese who encouraged the rebellion against the domination of European “whites.”
• The United Kingdom and Free France enrolled in its armies many inhabitants of the colonies. More than two Millions of Indians fought in the British army, dozens of Thousands of Maghreb were enrolled in the French army who fought in Italy with the allies. Spilled blood legitimized the claims of colonized peoples.
• The two superpowers arising from the war, The United States and the Soviet Union, defended positions contrary to the old European colonial empires. The Americans, in addition to remembering their own national origin, supported the opening of markets for their capitals and products, as well as the end of colonial obstacles. The Soviets approved the emancipation process from their anti -capitalist and anti -imperialist ideology.
• The UN promoted the decolonizing process Thanks to the agreement of the two superpowers, which soon joined the vote of the countries that were born in the decolonization process.

Decolonization models

They can be distinguished various types of decolonization. In relation to the place that occupied violence in the process, you can distinguish between:

• Decolonization without war of independence. This situation took place when the metropolis understood the uselessness of resisting a historical process that they considered inescapable. The absence of war of independence did not imply that there were no important disturbances (such as in Morocco or Tunisia), or even very serious conflicts or civil wars between indigenous rival communities (as happened in India between Hindus and Muslims).
• Decolonization with war of independence. This was the situation when the metropolis refused to accept change and agree on independence. The clearest examples were Algeria and Indochina in the French empire and Indonesia in the Dutch Empire.

If the two main colonial empires are taken into account, you can distinguish between:

• French decolonization model. After the humiliation of 1940 against Nazi Germany, the French government was not prepared to accept the loss of its colonies, something that contemplated as a new defeat. Although in 1946 he replaced the term “empire” with that of the French Union, the Government of Paris tried to forcefully retain its colonies, which gave rise to a process of violent decolonization (as in Algeria and Indochina).
• British decolonization model. The British government had some experience in decolonization, because in the interwar period it recognized the autonomy of the “domains” that integrated the empire (such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada or South Africa) and admitted the independence of Iraq and Egypt. In addition, he created the Commonwealth (or Commonwealth) in 1931, whose objective was to maintain ties with the old colonies. However, in some cases the decolonizing process that followed World War II caused confrontations between local forces and the British government (such as Mau Mau's revolt in Kenya), or wars between enemy populations that have continued until the 21st century. This is the case of Hindus and Muslims in the former colony of India, today prolonged in the conflict between India and Pakistan, and the situation of the British mandate of Palestine, whose end in 1948 gave rise to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Decolonization in South and Eastern Asia

India: Independence and partition

In India, the nationalist movement met mainly in the Congress Party, founded in 1885. The main Indian independence leader, Mahatma Gandhihe presided over this party after World War I, and Headed the fight against British domination through the doctrine of nonviolence.

Negotiations with the British after World War II gave rise to a disagreement between Gandhi's idea of ​​forming a multirreligious state and the Muslim league plan to form two states: one Muslim and another Hindu. This caused A civil conflict that concluded in 1947 with the partition of two independent states: India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim). The first president of Indian India was Jawaharlal Nehru.

Indonesian independence

In the context of World War II, the Empire of Japan occupied in 1942 the Dutch Eastern Indies (Indonesia), which until then were colony of the Netherlands. This fact gave a renewed stimulus to a pre -existing nationalist movement, led by Sukarno, which After the defeat of the Japanese in August 1945, he proclaimed the independence of Indonesia.

The Netherlands government tried to recover lost territories, which caused an armed conflict that concluded in 1949, when the Dutch recognized independence. The first president of Indonesia was Sukarno.

The Indochina War

The War of Indochina (1946-1954) was the first phase of a conflict that lasted in the Vietnam War. The French, like the Dutch in Indonesia, were evicted from their colony in Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) by Japan during World War II. On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh, leader of Viet Minh, communist and nationalist guerrillas, proclaimed the independence of Vietnam.

This situation caused a war between Viet Minh and France (who wanted to restore his domain), initiated in 1946 and finished in 1954 when, after the French defeat in the battle of Dien well Phu, the Geneva agreements were signed. In them The independence of Laos and Cambodia was agreed and the partition in two states of Vietnam, one communist to the north and another pro-western to the south. However, the following year new conflicts broke out between Northern Vietnam and South Vietnam, already without the intervention of France but with the growing involvement of the United States.

Decolonization in Africa

Independence in the Maghreb region

The Maghreb is a northwestern African region that, after World War II, was dominated by French and Spanish governments. In Tunisia, the Neo-Destur party leader (New Constitution), Habib Burguiba, raised a strategy negotiated by stages to achieve independence Regarding France.

These negotiations were interrupted by the French government in 1951, which caused an armed struggle that led to the French recognition of Tunisia's political autonomy in 1954, and finally to independence in 1956.

In Moroccothe Istiqlal party (Independence Party) he grouped the nationalists who got French and Spanish to leave the country in 1956, during A negotiated process that was not exempt from episodes of violence. Independence was completed with the formation of the kingdom of Morocco, under the reign of Mohamed V.

The independence process in Algeria was much more violent. The French government refused to accept the nationalist demands, which resulted in a fierce liberation war between the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) and the French army. The War of Algeria (1954-1962) caused a large number of deaths and concluded with the signing of the “Evian agreements” (1962), which decided the French abandonment of the territory and led to the proclamation of the independence of Algeria in July 1962.

The decolonization of sub -Saharan Africa

In sub -Saharan Africa, Decolonization was carried out progressively and in general without major resistances of metropolis.

In Anglophone Africa, Costa de Oro reached its independence in 1957 Due to the activity of leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, and the country He changed his name to Ghana. The rest of the colonies became independent in the 1960s, and some later crossed periods of intense civil wars, such as Nigeria between 1967 and 1970.

In Francophone Africa, the figure of Sedar Senghor, Senegalese nationalist leader who contributed to Senegal's independence in 1960 was highlighted. Throughout 1960, most of the territories of France in Africa became independent.

The Belgian Congo became independent in 1960 under the impulse of the nationalist leader Patrice Lumumbawho assumed as prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, a group of Belgian settlers mutinied in the province of Katanga. Subsequently, Lumumba was killed and ended up the presidency General Mobutu in 1965, who dictatorially ruled the country (renamed Republic of Zaire) until 1997.

All These young states were grouped into the African Unity Organization (OUA)founded in 1963 with the intention of avoiding border conflicts and secessions. One of the problems that African countries had to face was that the borders had been determined in London or Paris, without taking into account pre -existing tribal identities. Therefore, after decolonization, conflicts between states that did not respond to national realities or civil wars between ethnic groups within the same state were frequent.

Finally, The Portuguese colonies, such as Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, became independent between 1974 and 1975after a long period of armed insurrections and the resistance of the Portuguese government to yield their colonial territories. The decolonization of the Portuguese colonies occurred in an international framework characterized by the resurgence of the Cold War, which greatly explains the long civil wars that folded over these countries, even after independence.

Consequences of decolonization in the twentieth century

Among the consequences of decolonization processes of the twentieth century, they are:

• The political autonomy of new nations regarding European governmentsalthough in general they remained economically subordinate either to one of the countries of Western Europe or some of the superpowers of the cold war (phenomenon that some historians called neocolonialism).
• Political instability, which often resulted in civil wars (For example, ethnic conflicts derived from the fact that the old colonial borders had not respected local identities), and the establishment of bloody dictatorships (such as IDI AMIN in Uganda). Some of these conflicts last in the 21st century.
• Economic difficulties linked to rapid population growthan “underdeveloped” economy and the exploitation of natural resources by multinational companies, which expanded poverty among the population and caused, over the years, different humanitarian crises.
• The emergence of Non -aligned countries movementwhich sought to link with each other to Third World countries and favor independent policies of the interests of the two superpowers of the Cold War, although in practice the new states used to be under the influence of one or another block.

Resolution 1514 of the UN General Assembly

The UN promoted the decolonization process after World War II. The United Nations Charter, the document that gave birth to the organization in 1945, established the principle of “equal rights” and “free determination of peoples” as a condition for the promotion of peace among nations.

Based on this principle, and in the context of independence struggles in Asia and Africa, The UN General Assembly approved in New York on December 14, 1960 resolution 1514 (XV)a statement in which he proclaimed the need to favor decolonization in the territories that were still subject to colonial relations. This declaration is fully reproduced.

Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples (resolution 1514 (XV) of the UN General Assembly)

December 14, 1960

The General Assembly,

“Bearing in mind that the peoples of the world have proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations that are resolved to reaffirm faith in the fundamental rights of man, in the dignity and value of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of large and small nations and to promote social progress and to raise the standard of living within a broader concept of freedom.

Aware of the need to create conditions of stability and well -being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and the self -determination of all peoples, and to ensure universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction for reasons of race, sex, language or religion, and the effectiveness of such rights and freedoms.

Recognizing the passionate desire for freedom to warn all peoples of slopes and the decisive role of these peoples in the achievement of their independence.

Aware of the growing conflicts that causes the fact of denying freedom to those peoples or preventing it, which constitutes a serious threat to world peace.

Considering the important role that corresponds to the United Nations as a means of favoring movement for independence in the territories in trust and in the non -autonomous territories.

Recognizing that the peoples of the world burning the end of colonialism in all its manifestations.

Convinced that the continuation of colonialism prevents the development of international economic cooperation, hinders the social, cultural and economic development of dependent peoples and militates against the universal peace ideal of the United Nations.

Stating that peoples can, for their own purposes, freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources without prejudice to the obligations resulting from international economic cooperation, based on the principle of mutual benefit, and international law.

Believing that the release process is irresistible and irreversible and that, in order to avoid serious crises, it is necessary to end colonialism and all the practices of segregation and discrimination that accompany it.

Celebrating that in recent years many dependent territories have achieved freedom and independence, and recognizing increasingly powerful trends towards freedom that manifest in territories that have not yet obtained independence.

Convinced that all peoples have an inalienable right to absolute freedom, to the exercise of their sovereignty and the integrity of their national territory.

Solemnly proclaims the need to end up quickly and unconditionally to colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.

And for that effect

Declares that:

1. The subjection of peoples to a foreign subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the United Nations Charter and compromises the cause of world peace and cooperation.

2. All peoples have the right of free determination; By virtue of this right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

3. The lack of preparation in the political, economic, social or educational order should never serve as a pretext to delay independence.

4. In order for dependent peoples, their right to complete independence, must cease any armed action or any repressive measure of any kind directed against them, and the integrity of their national territory must be respected.

5. In the territories in trust and non -autonomous and in all other territories that have not yet achieved their independence, measures must be taken to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without conditions or reserves, in accordance with their will and their wishes freely express two, and without distinction of race, creed or color, to allow them to enjoy absolute freedom and independence.

6. Any attempt to be brought to totally or partially broken the national unity and territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

7. All states must faithfully and strictly observe the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of this declaration based on equality, of non -intervention in the internal affairs of the other states and respect for the sovereign rights of all peoples and their territorial integrity.“

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References

• Cooper, F. (2021). History of Africa since 1940. Rialp
• Getz, T. (SF). Political Decolonization, C.1945-1997. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/
• Metcalf, B. and Metcalf, T. (2014). History of India. Third edition. Akal.
• Resolution 1514 (XV) of the UN General Assembly, December 14, 1960, in: United Nations Official Portal. https://www.un.org/
• Springhall, J. (2001). Decolonization Since 1945. The Collapse of European Overseas Empires. Network Globe Press.