Topic 8.5 Notes – Decolonization After 1900

What Decolonization Was

Decolonization means ending formal imperial control and gaining either autonomy or full sovereignty. Autonomy means self-government but still tied in some way to the imperial state. Sovereignty means a fully independent state.

Nationalism and self-determination had been growing before 1900, but World War II sped everything up. This 1945 world map is a good reminder that European empires still controlled huge dependent territories across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific even after the war. European empires came out weakened. Colonized peoples had served in the war and expected change. Japan’s victories over European powers in Asia shattered the myth of European invincibility. The United Nations talked about self-determination, anti-imperialism gained support, and the Cold War made both the US and USSR pressure empires at times.

The world in 1945

Peoples pursued independence in three main ways:

• Negotiated independence through reforms, elections, and transfer of power
• Armed struggle through guerrilla war and insurgency
• Regional, religious, and ethnic movements that wanted autonomy or separation

That comparison matters a lot on the AP exam. These are patterns, not perfect boxes. Negotiated independence could still involve violence. Armed struggle usually still ended with diplomacy.

How Independence Was Won

Across cases, nationalist movements used a pretty similar toolbox:

• Political parties organized supporters, ran in elections, and pushed constitutional reform.
• Civil disobedience meant openly breaking unjust laws to expose imperial rule.
• Boycotts, strikes, and demonstrations made colonies harder and more expensive to govern.
• Guerrilla warfare let weaker forces wear down imperial armies.
• International appeals brought outside sympathy and embarrassed imperial powers.

The path differed because conditions differed:

• Britain was often more willing to negotiate than Portugal.
• France negotiated in some places but fought hard in Algeria and Vietnam.
• Large settler populations made compromise harder because settlers feared losing power.
• Nationalist unity, colonial repression, Cold War involvement, and the costs of empire all shaped outcomes.

Negotiated Independence

India

The Indian National Congress became the main nationalist party. Gandhi used satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance, through noncooperation, boycotts, civil disobedience, the Salt March, and Quit India.

Britain negotiated withdrawal after World War II, so India counts as negotiated independence. The key complication was the Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which first demanded protections for Muslims and then demanded Pakistan. Independence came in 1947, but partition into India and Pakistan caused massive communal violence.

Ghana

In the British Gold Coast, Kwame Nkrumah and the Convention People’s Party demanded “self-government now.” Positive Action included strikes, boycotts, and elections. Nkrumah was jailed, but the CPP won in 1951, which pushed Britain toward reform. Ghana became independent in 1957, the first sub-Saharan African colony to do so in the postwar wave.

French West Africa

This case was slower and more constitutional. The 1956 loi-cadre gave territories more authority. In 1958, France offered the French Community. Guinea, under Sékou Touré, rejected it and became immediately independent. Senegal and other territories became sovereign in 1960. Léopold Sédar Senghor is a key name here. This shows that political independence could come with continued French influence.

Egypt and Gamal Abdel Nasser

Egypt had been formally independent since 1922, but Britain kept troops around the Suez Canal. Gamal Abdel Nasser led the Free Officers who overthrew the monarchy in 1952, pushed British withdrawal, and nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956. The Suez Crisis showed that decolonization could mean ending foreign military and economic control, not just winning an independence day.

Independence Through Armed Struggle

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh mixed nationalism with communism. France tried to return after 1945, which sparked the First Indochina War from 1946 to 1954. Viet Minh guerrilla tactics, Chinese communist aid after 1949, and US support for France all mattered. The turning point was Dien Bien Phu. The Geneva Accords ended French rule and temporarily divided Vietnam.

Algeria

The FLN revolted in 1954. France saw Algeria as part of France, and pieds-noirs settlers strongly resisted independence. The war included guerrilla fighting, bombings, the Battle of Algiers, and brutal French torture and repression. The war destabilized France, helped bring back Charles de Gaulle, and ended with the Evian Accords in 1962.

Angola

Portugal resisted decolonization longer than most. Armed struggle began in 1961. The MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA fought Portugal and also competed with each other. These wars helped cause Portugal’s Carnation Revolution in 1974. Angola became independent in 1975. This is a great example of colonial resistance plus crisis inside the imperial state.

Movements That Challenged Colonial Borders

Decolonization did not settle one huge question. Who counts as the nation?

• Muslim League in India argued Muslims were a separate nation. The Lahore Resolution pushed toward Pakistan and challenged both British rule and Congress’s united-India vision.
• Biafra in Nigeria was an Igbo-led secession attempt from 1967 to 1970. This happened after independence, which shows colonial borders stayed contested.
• Québécois separatism in Canada sought autonomy or sovereignty for French-speaking Quebec. The Parti Québécois used elections and referendums in 1980 and 1995, so this is self-determination through constitutional means, not war.