Decolonization

Decolonization — the process by which European colonial empires dissolved and new independent nations emerged — was one of the 20th century's most consequential processes. Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal dismantled empires covering much of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific between 1945 and 1975, producing approximately 80 new nations. The causes were multiple: WWII weakened European powers financially and morally (colonial subjects had fought for 'freedom'); the UN Charter's self-determination principle; the independence of India (1947) inspiring others; and independence movements led by figures like Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Patrice Lumumba (Congo), and many others. Decolonization was often violent — Algeria (1 million dead), Kenya (Mau Mau), Congo, Vietnam — and the borders drawn by departing colonizers (based on European convenience rather than ethnic or cultural coherence) have caused conflicts lasting into the 21st century.