Decolonization in the Global Twentieth Century

Two Primary Methods of Decolonization

• Negotiated Independence: This process involved diplomatic discussions and agreements between the imperial power and the colony. Nations gained their freedom without necessarily engaging in a full-scale war against their colonizers.

• Armed Struggle: This process involved violent resistance and warfare. The determining factor for whether a colony’s path to independence was peaceful or violent often depended on the size of the white European settler population. Colonies with large populations of European settlers who had established homes and lives typically resisted decolonization, leading to outbreaks of violence.

Negotiated Independence: The Case of British India

• Economic Context: India was Britain’s most valuable and prosperous colony. The British invested significantly in infrastructure to maximize returns for the British Empire, including:     * Railroads     * Sea ports     * Urban development

• The Rise of Nationalism: This modernization created a growing and highly educated middle class increasingly influenced by nationalist ideologies and a desire for self-rule.

• Indian National Congress ($1885$): This organization was formed with the goal of petitioning the British government for a greater voice in Indian policy, though their early petitions were largely ignored.

• World War I Contributions: Millions of Indians fought for the British cause during World War I, often based on the belief that their sacrifices would buy them a greater degree of self-rule. These hopes were largely ignored post-war.

• The Amritsar Massacre: Following the war, discontent nearly turned into violent resistance after British troops slaughtered hundreds of peaceful Indian protesters.

• Leadership of Mohandas Gandhi: Under Gandhi's leadership, the resistance movement adopted the character of nonviolent resistance. By the $1920s$, this pressure forced the British to transfer limited authority to the Indians.

• World War II and Final Independence: Despite earlier snubs, millions of Indians were again called to fight for Britain in World War II. After the war, exhaustion from the conflict and the rise of pro-independence politicians in Parliament led to official recognition of Indian independence in $1947$.

The Partition of India and Resulting Violence

• Internal Religious Tension: While the negotiation with Britain was peaceful, the establishment of the new state was violent. India had a substantial Muslim minority that feared being marginalized in a Hindu-majority independent state.

• The Muslim League: This religious and ethnic movement called for a separate state for Muslims during the independence negotiations.

• The Partition: The result was the creation of two states: India and Pakistan ($1947$).

• Mass Migration and Conflict: Following the partition, Hindus fled south from Pakistan into India, while Muslims fled north into Pakistan. Each side committed unspeakable violence against the other.

• Casualties: Estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands, or possibly over $1,000,000$ people, died as a result of the violence during the partition.

Negotiated Independence: The Gold Coast (Ghana)

• Independence Movement: In $1947$, Kwame Nkrumah led the independence movement in the Gold Coast, a British colony.

• Negotiations: Similar to India, Britain lacked public support for continued imperialism and was financially unable to spend money quelling rebellions while rebuilding from World War II.

• Formation of Ghana: As a result of these negotiations, the new state of Ghana was born in $1957$.

Armed Struggle: The Algerian War for Independence

• Regional Context: In Africa, France held possessions in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. While Morocco and Tunisia gained independence through negotiation, Algeria’s path was violent.

• The Settler Factor: Algeria had been a destination for French migration for a long period. The large population of French citizens living there fiercely resisted Algerian independence.

• National Liberation Front (FLN): In $1954$, Arab and Berber Muslims formed the FLN and staged violent attacks against French troops and civilians.

• French Brutality: The French responded with extreme brutality, targeting civilians without restraint and committing massive human rights abuses. This was one of the bloodiest struggles for independence in the period.

• Resolution ($1962$): The war continued until President Charles de Gaulle opened negotiations, leading to the end of the war and Algerian independence in $1962$.

Armed Struggle: Angola

• Colonial Background: Angola was a Portuguese colony.

• Resistance Movement: By the $1950s$, three distinct angolan political groups united to oppose Portuguese rule.

• Conflict catalysts: Violence broke out during a spontaneous insurrection protesting the inhumane treatment of farmers by the Portuguese.

• Path to Independence: Neither side gained much ground until a bloodless coup occurred in Portugal in $1974$. Angolans took the opportunity to negotiate, achieving independence in $1975$.

• Immediate Civil War: Upon the departure of the Portuguese, the three ethnic/political groups began a civil war to determine who would hold power.

• Cold War Proxy: Because the groups represented communist and anti-communist factions, the conflict became a proxy war within the larger context of the Cold War.

Legacy of Colonial Boundaries and the Nigerian Civil War

• The Problem of Boundaries: Imperial powers historically drew territorial boundaries without respect for ethnic or religious groups, either splitting unified groups or forcing rival groups into the same political borders.

• Nigeria's Independence: Nigeria negotiated independence from Britain in $1960$.

• The Biafran Secession ($1967$): A civil war erupted in $1967$ when the Igbo people (a westernized, Christian group in the South) attempted to secede and form the nation of Biafra.

• Oil and Conflict: The northern government resisted the secession because the southern land was rich in oil.

• Resolution and Post-War Status: The North won the war in $1970$, establishing a united Nigeria, but the tensions created by colonial boundaries continue to impact the region and many other decolonized nations today.