decolonization of european countries (except france)
DESCRIPTION
Very quick presentation about decolonization of european countries, doesn't include France..TRANSCRIPT
Decolonization Of European Countries
After the Second World War
Reasons of the Decolonization in Europe
- The need for reconstruction in the post-war area. The European nations unable to wage military forces strong enough to be used to maintain colonies.
- Increasing tension between NATO and the USSR, along with the fact that the USSR had an army of overwhelming number forced the European nations to focus on self-defense. Thus it became impossible for European nations to draw spare forces to occupy the rest of the world.
- The destruction caused by WWII would have had severe impact on ordinary European citizens. The fear for the possibility of a nuclear war allowed pacifists to gain more recognition from the general public than ever. Old ideals such as building an empire so large upon which the sun never sets all day round now seemed hollow and impractical.
- By 1922, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million more than 13,000,000 square miles (people, one-quarter of the world's population, and covered 33,670,000 km2): approximately a quarter of the Earth's total land area.
- Because of the Second World War saw Britain's colonies in North Africa and South-East Asia occupied by the Axis Powers, Germany and Japan, respectively, which damaged British prestige and accelerated the decline of the Empire. Within two years of the end of the war, Britain granted independence to its most populous and valuable colony, India.
- During the remainder of the 20th century, most of the territories of the Empire became independent as part of a larger global decolonisation movement by European powers, ending with the return of Hong Kong to the “People's Republic of China” in 1997. After independence, many former British colonies joined the “Commonwealth of Nations”, a free association of independent states. Sixteen Commonwealth nations share their head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, as Commonwealth realms. Fourteen territories remain under British sovereignty, the British overseas territories.
- British Empire
- British Empire
1945 // After the Second World War.
- British Empire
The Commonwealth of Nations (blue = present members, orange = former members, green = suspended members)
- Portuguese Empire
- In the 20th century the poorest and least developed of the western European powers, was the first nation (with Spain) to establish itself as a colonial power (when it captured Ceuta in 1415 ), and the last to give up its colonial possessions. In Portuguese Africa during the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, the settler population had grown to about 400,000.
- After 1961 pan-African pressures grew, and Portugal found itself mired in a series of colonial wars, while the development of mining in Angola and Mozambique revealed hitherto unknown economic assets.
- Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau) became independent in 1974. In June 1975 Mozambique achieved independence as a people’s republic; in July 1975 São Tomé and Príncipe became an independent republic; and in November of the same year Angola, involved in a civil war between three rival liberation movements, also received sovereignty.
• Red - actual possessions• Olive - explorations• Orange - areas of influence and trade• Pink - claims of sovereignty• Green - trading posts• Blue - main sea explorations, routes and areas of influence.
- Portuguese Empire
- Dutch Empire
- The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonialempire, aided by their skills in shipping and trade and the surge ofnationalism accompanying the struggle for independence from Spain.- The Dutch initially built up colonial possessions on the basis of indirect statecapitalist corporate colonialism, via the Dutch East and West IndiaCompanies. - The restored portions of the Dutch Empire, notably the Dutch East Indiesand Suriname, remained under Dutch control until the decline of Europeanimperialism following World War II.
- Today, the Netherlands are part of a federacy called the Kingdom of theNetherlands, along with its former colonies Aruba and the NetherlandsAntilles.
• Light green, the Dutch East India Company• Dark Green, the Dutch West India Company
- Dutch Empire
- Spanish Empire
- In 1973, Spain decided to introduce internal self-government,to deflect international pressure for decolonization. But by mid-1974,following the collapse of Portugal's Africa empire, Madrid promised toimplement United Nations calls for a referendum in the territory during thefirst half of 1975. - The final Spanish departure from its Saharan colony came on 26 February1975.- The movement toward independence began to take shape at the end of1967 in Spanish Guinea. Early the following year the Spanish governmentsuspended autonomous political control and proposed that a nationalreferendum be held to approve the new constitution. The constitution wasoverwhelmingly approved on August 11 and was followed by parliamentaryelections in September and by the proclamation of independence on Oct. 12,1968.
Map of the northernmost territories belonging to the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (1912–56)
Spanish Guinea
- Spanish Empire
- Belgian Empire
- In the 1950s an independence movement arose in the Belgian Congo, andthe Belgians became convinced they could no longer control the territory. In1960, Ruanda-Urundi's larger neighbour gained its independence.
- The Congo Crisis (1960–1966) was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu. At various points it had the characteristics of anti-colonial struggle, a secessionist war with the province of Katanga, a United Nations peacekeeping operation, and a Cold War proxy battle between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Crisis caused the death of some 100,000 people.
- Belgian Empire
The Belgian Congo
Belgian paracommandos preparing for a hostage rescue operation, November 1964
- Italian Empire
• Libya was lost as a colony in 1943 when it was occupied by the Allied powers in World War II.
• Also in the Peace Treaty of February 1947, Italy surrendered all her colonies, including Eritrea.
Libya
- Italian Empire
The Eritrean railway was built during Italian colonialism.
Eritrea
Decolonization
Decolonization
Results of Decolonization
- Elites gained power- Initial political parties reflected ethnic, regional,
or religious groups- Power was often gained by corrupt African
“strongmen”(dictators) who ignored the social needs of people
- Economic dependency continued
CountryCountry Colonial nameColonial nameColonial Colonial powerpower Independence dateIndependence date
South Africa South Africa Britain 31 May 1961
Libya Libya Italy December 24, 1951
Egypt Egypt Britain 1922/1936/1953
Sudan Sudan Britain January 1, 1956
Morocco Spanish Morocco Spain April 7, 1956
Ghana Gold Coast Britain March 6, 1957
Cameroon CamerounFrance, Britain January 1, 1960
DR Congo Belgian Congo Belgium June 30, 1960
Somalia Italian Somaliland, British Somaliland Italy, Britain July 1, 1960
Nigeria Nigeria Britain October 1, 1960
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Britain April 27, 1961
Tanzania Tanganyika Britain December 9, 1964
Rwanda Ruanda-Urundi Belgium July 1, 1962
Burundi Ruanda-Urundi Belgium July 1, 1962
Uganda British East Africa Britain October 9, 1962
Kenya British East Africa Britain December 12, 1963
Malawi Nyasaland Britain July 6, 1964
Zambia Northern Rhodesia Britain October 24, 1964
The Gambia Gambia Britain February 18, 1965
Botswana Bechuanaland Britain September 30, 1966
CountryCountry Colonial nameColonial nameColonial Colonial powerpower Independence dateIndependence date
Lesotho Basutoland Britain October 4, 1966
Mauritius Britain March 12, 1968
Swaziland Swaziland Britain September 6, 1968
Equatorial Guinea Spanish Guinea Spain October 12, 1968
Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Guinea Portugal September 24, 1973
Mozambique Portuguese East Africa Portugal June 25, 1975
Cape Verde Portugal July 5, 1975
São Tomé and Príncipe Portugal July 12, 1975
AngolaAngola (also known as Portuguese West Africa) Portugal November 11, 1975
Seychelles Britain June 29, 1976
Zimbabwe Southern Rhodesia Britain April 18, 1980
Sahrawi Republic 1 Spanish Sahara / Moroccan Sahara SpainFebruary 27, 1976 / Currently