Decolonization
302084
224718039
2008-07-10T02:50:32Z
201.53.160.122
/* Methods and stages */
{{Refimprove|date=December 2007}}
[[Image:Colonization 1945.png|400px|thumb|Colonialism in 1945]]
'''Decolonization''' refers to the undoing of [[colonialism]], the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction. The term generally refers to the achievement of [[independence]] by the various [[Colonialism|Western colonies and protectorate]]s in Asia and [[Decolonisation of Africa|Africa]] following [[World War II]]. This conforms with an intellectual movement known as [[Post-Colonialism]]. A particularly active period of decolonization occurred between 1945 to 1960, beginning with the independence of [[partition of India|Pakistan and the Republic of India]] from the [[British Raj]] in 1947 and the [[First Indochina War]]. A number of [[national liberation movements]] were established prior to the war, but most did not achieve their aims until after it. Decolonization can be achieved by attaining independence, integrating with the administering power or another state, or establishing a "free association" status. The [[United Nations]] has stated that in the process of decolonization there is no alternative to the principle of [[self-determination]]. Decolonization may involve [[Non-violent revolution|peaceful negotiation]] and/or violent [[national liberation wars|revolt and armed struggle]] by the native population.
== Methods and stages ==
Decolonization is a political process, frequently involving violence. In extreme circumstances, there is a [[War of Independence|war of independence]], sometimes following a [[revolution]]. More often, there is a dynamic cycle where negotiations fail, minor disturbances ensue resulting in suppression by the police and military forces, escalating into more violent [[revolt]]s that lead to further negotiations until independence is granted. In rare cases, the actions of the native population are characterized by [[non-violence]], with the [[Indian independence movement]] led by [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Mahatma Gandhi]] being one of the most notable examples, and the violence comes as active suppression from the occupying forces or as political opposition from forces representing minority local communities who feel threatened by the prospect of independence. For example, there was a war of independence in [[French Indochina]], while in some countries in [[French West Africa]] (excluding the [[Maghreb|Maghreb countries]]) decolonization resulted from a combination of insurrection and negotiation. The process is only complete when the [[de facto]] government of the newly independent country is recognized as the [[de jure]] sovereign [[state]] by the community of nations.
Independence is often difficult to achieve without the encouragement and practical support from one or more external parties. The motives for giving such aid are varied: nations of the same ethnic and/or religious stock may sympathize with oppressed groups, or a strong nation may attempt to destabilize a colony as a tactical move to weaken a rival or enemy colonizing power or to create space for its own sphere of influence; examples of this include British support of the [[Haitian Revolution]] against France, and the [[Monroe Doctrine]] of 1823, in which the United States warned the European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the newly independent states of the [[Western Hemisphere]].
As world opinion became more pro-emancipation following [[World War I]], there was an ''institutionalized collective effort'' to advance the cause of emancipation through the [[League of Nations]]. Under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, a number of [[League of Nations Mandate|mandate]]s were created. The expressed intention was to prepare these countries for self-government, but the reality was merely a redistribution of control over the former colonies of the defeated powers, mainly [[Germany]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. This reassignment work continued through the [[United Nations]], with a similar system of [[United Nations Trust Territories|trust territories]] created to adjust control over both former colonies and mandated territories administered by the nations defeated in World War II, including Japan.
In referendums, some colonized populations have chosen to retain their colonial status, such as [[Gibraltar]] and [[French Guiana]]. On the other hand, colonial powers have sometimes promoted decolonization in order to shed the financial, military and other burdens that tend to grow in those colonies where the colonial regimes have become more benign.
Decolonization is rarely achieved through a single historical act, but rather progresses through one or more stages of emancipation, each of which can be offered or fought for: these can include the introduction of elected representatives (advisory or voting; minority or majority or even exclusive), degrees of autonomy or self-rule. Thus, the final phase of decolonisation may in fact concern little more than handing over responsibility for foreign relations and security, and soliciting ''de jure'' recognition for the new [[sovereignty]]. But, even following the recognition of statehood, a degree of continuity can be maintained through bilateral treaties between now equal governments involving practicalities such as military training, mutual protection pacts, or even a garrison and/or military bases.
There is some debate over whether or not the [[The Americas]] can be considered decolonized, as it was the colonist and their descendants who revolted and declared their independence instead of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]], as is usually the case. Scholars such as [[Elizabeth Cook-Lynn]] ([[Dakota]]) and [[Devon Mihesuah]] ([[Choctaw]]) have argued that portions of the United States still are in need of decolonization{{Fact|date=March 2007}}.
== Decolonization in a broad sense ==
Stretching the notion further, ''internal decolonization'' can occur within a sovereign state. Thus, the expansive [[United States]] created ''territories'', destined to colonize conquered lands bordering the existing states, and once their development proved successful (often involving new geographical splits) allowed them to petition statehood within the federation, granting not external independence but internal equality as 'sovereign' constituent members of the federal Union. [[France]] internalized several overseas possessions as [[Département d'outre-mer|Départements d'outre-mer]].
Even in a state which legally does not colonize any of its 'integral' parts, real inequality often causes the politically dominant component - often the largest and/or most populous part (such as Russia within the formally federal USSR as earlier in the czar's empire),{{Fact|date=January 2007}} or the historical conqueror (such as Austria, the homelands of the ruling Habsburg dynasty, within an empire of mainly Slavonic 'minorities' from Silesia to the shifting Ottoman border){{Fact|date=January 2007}} - to be perceived, at least subjectively, as a colonizer in all but name; hence, the dismemberment of such a 'prison of peoples' is perceived as decolonisation ''de facto''.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}
To complicate matters even further, this may coincide with another element. Thus, the three Baltic republics - [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] - argue that they, in contrast with other constituent SSRs, could not have been granted independence at the dismemberment of the Soviet Union because they never joined, but were militarily annexed by [[Stalin]], and thus had been illegally colonized, including [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|massive deportations]] of their nationals and uninvited immigration of ethnic Russians and other soviet nationalities.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} Even in other [[post-Soviet states]] which had formally acceded, most ethnic Russians were so much identified with the Soviet 'colonization,' they felt unwelcome and migrated back to Russia.<ref>Robert Greenall, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420922.stm Russians left behind in Central Asia], [[BBC News]], [[23 November]] [[2005]].</ref>
Amongst the countries which are likely to decolonise territories over the next two decades are the U.K. (Bermuda, Gibraltar, Sovereign Bases in Cyprus, British Virgin Islands, Falklands, etc), U.S.A. (U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, etc), and France (French Guiana, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Reunion, Guadalope, etc).
== Decolonization before 1918 ==
{{See also|Decolonization of the Americas}}
== Decolonization after 1918 ==
=== Western European colonial powers ===
{{See|New Imperialism|Colonialism}}
[[Image:Socialism liberation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Czechoslovak anti-colonialist propaganda poster: "Socialism opened the door of liberation for colonial nations."]]
The [[New Imperialism]] period, with the [[scramble for Africa]] and the [[Opium War]]s, marked the zenith of [[colonialism|European colonization]]. It also marked the acceleration of the trends that would end it. The extraordinary material demands of the conflict had spread economic change across the world (notably [[inflation]]), and the associated social pressures of "war imperialism" created both [[peasant]] unrest and a burgeoning [[middle class]].
[[Economic growth]] created stakeholders with their own demands, while [[Race (classification of human beings)|racial]] issues meant these people clearly stood apart from the colonial middle-class and had to form their own group. The start of mass [[nationalism]], as a concept and practice, would fatally undermine the ideologies of imperialism.
There were, naturally, other factors, from agrarian change (and disaster – [[French Indochina]]), changes or developments in [[religion]] ([[Buddhism]] in [[Myanmar|Burma]], [[Islam]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]], marginally people like [[John Chilembwe]] in [[Malawi|Nyasaland]]), and the impact of the depression of the 1930s.
The [[Great Depression]], despite the concentration of its impact on the industrialized world, was also exceptionally damaging in the rural colonies. Agricultural prices fell much harder and faster than those of industrial goods. From around 1925 until [[World War II]], the colonies suffered. The colonial powers concentrated on domestic issues, [[protectionism]] and [[tariff]]s, disregarding the damage done to international [[trade]] flows. The colonies, almost all primary "[[cash crop]]" producers, lost the majority of their [[export]] income and were forced away from the "open" complementary colonial economies to "closed" systems. While some areas returned to [[subsistence farming]] ([[British Malaya]]) others diversified (India, [[West Africa]]), and some began to industrialise. These economies would not fit the colonial strait-jacket when efforts were made to renew the links. Further, the European-owned and -run [[plantation]]s proved more vulnerable to extended [[Deflation (economics)|deflation]] than native [[capitalism|capitalist]]s, reducing the dominance of "white" [[farmer]]s in colonial economies and making the European [[government]]s and investors of the 1930s co-opt [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] elites — despite the implications for the future.
The efforts at colonial reform also hastened their end — notably the move from non-interventionist [[Collaboration|collaborative]] systems towards directed, disruptive, direct management to drive economic change. The creation of genuine [[bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] government boosted the formation of indigenous [[bourgeoisie]]. This was especially true in the [[British Empire]], which seemed less capable (or less ruthless) in controlling political nationalism. Driven by pragmatic demands of budgets and manpower the British made deals with the nationalist elites. They dealt with the white [[Dominion]]s, retained strategic resources at the cost of reducing direct control in [[Egypt]], and made numerous reforms in the ''[[British Raj|Raj]]'', culminating in the [[Government of India Act 1935|Government of India Act]] (1935).
Africa was a very different case from Asia between the wars. Tropical Africa was not fully drawn into the colonial system before the end of the 19th century, excluding only the complexities of the [[Union of South Africa]] (busily introducing [[racial segregation]] from 1924 and thus catalyzing the anti-colonial political growth of half the continent) and the [[Empire of Ethiopia]]. Colonial controls ranged between extremes. Economic growth was often curtailed.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} There were no indigenous nationalist groups with widespread popular support before 1939. {{Cleanup-section|date=May 2008}}
=== The United States ===
{{main|American empire}}
At end of the [[Spanish-American War]], at the end of the 19th century, the [[United States of America]] held several colonial territories seized from [[Spain]], among them the [[Philippines]] and [[Puerto Rico]]. Although the United States had initially embarked upon a policy of colonization of these territories (and had fought to suppress local "insurgencies" there, such as in the [[Philippine-American War]]), by the 1930s, the U.S. policy for the Philippines had changed toward the direction of eventual self-government. Following the invasion and occupation of the Philippines by Japan during World War II, the Philippines gained independence peacefully from the United States in 1946.
However, other U.S. possessions, such as Puerto Rico, did not gain full independence. Puerto Ricans have held U.S. [[citizenship]] since 1917, but do not vote in federal elections or pay federal taxes. Puerto Rico achieved self-government in 1952 and became a commonwealth in association with the United States. Puerto Rico was taken off the UN list of non-sovereign territories in 1953 through resolution 748. In 1967, 1993 and 1998, Puerto Rican voters rejected proposals to grant the territory [[U.S. state|statehood]] or independence. Nevertheless, the island's political status remains a hot topic of debate.
=== Japan ===
As the only Asian nation to become a colonial power during the modern era, Japan had gained several substantial colonial concessions in east Asia such as [[Taiwan]] and [[Korea]]. Pursuing a colonial policy comparable to those of European powers, Japan settled significant populations of ethnic Japanese in its colonies while simultaneously suppressing indigenous ethnic populations by enforcing the learning and use of the [[Japanese language]] in schools. Other methods such as public interaction, and attempts to eradicate the use of [[Korean language|Korean]] and [[Taiwanese language|Taiwanese]] ([[Min Nan]]) among the indigenous peoples, were seen to be used.
Japan also set up the [[Imperial university]] in Korea ([[Keijo Imperial University]]) and Taiwan ([[Taihoku University]]) to compel education.
World War II gave [[Japanese Empire]] occasion to conquer vast swaths of Asia, sweeping into [[China]] and seizing the Western colonies of [[Vietnam]], [[Hong Kong]], the [[Philippines]], [[Burma]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]], [[Portuguese Timor|Timor]] and [[Indonesia]] among others, albeit only for the duration of the war. An estimated 20 million Chinese died during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese
occupation of China]] (1931-1945).<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/15/content_468908.htm Remember role in ending fascist war]</ref> Following its surrender to the [[Allies]] in 1945, Japan was deprived of all its colonies. Japan further claims that the southern [[Kuril Islands]] are a small portion of its own national territory, colonized by the [[Soviet Union]].
=== French Decolonization ===
{{See|French colonial empires}}
After World War I, the colonized people were frustrated at France's failure to recognize the effort provided by the French colonies (resources, but more importantly colonial troops - the famous ''[[tirailleurs]]''). Although in [[Paris]] the [[Great Mosque of Paris]] was constructed as recognition of these efforts, the French state had no intention to allow [[self-rule]], let alone [[independence]] to the colonized people. Thus, [[nationalism]] in the colonies became stronger in between the two wars, leading to [[Abd el-Krim]]'s [[Rif War (1920)|Rif War]] (1921-1925) in [[History of Morocco|Morocco]] and to the creation of [[Messali Hadj]]'s [[Star of North Africa]] in [[Nationalism and resistance in Algeria|Algeria]] in 1925. However, these movements would gain full potential only after World War II. The [[October 27]], [[1946]] Constitution creating the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]] substituted the [[French Union]] to the colonial empire. On the night of [[March 29]], [[1947]], a [[Madagascar revolt|nationalist uprising in Madagascar]] led the French government headed by [[Paul Ramadier]] ([[Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière|Socialist]]) to violent repression: one year of bitter fighting, in which 90,000 to 100,000 Malagasy died. On [[May 8]], [[1945]], the [[Sétif massacre]] took place in Algeria.
In 1946, the states of [[French Indochina]] withdrew from the Union, leading to the [[First Indochina War|Indochina War]] (1946-54) against [[Ho Chi Minh]], who had been a co-founder of the [[French Communist Party]] in 1920 and had founded the [[Vietminh]] in 1941. In 1956, [[History of Morocco|Morocco]] and [[History of Tunisia|Tunisia]] gained their independence, while the [[Algerian War of Independence|Algerian War]] was raging (1954-1962). With [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s return to power in 1958 amidst turmoil and threats of a right-wing coup d'État to protect "French Algeria", the decolonization was completed with the independence of Sub-Saharan Africa's colonies in 1960 and the [[March 19]], [[1962]] [[Evian Accords]], which put an end to the Algerian war. The [[Organisation armée secrète|OAS]] movement unsuccessfully tried to block the accords with a series of bombings, including an attempted assassination against Charles de Gaulle.
To this day, the Algerian war — officially called until the 1990s a "public order operation" — remains a trauma for both France and Algeria. Philosopher [[Paul Ricœur]] has spoken of the necessity of a "decolonization of memory", starting with the recognition of the [[1961 Paris massacre]] during the Algerian war and the recognition of the decisive role of African and especially North African [[immigration|immigrant]] manpower in the ''[[Trente Glorieuses]]'' post-World War II economic growth period. In the 1960s, due to economic needs for post-war reconstruction and rapid economic growth, French employers actively sought to recruit manpower from the colonies, explaining today's [[demographics of France|multiethnic population]].
=== The Soviet Union and anti-colonialism ===
The Soviet Union sought to effect the abolishment of colonial governance by Western countries, either by direct subversion of Western-leaning or -controlled governments or indirectly by influence of political leadership and support. Many of the revolutions of this time period were inspired or influenced in this way. The conflicts in [[Vietnam]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], and [[Sudan]], among others, have been characterized as such.
Most Soviet leaders expressed the [[Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] view that [[imperialism]] was the height of [[capitalism]], and generated a class-stratified society. It followed, then, that Soviet leadership would encourage independence movements in colonized territories, especially as the [[Cold War]] progressed. Though this was the view expressed by their leaders, such interventions can be interpreted as the expansion of Soviet interests, not just as aiding the oppressed peoples of the world. Because so many of these wars of independence expanded into general Cold War conflicts, the United States also supported several such independence movements in opposition to Soviet interests.
During the Vietnam War, Communist countries supported anti-colonialist movements in various countries still under colonial administration through propaganda, developmental and economic assistance, and in some cases military aid. Notably among these were the support of armed rebel movements by [[Cuba]] in [[Angola]], and the Soviet Union (as well as the [[People's Republic of China]]) in [[Vietnam]].
It is noteworthy that while Britain, Spain, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands took colonies overseas, the [[Russian Empire]] expanded via land across Asia. The Soviet Union did not make any moves to return this land.
== The emergence of the Third World (1945-) ==
{{seealso|Decolonization of Africa}}
[[Image:Africa cs poster.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Czechoslovak anti-colonialist propaganda poster: "Africa - fighting for freedom".]]
The term "[[Third World]]" was coined by French demographer [[Alfred Sauvy]] in 1952, on the model of the [[Third Estate]], which, according to the [[Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès|Abbé Sieyès]], represented everything, but was nothing: "...because at the end this ignored, exploited, scorned Third World like the Third Estate, wants to become something too" (Sauvy). The emergence of this new political entity, in the frame of the [[Cold War]], was complex and painful. Several tentatives were made to organize newly independent states in order to oppose a common front towards both the US's and the USSR's influence on them, with the consequences of the [[Sino-Soviet split]] already at works. Thus, the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] constituted itself, around the main figures of [[Nehru]], the leader of India, [[Sukarno]], the [[Indonesia]]n president, [[Tito]] the Communist leader of [[Yugoslavia]], and [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser]], head of [[Egypt]] who successfully opposed the French and British imperial powers during the 1956 [[Suez crisis]]. After the 1954 [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Conference]] which put an end to the French war against [[Ho Chi Minh]] in [[Vietnam]], the 1955 [[Bandung Conference]] gathered Nasser, Nehru, Tito, [[Sukarno]], the leader of [[Indonesia]], and [[Zhou Enlai]], [[Premier of the People's Republic of China]]. In 1960, the [[UN General Assembly]] voted the [[Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples]]. The next year, the Non-Aligned Movement was officially created in [[Belgrade]] (1961), and was followed in 1964 by the creation of the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD) which tried to promote a [[New International Economic Order]] (NIEO). The NIEO was opposed to the 1944 [[Bretton Woods system]], which had benefited the leading states which had created it, and remained in force until 1971 after the United States' suspension of convertibility from dollars to gold. The main tenets of the NIEO were:
# Developing countries must be entitled to regulate and control the activities of [[multinational corporation]]s operating within their territory.
# They must be free to [[nationalize]] or [[expropriate]] foreign [[property]] on conditions favourable to them.
# They must be free to set up [[Voluntary association|associations]] of [[primary commodities]] producers similar to the [[OPEC]] (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, created on [[September 17]], [[1960]] to protest pressure by major oil companies (mostly owned by U.S., British, and Dutch nationals) to reduce oil prices and payments to producers.); all other [[States]] must recognize this [[right]] and refrain from taking [[economic]], [[military]], or [[political]] measures calculated to restrict it.
# [[International trade]] should be based on the need to ensure stable, [[equitable]], and [[remunerative]] [[prices]] for [[raw material]]s, generalized [[non-reciprocal]] and [[non-discriminatory]] [[tariff]] preferences, as well as [[transfer of technology]] to developing countries; and should provide economic and [[technical assistance]] without any [[conditionality|strings attached]].
[[Image:HDImap current.png|thumb|350px|The [[UN Human Development Index]] (HDI) is a quantitative index of development, alternative to the classic [[Gross Domestic Product]] (GDP), which some use as a proxy to define the [[Third World]]. While the GDP only calculates economic wealth, the HDI includes [[life expectancy]], [[public health]] and [[literacy]] as fundamental factors of a good [[quality of life]].]]
The UNCTAD however wasn't very effective in implementing this New International Economic Order (NIEO), and social and economic inequalities between industrialized countries and the Third World kept on growing through-out the 1960s until the 21st century. The [[1973 oil crisis]] which followed the [[Yom Kippur War]] (October 1973) was triggered by the OPEC which decided an embargo against the US and Western countries, causing a fourfold increase in the price of oil, which lasted five months, starting on [[October 17]], 1973, and ending on [[March 18]] 1974. OPEC nations then agreed, on [[January 7]], 1975, to raise crude oil prices by 10%. At that time, OPEC nations — including many who had recently nationalised their oil industries — joined the call for a New International Economic Order to be initiated by coalitions of primary producers. Concluding the First OPEC Summit in Algiers they called for stable and just commodity prices, an international food and agriculture program, technology transfer from North to South, and the democratization of the economic system. But industrialized countries quickly began to look for substitutes to OPEC petroleum, with the oil companies investing the majority of their research capital in the US and European countries or others, politically sure countries. The OPEC lost more and more influence on the world prices of oil.
The [[1979 energy crisis|second oil crisis]] occurred in the wake of the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]]. Then, the 1982 [[Latin American debt crisis]] exploded in [[Mexico]] first, then [[Argentina]] and [[Brazil]], which proved unable to pay back their debts, jeopardizing the existence of the international economic system.
The 1990s were characterized by the prevalence of the [[Washington consensus]] on [[neoliberalism|neoliberal]] policies, "[[structural adjustment]]" and "[[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapies]]" for the former Communist states.
== Modern approaches to decolonization ==
Though the term "decolonization" is not well received among donors in [[international development]] today, the root of the emerging emphasis on projects to promote "democracy, governance and human rights" by international donors and to promote "institution building" and a "[human rights based approach]" to development is really to achieve decolonization.
In many independent, post-colonial nations, the systems and cultures of colonialism continue. Weak Parliaments and Ministerial governments (where Ministries issue their own edicts and write laws rather than the Parliament) are holdovers of colonialism since political decisions were made outside the country, Parliaments were at most for show, and the executive branch (then, foreign Governor Generals and foreign civil servants) held local power. Similarly, militaries are strong and civil control over them is weak; a holdover of military control exercised by a foreign military. In some cases, the governing systems in post-colonial countries could be viewed as ruling elites who succeeded in coup d'etats against the foreign colonial regime but never gave up the system of control.
In many countries, the human rights challenges are to empower women and reverse the legacy of [[missionization]] that promoted [[patriarchy]] and to empower individuals and civil society through changes in education systems that were set up by colonial governments to train obedient servants of colonial regimes.
Often the impact of colonialism is more subtle, with preferences for clothes (such as "blue" shirts of French officials and pith helmets), drugs (alcohol and tobacco that colonial governments introduced, often as a way to tax locals) and other cultural attributes remain.
Some experts in development, such as [[David Lempert]], have suggested an opening of dialogues from the colonial powers on the systems they introduced and the harms that continue as a way of decolonizing in rights policy documents for the UN system and for Europe. First World countries often seem reluctant to engage in this form of decolonization, however, since they may benefit from the legacies of colonialism that they created, in contemporary trade and political relations.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
== Assassinated anticolonialist leaders ==
A ''non-exhaustive'' [[list of assassinated people|list of assassinated leaders]] would include:
*[[Vasil Levski]], [[Bulgaria]]n leader of the struggle for liberation from [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] rule, was hanged by the Ottomans in [[Sofia]] on [[February 19]], [[1873]].
*[[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]], an [[Ireland|Irish]] revolutionary leader and Director of [[Military intelligence|Intelligence]] for the [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]], was killed in August 1922.
*[[Roman Shukhevych]], leader of the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]], killed by the [[MVD]] near [[Lviv]] on [[March 5]], [[1950]].
*[[Ruben Um Nyobé]], leader of the [[Union of the Peoples of Cameroon]] (UPC), killed by the French army on [[September 13]], [[1958]]
*[[Stepan Bandera]], leader of the [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists]], assassinated in [[Munich]], [[Germany]] in 1959 on the orders of Soviet [[KGB]] head [[Alexander Shelepin]] and Soviet premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]].<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938806,00.html The Poison Pistol], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', December 01, 1961</ref>
*[[Barthélemy Boganda]], leader of a nationalist [[Central African Republic]] movement, who died in a plane-crash on [[March 29]], [[1959]], eight days before the last elections of the colonial era.
*[[Félix-Roland Moumié]], successor to Ruben Um Nyobe at the head of the [[Cameroon's People Union|UPC]], assassinated in [[Geneva]] in 1960 by the [[SDECE]] (French secret services).<ref> [[Jacques Foccart]], counsellor to [[Charles de Gaulle]], [[Georges Pompidou]] and [[Jacques Chirac]] for African matters, recognized it in 1995 to ''[[Jeune Afrique]]'' review. See also ''Foccart parle, interviews with Philippe Gaillard'', Fayard - ''[[Jeune Afrique]]'' {{fr icon}} and also [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2751/is_n49/ai_20319603 "The man who ran Francafrique - French politician Jacques Foccart's role in France's colonization of Africa under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle - Obituary"] in ''[[The National Interest]]'', Fall 1997 </ref>
*[[Patrice Lumumba]], the first Prime Minister of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], was assassinated on [[January 17]], [[1961]].
*[[Burundi]] nationalist [[Louis Rwagasore]] was assassinated on [[October 13]], [[1961]], while [[Pierre Ngendandumwe]], Burundi's first [[Hutu]] prime minister, was also murdered on [[January 15]], [[1965]].
*[[Sylvanus Olympio]], the first [[List of Presidents of Togo|president of Togo]], was assassinated on [[January 13]], [[1963]]. He would be replaced by [[Gnassingbé Eyadéma]], who ruled Togo for nearly forty years; he died in 2005 and was succeeded by his son [[Faure Gnassingbé]].
*[[Mehdi Ben Barka]], the leader of the [[History of Morocco|Moroccan]] [[National Union of Popular Forces]] (UNPF) and of the [[Tricontinental Conference]], which was supposed to prepare in 1966 in [[Havana]] its first meeting gathering national liberation movements from all continents — related to the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], but the Tricontinal Conference gathered liberation movements while the Non-Aligned were for the most part states — was "[[disappeared]]" in Paris in 1965.
*[[Nigeria]]n leader [[Ahmadu Bello]] was assassinated in January 1966.
*[[Eduardo Mondlane]], the leader of [[FRELIMO]] and the father of [[Mozambique|Mozambican]] independence, was assassinated in 1969, allegedly by ''Aginter Press'', the Portuguese branch of [[Gladio]], [[NATO]]'s paramilitary organization during the Cold War.<ref> See [http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/chronology.htm ISN Zurich Institute] hosted by [[ETH Zurich]] University </ref>
*[[Pan-African]]ist [[Tom Mboya]] was killed on [[July 5]], [[1969]].
*[[Abeid Karume]], first president of [[Zanzibar]], was assassinated in April 1972.
*[[Amílcar Cabral]] was murdered on [[January 20]], [[1973]].
*[[Outel Bono]], [[History of Chad|Chad]]ian opponent of [[François Tombalbaye]], was assassinated on [[August 26]], [[1973]], making yet another example of the existence of the ''[[Françafrique]]'', designing by this term post-independent neocolonial ties between France and its former colonies.
*[[Herbert Chitepo]], leader of the [[Zimbabwe African National Union]] (ZANU), was assassinated on [[March 18]], [[1975]].
*[[Óscar Romero]], [[prelate]] [[archbishop]] of [[San Salvador]] and proponent of [[liberation theology]], was assassinated on [[March 24]], [[1980]]
*[[Dulcie September]], leader of the [[African National Congress]] (ANC), who was investigating an [[arms trade]] between France and South Africa, was murdered in Paris on [[March 29]], [[1988]], a few years before the end of the [[apartheid]] regime.
Many of these assassinations are still unsolved cases as of 2007, but foreign power interference is undeniable in many of these cases — although others were for internal matters. To take only one case, the investigation concerning Mehdi Ben Barka is continuing to this day, and both France and the United States have refused to declassify files they acknowledge having in their possession<ref> See [[Mehdi Ben Barka]] for further information. France has declassified some of the files, but Ben Barka's family has stated that these have shed no new light on the affair, and that further efforts must be done. </ref> The [[Phoenix Program]], a CIA program of [[assassination]] during the [[Vietnam War]], should also be named.
== Post-colonial organizations ==
[[Image:Postempire Orgs Map2.png|right|400px|thumb|Five international organizations whose membership largely follows the pattern of previous colonial empires.]]
Due to a common history and culture, former colonial powers created institutions which more loosely associated their former colonies. Membership is voluntary, and in some cases can be revoked if a member state loses some objective criteria (usually a requirement for democratic governance). The organizations serve cultural, economic, and political purposes between the associated countries, although no such organization has become politically prominent as an entity in its own right.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background-color:#e9e9e9" |
!Former Colonial Power || Organization ||Founded
|-
| rowspan="3" align="center" |''Britain''
|[[Commonwealth of Nations]]
| align="center" |1931
|-
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[Commonwealth Realm]]s
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1931
|-
|[[Associated state]]s
| align="center" |1967
|-
| rowspan="3" align="center" |''France''
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[French Union]]
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1946
|-
|[[French Community]]
| align="center" |1958
|-
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[Francophonie]]
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1970
|-
| rowspan="3" align="center" |''Spain & Portugal''
|[[Latin Union]]
| align="center" |1954
|-
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[Organization of Ibero-American States]]
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1991
|-
|[[Community of Portuguese Language Countries]]
| align="center" |1996
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" |''United States''
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealths]]
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1934
|-
|[[Compact of Free Association|Freely Associated States]]
| align="center" |1982
|-
| align="center" |''European Union''
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[ACP countries]]
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1975
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" |''The Netherlands''
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" |[[Dutch Language Union|De Nederlandse Taalunie]]
| style="background-color: #f2f2f9" align="center" |1980
|}
== Differing perspectives ==
There is quite a bit of controversy over decolonisation. The end goal tends to be universally regarded as good, but there has been much debate over the best way to grant full independence.
=== Decolonization and political instability ===
Some say the post–World War II decolonisation movement was too rushed, especially in Africa, and resulted in the creation of unstable regimes in the newly independent countries. Thus causing war between and within the new independent nation-states.
Others argue that this instability is largely the result of problems from the colonial period, including arbitrary nation-state borders, lack of training of local populations and disproportional [[economy]]. However by the 20th century most colonial powers were slowly being forced by the moral beliefs of population to consider the welfare of their colonial subjects.
=== Economic effects ===
==== Effects on the colonizers ====
[[John Kenneth Galbraith]] argues that the post-World War II decolonization was brought about for [[economic]] reasons. In ''A Journey Through Economic Time'', he writes, "The engine of economic well-being was now within and between the advanced industrial countries. Domestic [[economic growth]] — as now measured and much discussed — came to be seen as far more important than the erstwhile colonial trade... The economic effect in the [[United States]] from the granting of independence to the [[Philippines]] was unnoticeable, partly due to the [[Bell Trade Act]], which allowed American monopoly in the economy of the Philippines. The departure of India and Pakistan made small economic difference in [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. [[The Netherlands|Dutch]] economists calculated that the economic effect from the loss of the great Dutch empire in [[Indonesia]] was compensated for by a couple of years or so of domestic post-war economic growth. The end of the colonial era is celebrated in the history books as a triumph of national aspiration in the former colonies and of benign good sense on the part of the colonial powers. Lurking beneath, as so often happens, was a strong current of economic interest — or in this case, disinterest."
Part of the reason for the lack of economic impact felt by the colonizer upon the release of the colonized was that costs and benefits were not eliminated, but shifted. The colonizer no longer had the burden of obligation, financial or otherwise, to their colony. The colonizer continued to be able to obtain cheap goods and labor as well as economic benefits (see [[Suez Canal Crisis]]) from the former colonies. Financial, political and military pressure could still be used to achieve goals desired by the colonizer. The most obvious difference is the ability of the colonizer to disclaim responsibility for the colonized.
==== Effects on the former colonies ====
{{further|[[Third World debt]]}}
{{Expand|date=January 2007}}
=== Settled populations ===
Decolonization is not an easy matter in colonies where a large population of settlers lives, particularly if they have been there for several generations. This population, in general, may have to be repatriated, often losing considerable property. For instance, the decolonisation of [[Algeria]] by France was particularly uneasy due to the large European and Sephardic Jewish population (see also ''[[pied noir]]''), which largely evacuated to France when Algeria became independent. In [[Zimbabwe]], former [[Rhodesia]], president [[Robert Mugabe]] has, starting in the 1990s, targeted white farmers and forcibly seized their property. In some cases, decolonisation is hardly possible or impossible because of the importance of the settler population or where the indigenous population is now in the minority; such is the case of the British population of the [[Cayman Islands]], the Russian population of [[Kazakhstan]], the Chinese population of [[Singapore]] as well as the immigrant communities of USA and Canada.
== Charts of the independences ==
{{See|Independence Day}}
In this chronological overview, not every date is indisputably the decisive moment. Often, the final phase, independence, is mentioned here, though there may be years of autonomy before, e.g. as an Associated State under the British crown. For such details, see each national history.
Furthermore, note that some cases have been included that were not strictly colonized but rather protectorate, co-dominium, lease... Changes subsequent to decolonization are usually ''not'' included; nor is the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)#Yeltsin and the dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution]] of the [[Soviet Union]].
=== 18th and 19th centuries ===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |
! |Year||Colonizer||Event
|-
!1776
|[[Great Britain|Great Britain]]|| The 13 original colonies of the [[United States]] [[Declaration of Independence (United States)|declare independence]] a year after their insurrection begins.
|-
!1783
|[[Great Britain]]|| The British Crown recognizes the independence of the United States.
|-
!1803
|[[France]]|| Via the [[Louisiana purchase]], the last French territories in mainland North America are handed over to the [[United States]].
|-
!1804
|[[France]]|| [[Haiti]] declares independence, the first non-white nation to emancipate itself from European rule.
|-
!1808
|[[Portugal]]|| [[Brazil]], the largest Portuguese colony, achieves a greater degree of authonomy after the exiled king of Portugal establishes residence there. After he returns home in 1821, his son and regent declares an independent "Empire" in 1822.
|-
!1810
|[[Spain]]|| [[United Provinces of the River Plate]] and [[Chile]]. First declaration of an autonomous government within the Spanish Crown. Full independence would be finally achieved in 1816. (see below)
|-
!1813
|[[Spain]]|| [[Paraguay]] becomes independent.
|-
!1816
|[[Spain]]|| [[Chile]] and the [[United Provinces of the River Plate]] (former [[Argentina]] and [[Uruguay]]) declare independence. The latter would then secede and gain independence in 1828 after periods of Brazilian occupation and of federation with Argentina)
|-
!1818
|[[Spain]]
| Second and final declaration of independence of [[Chile]]
|-
!1819
|[[Spain]]|| [[Viceroyalty of New Granada|New Granada]] attains independence as [[Gran Colombia]] (later to become the independent states of [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Panama]] and [[Venezuela]]).
|-
!1821
|[[Spain]]||The [[Dominican Republic]] (then [[Santo Domingo]]), [[Nicaragua]], [[Honduras]], [[Guatemala]], [[El Salvador]] and [[Costa Rica]] all declare independence; [[Venezuela]] and [[Mexico]] both achieve independence.
|-
!1821
|[[Ottoman Empire]]|| [[Greece]] declares independence. After a [[Greek War of Independence|long struggle]] independence is finally granted by the [[Treaty of Constantinople (1832)|Treaty of Constantinople]] in July 1832.
|-
!1822
|[[Spain]]|| [[Ecuador]] attains independence from Spain (and independence from [[Colombia]] 1830).
|-
!1824
|[[Spain]]|| [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]] attain independence.
|-
!1836
|[[Mexico]]|| [[Texas]] attains independence, Texas would be annexed by the [[United States]] in 1845
|-
!1847
|[[United States]]|| [[Liberia]] becomes a free and independent African state.
|-
!1865
|[[Spain]]|| The [[Dominican Republic]] gains its final independence after four years as a restored colony.
|-
!1868
|[[Spain]]|| [[Cuba]] declares independence and is reconquered; taken by the [[United States]] in 1898; governed under U.S. military administration until 1902.
|-
!1877
|[[Ottoman Empire]]|| [[Romania]] declares independence. Its independence is finally recognised in July 1878.
|-
!1878
|[[Ottoman Empire]]|| [[Bulgaria]] and [[Serbia]] achieve independence.
|-
!1898
|[[Spain]]|| The [[Philippines]] declares independence but is taken by the [[United States]] in 1899; governed under U.S. military and then civilian administration until 1934.
|-
!1912
|[[Ottoman Empire]]|| [[Albania]] declares independence. Recognized in [[Treaty of London (1913)|Treaty of London]].
|}
===Inter-War Period===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |
!Year||Colonizer||Event
|-
! 1917
| [[Russian Empire]]
| [[Finland]] declares its independence.
|-
! 1918
| [[Russian Empire]]
| [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] declare independence in 1918. The three [[Baltic states]] are subsequently occupied by the [[Soviet Union]] (1940-1941, 1944-1991). The three Baltic nations re-declare their [[independence]] between 1990 and 1991, and their independence is recognized by the Soviet Union on [[September 6]], [[1991]].
|-
! 1918
| [[Austria-Hungary]]
| [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Yugoslavia]] and [[Poland]] become independent.
|-
! 1919
| [[United Kingdom]]
| End of the [[protectorate]] over [[Afghanistan]], when [[United Kingdom|Britain]] accepts the presence of a Soviet ambassador in Kabul.
|-
! 1921
| [[China]]
| The strong empire loses all control over [[Outer Mongolia]] but retains the larger, progressively sinified, [[Inner Mongolia]]), which has been granted autonomy in 1912 (as well as Tibet), and now becomes a popular republic and, as of 1924, a ''de facto'' satellite of the USSR. Formal recognition of [[Mongolia]] will follow in 1945.
|-
! 1922
| [[United Kingdom]]
| In [[Ireland]], following insurgency by the [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]], most of Ireland separates from the United Kingdom as the [[Irish Free State]], reversing 800 years of British presence. [[Northern Ireland]], the northeast area of the island, remains within the United Kingdom.
|-
! 1923
| [[United Kingdom]]
| End of the ''de facto'' protectorate over [[Nepal]] which was never truly colonized.
|-
! 1930
| [[United Kingdom]]
| The United Kingdom returns the leased port territory at [[Weihai]]wei to [[China]], the first episode of decolonisation in East Asia.
|-
! 1931
| [[United Kingdom]]
| The [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] grants virtually full independence to [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], the [[Irish Free State]], the Commonwealth of [[Australia]], and the [[Union of South Africa]], when it declares the [[British parliament]] incapable of passing law over these former colonies without their own consent.
|-
! 1932
| [[United Kingdom]]
| Ends [[League of Nations]] [[Mandate]] over [[Iraq]]. Britain continues to station troops in the country and influence the Iraqi government until 1958.
|-
! 1934
| [[United States]]
| Makes the [[Philippine Islands]] a [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|Commonwealth]]. Abrogates [[Platt Amendment]], which gave it direct authority to intervene in [[Cuba]].
|-
! 1941
| [[France]]
| [[Lebanon]] declares independence, effectively ending the French mandate (previously together with Syria) - it is recognized in 1943.
|-
! 1941
| [[Italy]]
| [[Ethiopia]], [[Eritrea]] & [[Tigray Province|Tigray]] (appended to it), and the Italian part of [[Somalia]] are liberated by [[the Allies]] after an uneasy occupation of [[Ethiopia]] since 1935-36, and no longer joined as one colonial federal state; the [[Ogaden]] desert (disputed by Somalia) remains under British military control until 1948.
|-
! 1944
| [[Denmark]]
| Following a [[plebiscite]], [[Iceland]] formally becomes an independent republic on [[June 17]], [[1944]].
|}
=== From World War II to the present ===<!-- This section is linked from [[Kigali]] -->
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |
!Year||Colonizer||Event
|-
! 1945
|| [[Japan]] || After surrender of Japan, [[North Korea]] is occupied by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[South Korea]] is occupied by the United States.
|-
| || [[Japan]] || The government of [[Republic of China]] flees to [[Taiwan]] and becomes the ''de facto'' government of that island.
|-
| || [[France]] || [[Vietnam]] declares independence but this is recognised 9 years later.
|-
| || [[Netherlands]] || [[Indonesia]] declares independence but, not recognised by the Netherlands until December 1949.
|-
! 1946
|| [[United States]] || The sovereignty of the [[Philippines]] is recognized by the [[United States]], which conquered the islands during the [[Philippine-American War]]. But, the United States continues to station troops in the country as well as influence the Philippine government and economy (through the [[Bell Trade Act]]) until [[1986 EDSA Revolution|the fall of Marcos]] in 1986, which allowed [[Filipino people|Filipino]]s to author a genuinely [[Constitution of the Philippines|Filipino constitution]].
|-
| || [[United Kingdom]] || The former emirate of Transjordan (present-day [[Jordan]]) becomes an independent [[Hashemite]] kingdom when Britain relinquishes [[United Nations|UN]] [[trusteeship]].
|-
! 1947
|| [[United Kingdom]] || The British government leaves [[British India]], which [[Partition of India|is partitioned]] into the Hindu-majority [[Republic of India]] and the Muslim-majority [[Pakistan]] (the eastern half of which will later become independent as [[Bangladesh]]).
|-
! 1948
|| [[United Kingdom]] || In the Far East, [[Burma]] and [[Ceylon]] (Sri Lanka) become independent. In the Middle East, [[Israel]] becomes independent less than a year after the [[United Kingdom|British]] government withdraws from the [[Palestine Mandate]]; the remainder of Palestine becomes part of the Arab states of [[Egypt]] and [[Jordan|Transjordan]].
|-
| || [[United States]] || [[Republic of Korea]] is established in the southern part of the Korean peninsula.
|-
| || [[Soviet Union]] || [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] is established in the northern part of the peninsula.
|-
! 1949
|| [[France]] || [[Laos]] becomes independent.
|-
| || [[Netherlands|The Netherlands]] || The Netherlands recognises the sovereignty of [[Indonesia]] following [[Indonesian National Revolution|an armed and diplomatic struggle]] since 1945.
|-
! 1951
| [[Italy]] || [[Libya]] becomes an independent kingdom.
|-
! 1952
| [[United States]] || [[Puerto Rico]] in the Antilles becomes a self governing [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealth]] associated to the US.
|-
! 1953
|| [[France]] || [[France]] recognizes [[Cambodia]]'s independence.
|-
! 1954
|| [[France]] || [[Vietnam]]'s independence recognized, though the nation is partitioned. The [[Pondichery]] enclave is incorporated into India. Beginning of the [[Algerian War of Independence]]
|-
| || [[United Kingdom]] || The United Kingdom withdraws from the last part of [[Egypt]] it controls: the [[Suez Canal]] zone.
|-
! 1956
|| [[United Kingdom]] || Anglo-Egyptian [[Sudan]] becomes independent.
|-
| || [[France]] || [[Tunisia]] and the sherifian kingdom of [[Morocco]] in the Maghreb achieve independence.
|-
| || [[Spain]] || Spain-controlled areas in [[Morroco]] become independent.
|-
! 1957
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Ghana]] becomes independent, initiating the decolonisation of [[sub-Saharan Africa]].
|-
| || [[United Kingdom]] || The [[Federation of Malaya]] becomes independent.
|-
! 1958
|| [[France]] || [[Guinea]] on the coast of West-Africa is granted independence.
|-
| || [[United States]] || Signing the [[Alaska Statehood Act]] by [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], granting [[Alaska]] the possibility of the equal rights of statehood
|-
| || [[United Kingdom]] || UN trustee [[United Kingdom|Britain]] withdraws from [[Iraq]], which becomes an independent Hashemite Kingdom (like Jordan, but soon to become a republic through the first of several coups d'état).
|-
! 1960
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Nigeria]], [[British Somaliland]] (present-day [[Somalia]]), and most of [[Cyprus]] become independent, though the UK retains sovereign control over [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia]].
|-
| || [[France]] || [[Benin]] (then Dahomey), Upper Volta (present-day [[Burkina Faso]]), [[Cameroon]], [[Chad]], [[Congo-Brazzaville]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Gabon]], the Mali Federation (split the same year into present-day [[Mali]] and [[Senegal]]), [[Mauritania]], [[Niger]], [[Togo]] and the [[Central African Republic]] (the Oubangui Chari) and [[Madagascar]] all become independent.
|-
| || [[Belgium]] || The Belgian Congo (also known as Congo-Kinshasa, later renamed Zaire and presently the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]), becomes independent.
|-
! 1961
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Tanganyika]] (formerly a German colony under UK trusteeship, merged to federal [[Tanzania]] in 1964 with the island of [[Zanzibar]], formerly a proper British colony wrested from the Omani sultanate); [[Sierra Leone]], [[Kuwait]] and [[British Cameroon]] become independent. [[South Africa]] declares independence.
|-
| || [[Portugal]] || The former coastal enclave colonies of [[Goa]], [[Daman and Diu]] are taken over by India.
|-
! 1962
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Uganda]] in Africa, and [[Jamaica]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]] in the Caribbean, achieve independence.
|-
| || [[France]] || End of [[Algerian War]], [[Algeria]] becomes independent.
|-
| || [[Belgium]] || [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]] (then Urundi) attain independence through the ending of the Belgian trusteeship.
|-
| || [[New Zealand]] || The South Sea UN trusteeship over the Polynesian kingdom of [[Western Samoa]] (formerly German Samoa and nowadays called just Samoa) is relinquished.
|-
! 1963
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Kenya]] becomes independent.
|-
| || [[United Kingdom]] || [[Singapore]], together with [[Sarawak]] and [[Sabah]] on [[North Borneo]], form [[Malaysia]] with the pensinsular [[Federation of Malaya]]. Singapore was evicted from Malaysia by Kuala Lumpur two years later.
|-
! 1964
|| [[United Kingdom]] || Northern [[Rhodesia]] declares independence as [[Zambia]] and [[Malawi]], formerly [[Nyasaland]] does the same, both from the [[United Kingdom]]. The Mediterranean island of [[Malta]] becomes independent.
|-
! 1965
|| [[United Kingdom]] || Southern [[Rhodesia]] (the present [[Zimbabwe]]) declares independence as Rhodesia, but is not recognized. [[Gambia]] is recognized as independent. The British protectorate over the [[Maldives]] archipelago in the Indian Ocean is ended.
|-
! 1966
|| [[United Kingdom]] || In the Caribbean, [[Barbados]] and [[Guyana]]; and in Africa, [[Botswana]] (then Bechuanaland) and [[Lesotho]] become independent.
|-
! 1967
|| [[United Kingdom]] || On the Arabian peninsula, [[Aden]] colony becomes independent as [[South Yemen]], to be united with formerly Ottoman North Yemen in 1990-1991.
|-
! 1968
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Mauritius]] and [[Swaziland]] achieve independence.
|-
| ||| [[Portugal]] || After nine years of organized guerrilla resistance, most of [[Guinea-Bissau]] comes under native control.
|-
| || [[Spain]] || [[Equatorial Guinea]] (then Rio Muni) is made independent.
|-
| || [[Australia]] || Relinquishes UN trusteeship (nominally shared by the United Kingdom and New Zealand) of [[Nauru]] in the South Sea.
|-
! 1971
| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Fiji]] and [[Tonga]] are given independence; [[Bangladesh]] achieves independence from Pakistan with the military help of [[India]].
|-
| ||| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], [[Oman]] and seven [[Trucial States]] (the same year, six federated together as [[United Arab Emirates]] and the seventh, Ras al-Kaimah, joined soon after) become independent Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf as the British protectorates are lifted.
|-
! 1973
|| [[United Kingdom]] || The [[Bahamas]] are granted independence.
|-
| ||| [[Portugal]] || Guerrillas unilaterally declare independence in the Southeastern regions of [[Guinea-Bissau]].
|-
! 1974
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Grenada]] in the [[Caribbean]] becomes independent.
|-
| ||| [[Portugal]] || [[Guinea-Bissau]] on the coast of West-Africa is recognized as independent by Portugal.
|-
! 1975
|| [[France]] || The [[Comoros]] archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa is granted independence.
|-
| || [[Portugal]] || [[Angola]], [[Mozambique]] and the island groups of [[Cape Verde]] and [[São Tomé and Príncipe]], all four in Africa, achieve independence. [[East Timor]] declares independence, but is subsequently occupied and annexed by Indonesia nine days later.
|-
| || [[The Netherlands]] || [[Suriname]] (then Dutch Guiana) becomes independent.
|-
| || [[Australia]] || Released from trusteeship, [[Papua New Guinea]] gains independence.
|-
! 1976
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Seychelles]] archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the African coast becomes independent (one year after granting of self-rule).
|-
| || [[Spain]] || The Spanish colonial rule ''de facto'' terminated over the [[Western Sahara]] (then Rio de Oro), when the territory was passed on to and partitioned between [[Mauritania]] and [[Morocco]] (which annexes the entire territory in 1979), rendering the declared independence of the [[Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic]] ineffective to the present day. Since Spain did not have the right to give away Western Sahara, under international law the territory is still under Spanish administration. The ''de facto'' administrator is however Morocco.
|-
! 1977
|| [[France]] || French Somaliland, also known as Afar & Issa-land (after its main tribal groups), the present [[Djibouti]], is granted independence.
|-
! 1978
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Dominica]] in the Caribbean and the [[Solomon Islands]], as well as [[Tuvalu]] (then the Ellice Islands), all in the South Sea, become independent.
|-
! 1979
|| [[United States]] || Returns the [[Panama Canal Zone]] (held under a regime ''sui generis'' since 1903) to the republic of Panama.
|-
| || [[United Kingdom]] || The Gilbert Islands (present-day [[Kiribati]]) in the South Sea as well as [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]] and [[Saint Lucia]] in the Caribbean become independent.
|-
! 1980
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Zimbabwe]] (then [Southern] Rhodesia), already independent ''de facto'', becomes formally independent. The joint Anglo-French colony of the [[New Hebrides]] becomes the independent island republic of [[Vanuatu]].
|-
! 1981
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Belize]] (then British Honduras) and [[Antigua & Barbuda]] become independent.
|-
! 1983
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] (an associated state since 1963) becomes independent.
|-
! 1984
|| [[United Kingdom]] || [[Brunei]] sultanate on Borneo becomes independent.
|-
! 1990
|| [[South Africa]] || [[Namibia]] becomes independent from South Africa.
|-
| || [[United States]] || The [[UN Security Council]] gives final approval to end the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands|U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific]] (dissolved already in 1986), finalizing the independence of the [[Marshall Islands]] and the [[Federated States of Micronesia]], having been a colonial possession of the empire of Japan before UN trusteeship.
|-
! 1991
|| [[Soviet Union]] || [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Ukraine]], [[Moldavia]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]] [[Russia]] and [[Turkmenistan]] become independent from the [[Soviet Union]].
|-
! 1991
|| [[United States]] || U.S. forces withdraw from [[Subic Bay]] and [[Clark Air Base]] in the [[Philippines]] ending major [[U.S. military]] presence, which lasted for almost a century.
|-
! 1994
|| [[United States]] || [[Palau]] (after a transitional period as a Republic since 1981, and before part of the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands|U.S. Trust territory of the Pacific]]) becomes independent from its former trustee, having been a mandate of the Japanese Empire before UN trusteeship.
|-
! 1997
|| [[United Kingdom]] || The sovereignty of [[Hong Kong]] is transferred to [[China]].
|-
! 1999
|| [[Portugal]] || The sovereignty of [[Macau]] is transferred to [[China]] on schedule. It is the last in a series of coastal enclaves that militarily stronger powers had obtained through treaties from the [[Qing]] or Manchu Empire which ruled [[China]]. Macau, like Hong Kong, is not organized into the existing provincial structure applied to other provinces of the People's Republic of China, but is guaranteed a quasi-autonomous system of government within the People's Republic of China as a "Special Administrative Region" or S.A.R.
|-
! 2002
|| [[Indonesia]] || [[East Timor]] formally achieves independence after a transitional UN administration, three years after Indonesia ended its violent quarter-century military occupation of the former Portuguese colony.
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Neocolonialism]]
*[[Imperialism]]
*[[Partition (politics)]]
*[[Separatism]]
*[[Secession]]
[[Category:History of colonialism]]
[[ca:Descolonització]]
[[cs:Dekolonizace]]
[[de:Dekolonisation]]
[[es:Descolonización]]
[[eu:Deskolonizazio]]
[[fr:Décolonisation]]
[[hr:Dekolonizacija]]
[[id:Dekolonisasi]]
[[is:Sjálfstæði nýlendnanna]]
[[it:Decolonizzazione]]
[[he:דה-קולוניזציה]]
[[lt:Dekolonizacija]]
[[nl:Dekolonisatie]]
[[ja:脱植民地化]]
[[no:Avkolonisering]]
[[pl:Dekolonizacja]]
[[pt:Descolonização]]
[[scn:Diculunizzazzioni]]
[[simple:Decolonization]]
[[sl:Dekolonizacija]]
[[fi:Dekolonisaatio]]
[[sv:Avkolonisering]]
[[zh:非殖民化]]