Decolonization: Asia & Africa

Motives for Independence The influences of Allied propaganda during WWII about popular sovereignty & self- determination Southeast Asia, was encouraged by other nations, like Japan, in WWII to seek independence since it would hurt their colonial owners Also education from schools.

Mistakes Decolonized states had began to face dire economic problems and disunity due to language and ethnic differences.

Conflicts of New States India: After the partition of British India, conflict ensued due to high religious tensions. Along with the many wars over Kashmir began. Congo: After independence, rival political and ethnic groups found external allies for the civil war to come due to the remaining tensions. It ended in a military coup starting a corrupt government

Remaining effects India and Pakistan have high military and religious tensions with conflicts over Kashmir. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India don’t cooperate well together and have all ventured down different political paths The Dutch East Indies worked with Japan to get rid of the Dutch, but that allowed a dictatorship to start and later violence began with decades of ethnic tension & discrimination

Southeast Asia Independence South Asian nations looked to get rid of European control at any cost, including supporting other dominate nations, in order to show the military and political abilities of Asian peoples Asian nations were under European control for a long time so they were able to inherit: good industries communication networks education systems

African Independence: Peaceful In some African colonies, independence was achieved through negotiation instead of revolution Politicians led nationalist movements to get rid of foreign rule, while public support for colonialism was falling African people began to worry less about the effects of independence due to: An expanding world economy national support for liberation medical improvements allowing population growth

White Settler Resistance Some African colonies with white settler minorities had to gain independence through violence due to European resistance which slowed decolonization Ex. In Kenya, a small group of wealthy settlers claimed that the people weren’t ready for independence due to a protest by Kikuyu people. The settlers made the people appear as primitive savages. Violence occurred between the settlers & natives, which led to British intervention to hunt down African leaders and ban all protests.

African Independence: False/Restricted -African Colony African Independence: False/Restricted -France Some European countries weren’t willing to grant full independence and instead gave ‘empty promises’ that offered change but not independence Ex. France made promises in WWII to their African colonies to give more rights which seemed like independence but truly weren’t and limited the amount of French aid each colony

African Independence: Violence Some European countries tried to keep their colonies, which led to violent resistance from African nationalist Ex. France attempted to keep Algeria which led to a brutal Algerian uprising. The Algerians gained international support for independence, but France their own country and fought to the end until they were defeated and were forced to accept Algerian independence

Final: Critical think question Should European powers be held accountable for economic struggles and ethnic tension created by rule in Africa and Asia?