About Lesson
E.3. Reasons For Decolonisation
The Second World War significantly weakened the authority and influence of colonial powers, diminishing their global standing and prestige.
- Nations like the Netherlands, Belgium, and France had experienced occupation and defeat, while the United Kingdom emerged from the war economically and militarily drained.
- Meanwhile, people living under colonial rule—many of whom had been recruited into the Allied forces during the war—grew increasingly resolute in their desire for freedom. Witnessing Europe’s devastation and vulnerability, these colonies saw an opportunity to sever their ties with the war-weakened European empires and assert their independence and self-governance.
Furthermore, the emergence of two anti-colonialist superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, and the new international climate after 1945 encouraged the colonies to make a bid for independence
- Being aware of the new favourable international context in which they found themselves, colonised peoples began their fight for independence