Decolonization - French and British Colonies - Case Study Example

Decolonization: French and British Colonies Causes and Outcomes of European Empire Collapse Very few theorists estimated that the end of colonial empires would occur so quickly and easy. The retreat from empire, the process known as decolonization, was the major event of the postwar European politics. In 1950s the majority of global leaders assumed that the Europe would have power in Africa for another century, however, within only two decades the empire collapsed. One of the important characteristics of decolonization process was the ease with which it was accomplished. The negotiations were peaceful and the transfer of power was made without any animosity. The political situation after World Wars I and II in Europe was one of the most influential factors in decolonization process. The new influential parties started to develop in colonies with the objective to resist the royal rule. South Asia, for example, has much advanced in political power: Gandhi has played an important role in raising the question of national sovereignty. Communistic parties of North Africa were also demanding the end of colonial power. France and Britain remained the key political players in Europe, however, they failed to restructure their colonial administration and the process of decolonization became unavoidable. Few years after the war, both French and British empires were struggling to preserve their colonial ruling. The British Empire became the Commonwealth of Nations, while France was classified as the French Union or the Community since 19451. French politicians still believed in the unity of colonies, while the British colonies moved towards the autonomy. The political change was required – the first step in this direction was political participation of local population instead of European administration in politics. Colonial agencies became elective governmental bodies. In 1950s these formations acquired the national status and the national leaders of colonies did not see the need to be part of the colonial government. France and Britain were unable to control the political life of their colonies any more and one after the other, the colonies became independent. African and Caribbean colonies received sovereignty peacefully. There were tensions only with two colonies: Indochina and Algeria. France was much determined to preserve political power over these two colonies. Between 1947 and 1954, the French were fighting against the local armies with the effort to prevent the collapse of empire2. The situation in Vietnam (1954) was not better as well – the French military forces were demolished by the local troops. Military operations failed and the only way out was to start negotiations. In the result, the North Vietnam was granted recognition of national sovereignty. Later the same year, the warfare started in Algeria. Unwilling to repeat their mistakes at Vietnam, French leaders much increased their local military forces. Fighting continued for eight years until Algeria proclaimed its independence in 1962. Colonization was an important stage in global history and eventually the collapse of empires was spontaneous and unavoidable. Colonial world was the combination of two cultures, even though they were never mixed. The Africans were driving donkey carts equipped by the tires, while the Hindu peasants listened to the transistor radio3. European culture became open for colonial population, however, its presence and influence were hardly noticeable. Europe was the model for political and economic development and the colonies managed to emerge as independent states only because they had an example to follow: France and Britain. Decade after the war, Europe has shifted the emphasis from political domination to technological advances. The authority over colonies has weakened. The transition from colonial ruling to national independent states was very rapid, however, the signs that the old order could no longer survive were present much earlier in 1930s. Two events support this claim: the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini and increased resistance in India. Mussolini wanted to created his own empire he used military campaigns (Italy was much advanced in military: tanks, aircrafts and poisonous gas) to invade Ethiopians who were military weak. The fighting continued for six months until the Ethiopian emperor pled the League of Nations to protect his nation against invasion. This was the first sign of colonial empire inability to protect its colonies. The same situation started to develop in India. Under the direction of Gandhi, anti-colonial movements became centralized. This small man with the walking staff was the opposite personality to Mussolini, but he has managed to create the powerful political resistance4. He participated in strikes and threatened his life. He did not try to inspire the population to avoid cooperation with Britain, he rather had the aim to avoid the absolute British ruling. Britain has removed its political support from India but was did not know how to deal with the passive resistance led by Gandhi. Gandhi was the most important decolonization leader who showed that the public opinion is the new, more powerful force in global politics. The passive resistance of Indian people and aggressiveness of Italian leaders have shaken the political strength of colonial Europe. The World War II has much speeded the change on global political landscape. India gained independence in 1947, ten years later the first African colony Ghana became sovereign as well. In the next 20 years, all of British colonies became independent states5. Decolonization was characterized by the rapid political changes. European empires were quickly constructed and even faster collapsed. More than 60 nations gained independence in 20 years time span. It raises the question about the causes of decolonization: did these nations gain their independence or did France and Britain grant it? Right after the World War II, France and Britain started to develop new administrative and economic reforms. European forces failed to control the colonial life and this responsibility was shifted to colonial leaders. New airports were built, new roadways constructed and medical facilities improved. Economic advances was the key phrase for this period in history and was the second important factor, the war situation was the first one, in decolonization process. Rapid urbanization created new local economic opportunities in colonies. Colonial economies became more global, the new international markets opened for them. However, colonial economies were mostly agrarian and the prices for agrarian products remained stable while the prices for industrial goods continuously increased6. It has created the need to diversify the local economies. This further strengthened the independence strives of colonial leaders. The result of the colonial modernization was unexpected for France and Britain – colonial population became more inspired to decolonize. They believed that with decolonization the life would become better and economies would develop and stabilize faster. There were numerous economic difficulties and this led to the evolvement of the new political awareness. Nationalism was stipulated and independence movements popularized. Colonial population was represented by two political forces: colonial administration and local rich families. Colonial administrators and elite shared the common values (liberalism) and cooperated with each other. European colonial ruling lost its influence and the power of national independence gained more significance. Both France and Britain had to react to the changing political situation in colonies. France tried to re-impose its colonial rule in Indochina and Algeria right after the war. It was attempted to maintain its dominance through military campaigns, but France was forced to capitulate. French colonists had to relocate back to France. The French Empire totally collapsed. As Engle has noted, this experience in fact was beneficial for France: the government has turned its energies to Europe, became the military and diplomatic member of EU and managed to leave behind Germany in economic and technological expertise. Even though the French Empire collapsed, France has proved its ability to control the former colonies. The major emphasis was devoted to strengthening the inner situation in the country as well as to the foreign policies. British reaction was difference from the French – it was less violent and more flexible7. Decolonization was done in two phases: the establishment of the stable native systems in colonies and development of alignments for the reasons of history and common culture. However, the British decolonization was much faster but more complex than French for the number of reasons. Britain ended the war with the huge debt to United States and there was the need to maintain the currency at the global standard. Second, the wars with Greece, Palestine and India exhausted the military force of Britain and the only solution was to decolonize as quickly and peacefully as it was possible8. It was evaluated that the cost of maintaining the colonial rule was too high compared to the gradual transfer of power and preserving of close bonds with former colonies. In 1960s, more than 2 million emigrants came to Europe from former colonies in the hope to find better employment. The colonized regions were crowded and there were limited employment opportunities. In addition, Europe was restoring after the war and there was an extreme labor scarcity. At this time the expression the “third world nations” appeared to distinguish the nations outside the Western Europe, United States and the Soviet Union. This term related to the newly formed states that were not willing to cooperate with either of major political powers. Interesting to note, both the Soviet Union and United States tried to gain the support of the third world nations through technical assistance. However, in 1970s the Egyptian government has forced Russians to leave as well as Ethiopian government forced the Americans to leave9. Thus, despite of the end of colonial rule, the European political giants were willing to preserve their influence in former colonies through military and economic assistance. The collapse of the British and French Empires was the sign of decline of European power in the world10. The impact of the war was significant as well – only Britain managed to emerge as the political and economic power in Europe in 1945, however, it was very weak. The rest of the Europe was defeated. In addition, Japan became more successful as the military state and their activities in Southern Asia further stipulated the national awareness of the local communities. Later the Japanese weakened their position, nevertheless, when Europeans turned their attention to Asia they encountered the hostile attitude. African and Asian troops served in European armies during the World War II. This has also contributed to the decolonization process – the foreign soldiers were fighting against the military invasions of Hitler and as the result, they realized the need for their national independence as well. For example, the military veterans in Ghana were the key promoters of national sovereignty. United States and the Soviet Union played an important role as well – the leaders of both countries supported decolonization. The leaders officially opposed the colonial ruling and provided the alternative political structures based on partial independence of the colonial nations. Historically, United States has been the first colony to fight for their independence and after the World War II the American nation confidently supported the decolonization of the rest of the world11 (Hyam 2003). United States based their position on the need for self-determination, while the Soviet Union saw communism as the alternative structure for colonies. The United Nations tried to leave United States and Soviet Union outside of the debate; however, their involvement was powerful. Soon, France and Britain united their efforts in the defense against military communism in North Korea (military troops invaded South Korea and tried to gain power). Europe lost its position as the center of political and economic power and the colonial structure was more of a disadvantage for France and Britain (Morris-Jones 2001). Colonial empire was unable to survive in the 20th century. Unlike the 19th century when Britain and France spread their cultures to the world, the colonized nations felt the extreme need for their own identity. It was popular to depict the relation between the Europe and colonies through the symbolic figures: Europe was an adult holding the hand of the child representing the dependent local populations. Wilson encouraged colonial nations to fight for their sovereignty, while actions of Hitler proved that empire was no longer acceptable in the world. United Nations promoted the concept of equality among the countries and the notion of independent politics inspired the individuals with the idea of being self-sufficient in deciding their own course of development. Decolonization was the only solution. Decolonization process was not fast, as it is perceived now, it was dreamt about in the heart of all colonial nations. Word Count 2082 References Betts, R. The Retreat from Empire. A Brief History of the Past Two Hundred Years. Retrieved November 25, 2006, from http://www.britannia.com/history/euro/4/2_2.html Chamberlain, M. (1998). The Longman Companion to European Decolonisation in the Twentieth Century. Longman Companions to History. London and New York: Longman Publishing. Engle, E. Decolonization. The EU and the ACP: Inter Imperialist Rivalry and Neocolonialism. http://lexnet.bravepages.com/imperial.htm#1. Hennig, R. (2002, July 18). The failure of decolonization in north-western Africa. afrol News, p. 1. Hyam, R. (2003). Britains Declining Empire. The Road to Decolonisation, 1918-1968. University of Cambridge Press. Morris-Jones, W & Fischer, G. (2001). Decolonisation and After (Studies in Commonwealth Politics and History). Frank Cass Publishing. Thorn, G. (2001). End of Empires: European Decolonisation, 1919-80. Hodder Murray Publishing. White, N. (1999). Decolonisation: The British Experience Since 1945. Seminar Studies in History. London and New York: Longman Publishing. Read More