After the Second World War, many colonies achieved independence. This decolonization began quickly and spread rapidly. Let’s look at decolonization in four places: India (1947), Vietnam (1954), Nigeria (1960), and Algeria (1962).

Nationalism and other ideologies of unity

Decolonization only succeeded when people in each colony worked together. Unity was necessary because each colony contained different religions, ethnic groups, and political parties. For decades, colonial rulers pushed these groups to be rivals. They realized that divided people are much easier to rule. To reject their colonial rulers, anti-colonial leaders united the various groups within their countries.

Successful decolonization also required a powerful ideology. Basically, an ideology is a set of ideas and beliefs. The most common anti-colonial ideology was nationalism. For a long time, colonized people mostly only identified with their own local community. Nationalism encouraged them to think of themselves as part of a larger, single “nation” that shared the struggle for freedom. But nationalism wasn’t the only ideology used. Several independence movements combined nationalism with socialism or communism. Anti-colonial leaders encouraged colonized people to think of themselves as a unified “class” of peasants and workers.

In Nigeria, India, Vietnam, and Algeria, nationalism played a key role. Nigerian anti-colonial leaders sought to overcome the many ethnic differences in Nigeria. They did this by stressing people’s shared ties to the land of Nigeria. In India, the Indian National Congress Movement also sought to unify India’s population. Indians had long been divided by religion.

In both Algeria and Vietnam, socialism played a leading role in nationalist movements. In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh movement embraced communism. This helped attract poor peasants to the movement. In Algeria, the main liberation movement was the Front de Libération National (FLN). It used socialism to convince workers and peasants to unite.

Changing attitudes of the colonizers

At the end of the Second World War, Britain and France didn’t plan to surrender their colonies. But the British quickly understood that they were no longer as strong as they had been. They realized they would be unable to block a determined nationalist movement. In 1945, the British Labour Party came to power. It decided to grant India independence. It hoped that would allow Britain to keep its influence in the region. In the years that followed, Britain’s government mostly agreed to demands for colonial independence in other regions as well. Yet, they weren’t willing to accept just any decolonization leader. Instead, they tried to ensure that the new rulers would be useful to them. This was the case in Nigeria, for example.

The French were less willing to give in to nationalist movements. In 1945, they said no to Ho Chi Mihn’s request for Vietnam’s independence. When they saw how much the Vietnamese wanted freedom, the French granted a bit of self-rule to keep Vietnam connected to France. This unwillingness to give up control resulted in bloody decolonizing conflicts.

Violent or peaceful movement

In Algeria, nationalists began attacking French settlers after France refused to grant independence. The French responded with brutal tactics, including torture. This angered the local population, and united support behind the FLN. France’s harsh tactics also turned the French public against the occupation. In 1962, French voters voted to end French rule in Algeria.

In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh’s supporters gained control of the country by 1946. But French forces then reoccupied Vietnam. This launched a war that would last decades. As they began to lose the war, the French tried to install a government friendly to them under a ruler named Bao Dai. But, few Vietnamese recognized Bao Dai’s authority. After a major military defeat, the French retreated to south Vietnam. They then turned to the United States for help. Americans soon took over the war effort. After the war ended in 1975, Vietnamese forces finally freed the entire country.

By contrast, decolonization in India and Nigeria was largely peaceful. In India, there was military resistance to colonialism at first. However, by the 1940s, Mohandas K. Gandhi had convinced the Indian decolonization movement to turn to nonviolent resistance. Nonviolent tactics included strikes, peaceful marches, and boycotts. (A boycott is a refusal to buy certain goods.) Gandhi’s methods turned public opinion against the British. It also caused Britain to lose money. By 1947, the Indian National Congress achieved success.

Nigeria’s decolonization leaders also led strikes and boycotts. This eventually caused the British government to hand power over to Nigerian leaders. However, the British were cautious. They chose leaders they believed would remain friendly to Britain.

Post-independence unity?

Three of the colonies described in this article ended decolonization as unified countries. Successful decolonization depended on a wide range of different groups remaining united. But after independence was achieved, many of these groups became rivals again. In Nigeria, nationalist leaders struggled to balance the interests of the many different ethnic groups. In 1967, a civil war broke out. This war led to immense suffering among the Igbo-speaking community. Three years later, the Nigerian government reunited the state. In Vietnam, many people who had supported the French and the United States fled the country. In Algeria, French and other European settlers also left. Still, those two former French colonies remained fairly unified and peaceful after decolonization.

India was a different case. Gandhi and many others had hoped for a unity of all Indians. That dream did not last long. Though Britain granted independence to India, it also split its former colony in two. Part of India became the new country of Pakistan. The majority of people in Pakistan were Muslims. In India, the majority were Hindus. In each country, religious minorities faced oppression and violence. Almost 2 million people were killed. Huge numbers of Muslims fled India for Pakistan. At the same time, Hindus and Sikhs fled Pakistan for India.

Conclusion

In this article, you've looked at four examples of decolonization. Each of these stories is unique. However, there are important similarities. In each case, ideologies such as nationalism and socialism convinced different groups to unify behind the goal of independence. Colonizers reacted to decolonization efforts in different ways. The way they reacted determined whether the road to independence was peaceful or bloody. Some former colonies faced internal divisions after winning independence. Different groups no longer had a common enemy to unite them.