Chapter 22

Daniel Guerrero

Professor Patricia Andrews, MA

04/08/19

Chapter 22

The End of Empire 

The focus of the chapter is about Decolonization and this all happens after world war two. Mainly talking about countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, territories that we define today as the global south. The term refers to particularly to the dismantlement, in the years after World War II, of the colonial empires established prior to World War I throughout the world. Nations in India, Southeast Asia and Africa gained independence from imperialist. During this period Trade became more global as technology expanded, markets grew, and corporations became more dominant business organizations. At the same time that a lot of good this have been happen all around the world, there are also some bad things. Ethnic conflicts, genocide and terrorism increased throughout the world. Power is key in this chapter, power was seen who can be a ruler. After World War II Africa and Asia gained independence from European imperialist. The first colony to gain independence was India, in 1947. During World War I, India sent troops to fight with the British against the central Powers in Europe. The British government promised Indians self-rule as reward for participating in WWI. When the war ended and self Rule was not granted, nationalism and demands for independence increased. Mohandas Gandhi emerged as the leader of the Indian Independence movement in the 1920s. Gandhi urged Indians to use non-violent means to achieve their goal. Gandhi's tactics included deliberately breaking unfair/unjust laws. Gandhi encouraged peaceful protest and boycotting British goods in order to hurt the British Colonial economy. In 1935, British granted India limited self-rule but not total independence. But self-rule created tensions between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority who feared giving power to the Hindus. Also keep in mind that Gandhi was born in a prestigious lifestyle and was a well educated man. When World War II broke out, Britain committed Indian troops to the war with asking India's self-governing assembly. This led to protest and renewal calls for Independence from Britain. When World War II ended in 1945, Britain was in debt and was ready to grant India its independence. But violence between Hindus and Muslims made granting independence difficult.  We move on to the country of African. As an imperial power, Britain conquered much of Africa including Gold Coast. After WWII, Britain allowed Africans in Gold Coast to participate in local self governments. In 1947, Kwame Nkrumah used Gandhi's nonviolent boycotts and strikes to pressure Britain to grant independence. After a decade of struggle, Britain finally granted Gold Coast Independence in 1957 and the Nation was renamed Ghana.