Why was decolonisation so rapid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Why was decolonisation so rapid - Essay Example 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