PR1500: Decolonisation: Decline and Fall of the British and French empires 20 - Rise & Fall of British Empire 1861-1990 15 - British Empire Antarctic Claims 10 - Millions of Miles 5 0 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1919 1920 1940 1930 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 *1871, 1881, and 1911 are estimates What happened? Post-WWII decolonisation - Shift in global balance of power away from Europe and towards US (and, to a lesser extent, USSR) - Significant impact on Cold War - even more significant for post-Cold War period in which legacy of colonialism became even clearer Explanatory factors located at two levels: domestic • strength of indigenous anti-colonial movements in colonised countries • influence of domestic anti-colonial movements in colonial states international • Colonial states' perceptions of their roles in international system • Constraints and opportunities of Cold War
· Key factors contributing to fall of empires · Centralised power · Increased costs post ww2 · Colonies revolt · Domestic citizens also wanted to be free of war/ traumatised by war · Ghandi protested · Rise of liberalism - moral high ground - attlee · Outdated = Cultural imperialism in place of imperialism · 1 country free > all countries free · Key events related to the fall? · Abolishment of slave trade in UK 1807 · Algerian war 54-63 · UN pushed for decolonisation · Suez canal crisis- strategic importance in terms of trade · Undermined white supremacy · Japan defeated Russia -1904 · British defeat of Singapore -1902 · Battle of Britain · France lost control of vietman at Dien Bien Phu 1954