ABSTRACT
AFTER the Second World War socio-political changes gathered momentum. The victors from western Europe were soon called upon to liquidate their colonial empires. Over the years, either as a matter of policy or after bitter struggles, Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands granted independence to their dependent peoples. Pre-war British policy of evolution to responsible self-government was implemented at a vastly accelerated rate. India and Pakistan became independent in 1947. Ceylon, already by 1940 an example of responsible local government, became fully independent in 1948. During the fifties the process continued. The withdrawal of British troops from Egypt after a period of over seventy years was completed in 1956. After years of agitation and a period (1955–9) of open rebellion in Cyprus a settlement was reached in 1959 which restricted Britain's direct influence in the island's affairs to small enclaves for defence. In Africa one territory after another established independent régimes under new constitutions: Nigeria celebrated independence in 1959; of the islands in the Caribbean the Bahamas had in fact long enjoyed a very considerable measure of self rule. Except for rather small changes the Constitution written in 1729 remained substantially the same until a new one was drawn up in 1964 which gave complete control over internal affairs to the Bahamian Government.
