ABSTRACT
In retrospect, the outstanding feature of decolonization in Asia and Africa was how quickly it took place. Among the first steps in decolonization was a movement toward self-government in India at the end of the nineteenth century in which Indians were appointed to advise the British viceroy and participate in legislative councils. World War Two accelerated the decolonization movements in India and elsewhere. Africa’s decolonization had begun, and before it ended, many new, often impoverished and unstable, countries would join the global system. The decolonization of British Africa was relatively peaceful, and the British Empire was transformed into a voluntary association, the British Commonwealth. The French experience with decolonization proved more difficult than the British. The effects of colonialism are still seen globally, from India’s railway system and British bureaucratic institutions to the widespread use of French and English in Africa and Asia.
