Postcolonial Age

The post-colonial age refers to the period since 1945, when numerous colonies and possessions of major Western countries began to gain independence, in the wake of the end of World War II.

The process of decolonization has occurred all throughout modern history of the Western world; namely any time a colonial possession achieves independence or sovereignty, or some form of greater autonomy, that is a valid occurrence of decolonization; however the period since 1945 is particularly notable, largely due to the breakup of colonial empires held by many major European powers.

The period following World War I was somewhat parallel, since it involved the breakup of the colonial empires previously held by the nations which were the losing side in that conflict. However, the period after 1945 was highly notable and arguably unique, since it involved the breakup of colonial possessions of virtually all European powers, including very much the nations who had been the victors in World War II.

Overview by country

Many European countries owned overseas possessions and colonies, all of these gained independence as fully sovereign nations during the decade

• British Empire. Some of the nations formed after 1945 from former British colonies include: India, Pakistan, Jordan, Palestine, Kenya, and numerous countries within Africa.
• France. Algeria was one major country which was previously a French colony.
• Belgium. Congo was a Belgian colony. Leopold II of Belgium enslaved indigenous people to work in the mines and exploited the land of its natural resources.
• Netherlands. Indonesia was a former colony of the Netherlands, which became a country.
• Portugal. The Portuguese Colonial War also known in Portugal as the Overseas War, or also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, was a 13-year-long conflict fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974. The Portuguese ultraconservative regime at the time, the Estado Novo, was overthrown by a military coup in 1974, and the change in government brought the conflict to an end. The war was a decisive ideological struggle in Lusophone Africa, surrounding nations, and mainland Portugal. The former Portuguese territories in Africa became sovereign states, with Agostinho Neto in Angola, Samora Machel in Mozambique, Luís Cabral in Guinea-Bissau, Manuel Pinto da Costa in São Tomé and Príncipe, and Aristides Pereira in Cape Verde as the heads of state. .
• United States of America. The Philippines became a full-fledged sovereign nation after World War II. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially recognized by the United States as an independent nation through the Treaty of Manila, during the presidency of Manuel Roxas.

See also

Historical concepts

• Imperialism
• Colonialism
• Postcolonialism
• Third World
• New Imperialism
• Neocolonialism

Historical overviews

• Wars of national liberation
• Decolonization of Africa
• Decolonization of Asia
• Decolonization of the Americas

Postcolonial movements and concepts

• Inversion in postcolonial theory
• Linguistic imperialism
• Nation-building
• Postcolonial anarchism
• Postcolonial feminism
• Postcolonial theology
• Post-communism
• Cultural hegemony
• Neocolonial dependence
• Postcolonial theorists
  • Paulo Freire

Postcolonial national movements and conflicts

• Portuguese Colonial War
  • Angolan War of Independence
  • Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
  • Mozambican War of Independence