decolonization
Empires releasing territories
Decolonization is the process by which colonies gain independence from imperial powers, or more broadly, the dismantling of colonial systems and their effects.
The term covers both political independence—African decolonization accelerated in the 1960s—and ongoing efforts to undo colonial legacies in institutions, education, and culture: decolonization of the curriculum, decolonization of museums.
The word implies not just ending foreign rule but actively reversing its lasting impacts.
Economically disadvantaged nations collectively
- developing nationsCountries with lower economic output
- non-alignedNot allied with any side
- postcolonialAfter foreign rule ends
- AfricaSecond-largest continent
Asia · Latin America · Oceania · independence movements · self-determination · sovereignty · Bandung Conference · anti-imperialism
Global South
Economically disadvantaged nations collectively
- developing nationsCountries with lower economic output
- non-alignedNot allied with any side
- postcolonialAfter foreign rule ends
Africa · Asia · Latin America · Oceania · independence movements · self-determination · sovereignty · Bandung Conference · anti-imperialism · neocolonialism
- African historyNubia, Dahomey, Oyo Empire, Scramble for Africa, scramble for Africa
- colonialismcolonies, British Empire, colonizers, protectorate, colonists
- comparative historyimperialism, revolutions, modernization, industrialization, slavery
- decolonizationindependence movement, independence movements, freedom fighter, national liberation, liberation army
- historical forcescultural shifts, political change, social progress, economic development, technological change
- Kenya historyindependence struggle, 1963, December 12, freedom fighters, British rule
decolonizationcolonization
Foreign territorial takeover
colonisation · colonialism · imperialism · colonial rule · recolonization
decolonizationannexation
Absorbing territory into jurisdiction
expansion · territorial expansion · conquest · incorporation · subjugation