During World War II, the United States were going through many changes and challenges. This was not only happening in the United States, but also in Europe. Following World War II, colonized people looked to decolonization as a way to free themselves and to become independent. World War II also showed that the colonial powers were incapable of being targeted or hurt. Colonized people used this to their advantage and believed that decolonization was the way for them to go. Colonial people started to think ahead and reconsidered their current political situations.
Decolonization is the process in which a colony that was once colonized seeks to become independent from the colonizing country. Decolonization was active during the period of 1945 …show more content…
While Africa was progressing toward independence, it was apparent that South Africa would not gain its independence as easily as some of the other nations. “South Africa, which held the continent’s largest and wealthiest settler population (a mixture of Afrikaans – and English –speaking people of European descent), defied black majority rule longer than other African states. After winning the elections of 1948, the white Afrikaner-dominated National Party enacted an extreme form of racial segregation known as the apartheid” (Pollard et al, 2015, p. 739). According to History.com, “Under apartheid, nonwhite South Africans (a majority of the population) would be forced to live in separate areas from whites and use separate public facilities, and contact between the two groups would be limited. Despite strong and consistent opposition to apartheid within and outside of South Africa, its laws remained in effect for the better part of 50 years. In 1991, the government of President F.W. de Klerk began to repeal most of the legislation that provided the basis for apartheid” (History.com, 2010). There were major oppositions toward the apartheid policies. One of those who was opposed to it was Nelson Mandela. Mandela was eventually imprisoned for 27 years because he led the ANC, a group that was organized to oppose the …show more content…
Angola and Mozambique struggled for independence as well. “The longest, most divided, and bloodiest wars against colonialism in the subcontinent occurred in the Portuguese colonies. War first erupted in Angola in 1961, in a series of apparently unconnected uprisings. Portugal’s initial response to the outbreak of revolt in Angola and Mozambique was all-out war, and by the mid-1960s there were some 70,000 Portuguese troops in each territory” (Britannica, 2016). Due to the sheer cost of war and the falling Portugal government, the Portuguese withdrew from
Decolonization is the process in which a colony that was once colonized seeks to become independent from the colonizing country. Decolonization was active during the period of 1945 …show more content…
While Africa was progressing toward independence, it was apparent that South Africa would not gain its independence as easily as some of the other nations. “South Africa, which held the continent’s largest and wealthiest settler population (a mixture of Afrikaans – and English –speaking people of European descent), defied black majority rule longer than other African states. After winning the elections of 1948, the white Afrikaner-dominated National Party enacted an extreme form of racial segregation known as the apartheid” (Pollard et al, 2015, p. 739). According to History.com, “Under apartheid, nonwhite South Africans (a majority of the population) would be forced to live in separate areas from whites and use separate public facilities, and contact between the two groups would be limited. Despite strong and consistent opposition to apartheid within and outside of South Africa, its laws remained in effect for the better part of 50 years. In 1991, the government of President F.W. de Klerk began to repeal most of the legislation that provided the basis for apartheid” (History.com, 2010). There were major oppositions toward the apartheid policies. One of those who was opposed to it was Nelson Mandela. Mandela was eventually imprisoned for 27 years because he led the ANC, a group that was organized to oppose the …show more content…
Angola and Mozambique struggled for independence as well. “The longest, most divided, and bloodiest wars against colonialism in the subcontinent occurred in the Portuguese colonies. War first erupted in Angola in 1961, in a series of apparently unconnected uprisings. Portugal’s initial response to the outbreak of revolt in Angola and Mozambique was all-out war, and by the mid-1960s there were some 70,000 Portuguese troops in each territory” (Britannica, 2016). Due to the sheer cost of war and the falling Portugal government, the Portuguese withdrew from