This essay examines how decolonization in the twentieth century reshaped the global order, the international system, and the cultural and social identities of millions of people. This essay argues that decolonization in the twentieth century was driven by three main causes: nationalist aspirations, anti-colonial interference, and international interference (Lundestad, 2017). It will illustrate this argument by analyzing the cases of Vietnam, Korea, Algeria, and India. These four countries experienced different forms and degrees of colonial domination and liberation, but they all shared a common desire to assert their political and cultural autonomy in the face of colonial oppression. This essay will examine how these factors influenced the process and outcome of decolonization in each case.
The first main cause of decolonization in the twentieth century was nationalist aspirations within the native peoples. We will examine the cases of Korea and Vietnam. Beginning with Vietnam; nationalist aspirations began as a result of France suppressing Vietnamese culture by imposing the French language and education system on the Vietnamese elite and civil servants, while leaving the common public uneducated (Cady, 1966). This was in addition to France discouraging and replacing the original Vietnamese script and literature as well as censoring nationalist and anti-colonial publications. These actions are also reflected by Japan in Korea which like France also actively suppressed the local language in favour of the language of the colonizers. An example of this is how Japan forced the Korean people to adopt Japanese names known as soushi-kaimei (Kim-Rivera, 2002). It should also be noted that France considered Vietnam to be a colony for exploitation (Cady, 1966) this is in contrast to France’s colony of Algeria which was seen as a settler colony or as an extension to France itself (Choi / Suggitt, 2017). It would be due to this view that France would harvest Vietnam’s natural resources for the benefit of the French economy. This is similar to Korea’s situation in which Korea was viewed as a region for exploitation by the Japanese colonial authorities. In order for France to further cement their authority in Vietnam, they turned to religion, actively encouraging the local population to convert to Catholicism which was further encouraged by granting converts special privileges and tax exemptions (Ladenburg, 2007). These actions are also reflected by Japan who proselytized the local Korean population to Shintoism and actively suppressed religious minorities such as Christianity as it was seen as a threat to Japanese colonial authority (Kim-Rivera, 2002). All of these restrictions and exploitation led to increasing anti-French or anti-Japanese sentiments which in turn factored into a prevalent nationalist movement in each country culminating in a push for independence from colonial rule as both the Vietnamese and Korean peoples wished to retain the rights to speak their language freely, have complete control over their natural resources, and practice their ancestral cultural practices and religious beliefs freely. In conclusion, this paragraph has shown how nationalist aspirations were one of the main causes of decolonization in Vietnam and Korea. It has explained how the colonial powers of France and Japan suppressed and exploited the native cultures, languages, resources, and religions of these countries, leading to a rise of anti-colonial sentiments and movements. It has also demonstrated how the Vietnamese and Korean peoples sought to reclaim their sovereignty and identity from colonial rule by demanding independence and self-determination.
The second main cause of decolonization in the twentieth century was anti-colonial resistance, which took different forms in different countries. For instance, Algeria fought a violent war against France from 1954 to 1962 (Vince, 2020), while India pursued a peaceful negotiation with Britain that led to its independence in 1947 (Darwin, 2011). The contrast between these two strategies of resistance was influenced by the historical and political contexts of these countries. Algeria had a long history of conflicts for autonomy or independence such as the Setif massacre and Constantine riots and Abdelkader resistance (Bedjaoui, 2020), however these uprisings faced a determined French colonial rule that resisted any major concessions. India, on the other hand, had a more cooperative relationship with Britain (Amruta, 2023), but also faced a growing nationalist movement that used civil disobedience and non-violence as its main tactics (Ansari, 2022). Despite the British repression of the Quit India Movement in 1942 (Hayasi, 2021), they realized that they could not afford to keep the Raj after the Second World War and that their colonialism undermined their anti-fascist stance (Darwin, 2011). Therefore, they decided to start the process of decolonization in India. In conclusion, this paragraph had demonstrated how anti-colonial resistance was a key factor in decolonization, as shown by the cases of Algeria and India. It has compared and contrasted their different methods and outcomes of resistance, and explained how their historical and political situations shaped their choices and results.
The third main cause of decolonization in the twentieth century was international intervention, as it affected the process and outcome of decolonization in various countries. For example, Korea was divided into two independent states, North and South Korea, as a result of the joint occupation by the US and the Soviet Union after the end of Japanese colonial rule (Kim, 2020). Both Koreas however, have achieved some form of decolonization, as they are both independent and internationally recognized. In contrast, Vietnam achieved its independence from France through a revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh, who appealed to the US and other countries for support by invoking the principles of self-determination and human rights (Lindsay, 2016). He also criticized France for denying the Vietnamese people the liberty, equality, and fraternity that it claimed for itself (Minh, 1977). This put pressure on France from the international community to withdraw. Similarly, Algeria gained its independence from France after a brutal war that exposed the French atrocities and drew condemnation from the UN and other allies of France, such as the US (Thomas, 2001). They called for decolonization and supported the Algerian cause. India also benefited from the international pressure put on Britain to decolonize its colonies after the Second World War, as Britain’s colonialism contradicted its anti-fascist stance and weakened its economy (Darwin, 2011). Therefore, Britain decided to start the process of decolonization in India and granted it independence in 1947. In conclusion, this paragraph has illustrated how international intervention was a key factor in decolonization in Korea, Vietnam, Algeria, and India. It has shown how external powers such as the US, the Soviet Union, and the UN influenced the strategies and outcomes of decolonization in these countries.
This essay has examined how decolonization in the twentieth century reshaped the global order, the international system, and the cultural and social identities of millions of people. It has argued that decolonization was driven by three main causes: nationalist aspirations, anti-colonial resistance, and international interference. It has illustrated this argument by analyzing the cases of Vietnam, Korea, Algeria, and India. These four countries experienced different forms and degrees of colonial domination and liberation, but they all shared a common desire to assert their political and cultural autonomy in the face of colonial oppression. This essay has shown how these factors influenced the process and outcome of decolonization in each case and how they shaped the post-colonial world order. In conclusion, this essay has demonstrated how decolonization was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that had significant implications for the history and politics of the twentieth century.
Bibliography & Further Readings:
Amruta, P. (2023) India’s Freedom Struggle and Second World War (1939 - 1945) - Modern India History Notes, Prepp. Collegedunia. Available at: India’s Freedom struggle and Second World War (1939 - 1945) - Modern India History Notes (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Ansari, S. (2022) An introduction to the Quit India Movement, British Library. Available at: Introduction to the Quit India movement | The British Library (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Bedjaoui, A. (2020) “Popular Resistance at the Origin of the National Movement,” in Cinema and the Algerian War of Independence. Springer International Publishing, pp. 7–30. Available at: Popular Resistance at the Origin of the National Movement | SpringerLink (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Cady, J.F. (1966) “The French colonial regime in Vietnam,” Current History, 50(294), pp. 72–78. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45311437 (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Darwin, D.J. (2011) History - british history in depth: Britain, the Commonwealth and the end of Empire, BBC. BBC. Available at: British History in depth: Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Hayasi, N. (2021) Do or die: The quit india movement of 1942, The Nonviolence Project. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Available at: Do or Die: The Quit India Movement of 1942 – The Nonviolence Project (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Kim-Rivera, E. (2002) “English Language Education in Korea Under Japanese Colonial Rule,” Language Policy, 1(3), pp. 261–281. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021144914940.
Kim, D.-C. (2020) “How Anti-Communism Disrupted Decolonization: South Korea's State-Building Under US Patronage,” in C. Gerlach and C. Six (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of anti-communist persecutions. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 185–201. Available at: How Anti-Communism Disrupted Decolonization: South Korea’s State-Building Under US Patronage | SpringerLink (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Ladenburg, T. (2007) “Chapter 1,” in The French in Indochina. Houston, Texas: University of Houston, pp. 1–4. Available at: Chapter 1 The French in Indochina (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Lundestad, G. (2014) “Decolonization,” in East, West, North, south: International relations since 1945. 7th Edition. Los Angeles, California: SAGE, pp. 254–276.
Lindsay, J.M. (2016) Remembering Ho Chi Minh's 1945 declaration of Vietnam's Independence, Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations. Available at: Remembering Ho Chi Minh’s 1945 Declaration of Vietnam’s Independence | Council on Foreign Relations (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Minh, H.C. (1977) Selected Writings, Internet Archive. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House. Available at: https://archive.org/details/hochiminhselectedwritings/mode/2up (Accessed: May 5, 2023).
Suggitt, K. and Choi, S.-E. (2017) “Review of 'decolonization and the French of Algeria: Bringing the Settler Colony Home',” Reviews in History, pp. 1–232. Available at: https://doi.org/10.14296/rih/2014/2052.
Thomas, M. (2001) “France accused: French North Africa before the United Nations, 1952–1962,” Contemporary European History, 10(1), pp. 91–121. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0960777301001059.
Vince, N. (2020) The Algerian War, the Algerian Revolution, Springer Link. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Available at: The Algerian War, The Algerian Revolution | SpringerLink (Accessed: May 5, 2023).