Many countries in Africa and Asia got their independence, e.g. Nigeria.
Some independent countries fought civil wars afterward, e.g. the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Britain and France lost their leading roles in world politics.
Native peoples from the former colonies migrated to Britain and France before and after independence.
Assessing Your Learning
1. What was decolonisation? 2. What European countries decolonised after World War II? 3. In which continent did the greater number of countries gain their independence? 4. Name one feature that made decolonisation important in the 1960s.
6. Women’s Liberation Movement
Do you agree that decolonisation was not that important because it only affected part of the world?
Debate the importance of the women’s liberation movement
Up to the 1950s in the western world, woman’s place was seen as being in the home, as a wife and mother. Husbands were seen as the breadwinners who were also involved in public life and in societies (see p. 368). ● This view of women’s place in society changed during the 1960s. Women were better educated, they could plan their families, and the civil rights movement in the US provided an example of what could be achieved for women also.