AP World History: Modern

## Learning Outcomes

- Explain why decolonization accelerated after **World War II**
- Identify the main causes of nationalist independence movements in Asia and Africa
- Compare **nonviolent**, **negotiated**, and **armed** paths to independence
- Recall key leaders, dates, and case studies including **Gandhi**, **Ho Chi Minh**, **Sukarno**, **Nkrumah**, and **Lumumba**
- Distinguish decolonization itself from post-independence problems such as partition, civil war, and foreign intervention
- Use these examples in AP-style comparison, causation, and continuity/change arguments

## AP World History: Modern Syllabus

For the AP World History: Modern, you are expected to understand Asian and African nationalist independence movements after 1900, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that **decolonization** accelerated after **1945** because European empires were weakened by war and anti-colonial nationalism grew stronger
- Identify the role of **self-determination** and nationalism in challenging imperial rule
- Explain the difference between **negotiated independence**, **nonviolent resistance**, and **armed struggle**
- Understand the importance of **India (1947)**, **Indonesia (1945–1949)**, **Vietnam (1954 turning point)**, **Ghana (1957)**, **Congo (1960)**, **Algeria (1954–1962)**, and **Kenya (1963)**
- Explain how **partition** affected the Indian subcontinent and why it produced migration and violence
- Understand how the **Cold War** shaped some independence struggles without causing all of them
- Recognise **Bandung (1955)** and the **Non-Aligned Movement (1961)** as diplomatic consequences of decolonization
- Explain how **neocolonialism** limited full independence after formal colonial rule ended

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. Why did decolonization speed up after World War II?
2. How did the path to independence in **India** differ from that in **Algeria** or **Vietnam**?
3. What was the significance of **partition** in **1947**?
4. Name two African nationalist leaders and the countries they helped lead to independence.
5. How did the Cold War affect newly independent states such as **Congo** or **Vietnam**?

## Introduction

After **1900**, especially after **1945**, European empires lost control over much of Asia and Africa. This was not a single event but a broad process in which colonized peoples demanded self-rule, organized nationalist movements, and forced imperial states to withdraw. For AP World History, the key idea is not just that colonies became independent, but that they did so in very different ways.

Some movements relied heavily on mass protest and negotiation. Others became long and violent wars. Even when independence was won, the new states often faced border disputes, ethnic conflict, partition, coups, or foreign intervention. That is why strong exam answers distinguish between the struggle for independence and the problems that came after it.

> **Key Term: decolonization**
> The process by which colonies gained independence from imperial powers, especially after World War II.

### Why nationalist independence movements grew after 1900

Nationalist movements in Asia and Africa did not appear suddenly in **1945**. Their roots often stretched back to the late nineteenth century, when colonized elites, workers, students, and religious leaders began criticizing imperial rule. But World War II changed the balance of power in a decisive way.

European empires were weakened economically and militarily by the war. Britain and France had fewer resources to suppress resistance across vast overseas territories. Colonized peoples also saw that supposedly superior imperial powers could be defeated, occupied, or exhausted. Japan’s wartime conquest of European colonies in Asia especially damaged the image of European invincibility.

Another cause was the spread of **self-determination**. Imperial powers had long justified rule by claiming colonized peoples were not ready to govern themselves. After two world wars, that argument looked weaker. The language of rights, sovereignty, and national freedom had become harder to deny. Newly formed international institutions also gave anti-colonial leaders a platform, even if outside support varied.

Economic grievances mattered too. Colonies often supplied raw materials and cheap labor while political power remained in European hands. Land seizures, forced cultivation, limited industrial development, and racial inequality gave nationalism a practical base. Anti-colonial nationalism was not just emotional pride in a nation. It was also a demand to control land, labor, taxes, education, and the state.

> **Key Term: self-determination**
> The principle that a people should have the right to govern itself rather than remain under foreign rule.

A common AP mistake is to say that the **Cold War caused decolonization**. That is too simple. Most independence movements had already developed their own local causes: imperial exploitation, racial hierarchy, land issues, and national identity. The Cold War often shaped the later course of struggles, but it did not create all of them.

> **Test Tip:** In causation essays, separate **root causes** from **accelerating factors**. For decolonization, nationalism and imperial weakness are the strongest general causes; Cold War rivalry often intensified events later.

### Comparing paths to independence in Asia

Asia provides some of the clearest examples of different decolonization methods. This is exactly the sort of comparison the AP exam likes.

#### India: mass nationalism, nonviolent resistance, and partition

India is the best-known example of large-scale anti-colonial nationalism using mostly **nonviolent resistance**. The **Indian National Congress** became the central organization of anti-British politics, and **Mohandas Gandhi** turned mass resistance into a political weapon. Boycotts, marches, civil disobedience, and refusal to cooperate made British rule harder to sustain.

Gandhi’s strategy mattered because it widened participation. Independence was no longer only the concern of educated elites. Peasants, urban workers, and ordinary consumers could join by refusing British goods or laws. This made nationalism a mass movement. **Jawaharlal Nehru** also became a major leader, representing a more secular and state-building vision for independent India.

Yet India also shows the limits of a peaceful decolonization story. Independence came in **1947**, but it came with **partition**. The subcontinent was divided into **India** and **Pakistan** after long political conflict between the Congress and the **Muslim League** led by **Muhammad Ali Jinnah**. Partition triggered massive migration and communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.

This matters for AP analysis: India’s decolonization was relatively less violent in method than Algeria’s or Vietnam’s, but its outcome was not peaceful. Students often describe India simply as a success for nonviolence. A stronger answer adds that nonviolent anti-colonial strategy did not prevent a violent aftermath.

> **Key Term: partition**
> The division of a colony or region into separate political states, especially the 1947 division of British India into India and Pakistan.

#### Indonesia: a mixed military and diplomatic struggle

Indonesia declared independence in **1945** under **Sukarno** and **Mohammad Hatta**, but the Dutch did not immediately accept it. This led to the **Indonesian National Revolution** from **1945 to 1949**. The struggle combined diplomacy, guerrilla warfare, and political pressure.

Indonesia is useful because it sits between clearly negotiated and clearly violent cases. Nationalists proclaimed independence quickly after Japanese occupation ended, but Dutch attempts to reassert control forced a longer struggle. International pressure eventually helped bring Dutch recognition in **1949**.

For AP comparison, Indonesia shows that decolonization was often mixed. A colony might proclaim independence early, fight militarily for years, and still need diplomacy to make sovereignty real.

#### Vietnam: anti-colonial struggle becomes Cold War war

Vietnam is one of the clearest cases where decolonization became entangled with the Cold War. **Ho Chi Minh** and the **Viet Minh** fought French rule in Indochina. Their movement combined nationalism with communism, which gave it both local appeal and global ideological significance.

The turning point was the French defeat at **Dien Bien Phu** in **1954**. This showed that a European colonial power could be beaten decisively by an anti-colonial force. But French withdrawal did not end conflict. The **Geneva Accords** temporarily divided Vietnam into North and South, and the struggle soon became tied to U.S. containment policy and wider Cold War rivalry.

Vietnam therefore illustrates two linked but distinct developments:

- first, **decolonization from France**
- second, a longer Cold War struggle over what kind of state Vietnam would become

Students often merge these into one story. On the AP exam, it is better to distinguish them.

> **Test Tip:** If a prompt asks about decolonization, do not spend your whole answer on the later Vietnam War. Start with French colonial rule, Ho Chi Minh, and **1954**, then explain how Cold War intervention changed the struggle.

### Comparing African independence movements

African decolonization also varied sharply. Some colonies gained independence through negotiation and political pressure. Others experienced violent rebellion, civil conflict, or unstable transition.

#### Ghana: a model of relatively peaceful decolonization

**Ghana**, formerly the **Gold Coast**, became independent from Britain in **1957** under **Kwame Nkrumah**. This is one of the strongest African examples of a mostly negotiated transition. Nkrumah built mass political support through the **Convention People’s Party**, strikes, speeches, and electoral politics.

Ghana matters because it became the first sub-Saharan African colony to gain independence in the postwar period. Its success encouraged other African nationalist movements and gave momentum to **Pan-Africanism**.

> **Key Term: Pan-Africanism**
> The idea that African peoples and states should cooperate or unite politically, economically, or culturally.

Ghana is often contrasted with Algeria. This comparison is high value because it shows that where settler resistance was weaker and Britain was more willing to negotiate, independence could come with less warfare.

#### Kenya: settler colonialism and the Mau Mau uprising

Kenya’s path was harsher. British settlers had taken fertile land, especially from the **Kikuyu**, and land grievances fed the **Mau Mau uprising** in the 1950s. Britain responded with detention camps, executions, and repression.

Kenya became independent in **1963**, with **Jomo Kenyatta** as a major nationalist leader. But Kenya is not simply a violent case or simply a negotiated case. The rebellion increased pressure on Britain, while final transfer of power still involved political negotiation.

That makes Kenya another good AP comparison case: land seizure and settler colonialism made resistance more militant, but formal independence still came through a mixed path.

#### Congo: independence without stable transition

The **Congo** gained independence from Belgium in **1960**, and **Patrice Lumumba** became its first prime minister. This is a key example of how independence could come quickly without producing stability.

Belgian rule had not prepared the Congo well for self-government. Soon after independence, the country faced army mutiny, secession in **Katanga**, and foreign intervention. Lumumba was removed and later killed. The **Congo Crisis** revealed how formal independence could be undermined by Cold War rivalry and external interests in valuable resources.

For AP purposes, Congo is less useful as an example of a long liberation war and more useful as an example of postcolonial instability, weak institutions, and **neocolonial** pressure.

> **Key Term: neocolonialism**
> Indirect control of an independent country through economic, political, or strategic pressure rather than direct colonial rule.

#### Algeria: one of the clearest violent decolonization cases

Algeria is among the most important AP examples of violent decolonization. The **FLN** launched a war against France in **1954**. The conflict lasted until **1962** and involved guerrilla warfare, bombings, torture, and harsh French repression.

Why was Algeria so violent? Because it was a **settler colony**. Many French settlers considered Algeria part of France, not just a colony. They resisted losing land and privilege, which made compromise much harder.

This is the core comparison point students should remember:

- **Ghana** = mostly negotiated
- **Algeria** = prolonged armed struggle
- reason for difference = settler colonialism, French resistance, and land ownership patterns

### Decolonization, nonalignment, and long-term consequences

Once independence spread across Asia and Africa, newly free states had to decide how to operate in a world dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union. Many leaders did not want a new form of dependence. This helps explain the importance of the **Bandung Conference** in **1955**, hosted by Indonesia.

Bandung brought together Asian and African states that opposed imperialism and wanted freedom of action. It helped inspire the **Non-Aligned Movement**, formally established in **1961**. Leaders such as **Nehru**, **Nasser**, **Sukarno**, and **Nkrumah** hoped to avoid choosing sides in the Cold War.

> **Key Term: Non-Aligned Movement**
> A group of states formed in 1961 that sought to avoid formal alignment with either the United States or the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Still, nonalignment had limits. Many newly independent states accepted aid, weapons, or diplomatic backing from one superpower or the other. So a strong AP answer should not describe NAM as total neutrality in practice. It was more a political goal than a perfect reality.

Another long-term consequence was that independence did not erase economic dependence. Many former colonies still exported the same raw materials and relied on foreign markets, capital, or expertise. That is why **formal independence** and **real autonomy** are not always the same thing.

Finally, decolonization often released tensions that colonial borders had only contained, not solved. Partition in India, the Congo Crisis, and civil war in several African states show that the end of empire could produce new instability as well as freedom.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- Decolonization accelerated after **1945** because European empires were weakened by World War II
- Anti-colonial nationalism and self-determination were the main drivers of independence movements
- India gained independence in **1947** through mass nationalist mobilization led by **Gandhi** and **Nehru**
- Partition in **1947** created **India** and **Pakistan** and caused mass migration and communal violence
- Indonesia declared independence in **1945** and won Dutch recognition in **1949**
- Vietnam’s struggle under **Ho Chi Minh** led to French defeat at **Dien Bien Phu** in **1954**
- Ghana became independent in **1957** under **Kwame Nkrumah**, a major Pan-African leader
- Kenya’s path to independence involved the **Mau Mau uprising** and ended in **1963**
- Congo gained independence in **1960**, but the Congo Crisis showed postcolonial instability and Cold War intervention
- Algeria’s war of independence against France lasted from **1954 to 1962** and is a classic case of violent decolonization
- The **Bandung Conference (1955)** linked decolonization to Afro-Asian solidarity and later inspired the **Non-Aligned Movement**
- Neocolonialism meant that many newly independent states remained economically or politically dependent after formal independence

## Key Terms and Concepts

- decolonization
- self-determination
- partition
- Pan-Africanism
- neocolonialism
- Non-Aligned Movement


Decolonization After 1900 - Asian and African nationalist independence movements