CamEd Open Access Repository

Faculty Publications  | Volume 2     |    Number 1   |  January – June 2017   |    Pages 11 – 24

Received: January 2017   |  Published unedited: May 2017

SUMMARY

The accepted wisdom on colonialism by many historians is that the liberal democracies who had colonies (eg Britain and the USA) maintained generally good records with respect to the rule of law, civil liberties, political participation, open education, and economic opportunity. Both were willing to allow their colonies to become independent and had begun to prepare them for future independence before the Second World War began. A key factor was the concept of ‘self determination’ introduced by the League of Nations in 1919. Racism was still present, however. 

The period after WWII was one of a general pulling out of imperial possessions and much was learned from each other among the de-colonisers. The de-colonisation of Malaysia (a process which took place from 1948 to 1960) and the French withdrawal of Cambodia in 1953 involved much discussion among the victorious European imperial powers : the UK and France. It was Winston Churchill who allowed and facilitated the Dutch in their return to Indonesia, the French to Indochina and the British to Burma, Malaya, Singapore – but the clock could not be turned back so easily.