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History vocabulary · Empires, States and Rulers

Decolonization

Meaning in history, with examples

/diːˌkɒlənaɪˈzeɪʃn/nounCommon term

In history, decolonization means: The process by which colonies became independent states, especially in Asia and Africa in the decades after the Second World War.

In Turkish: dekolonizasyon, sömürgelerin bağımsızlaşması, sömürgecilikten kurtuluş

How it is used

Historians study its causes and pace, independence movements, and negotiations or wars with colonial powers. 1960 is sometimes called the Year of Africa, because 17 African states became independent. The word is also used for rethinking colonial ideas in culture and education.

Example sentences

  1. Decolonization greatly increased the membership of the United Nations in the 1960s.

  2. The course compares British and French approaches to decolonization.

Common collocations

  • the process of decolonization
  • postwar decolonization
  • decolonization in Africa
  • the era of decolonization
  • colonialismThe policy or practice of a state taking control of other territories and peoples, settling or ruling them, and using their land and resources for its own benefit.
  • independenceThe situation of a country that governs itself and is not ruled or controlled by another state.
  • imperialismThe policy or practice of a state extending its power over other territories and peoples, through conquest, colonies or economic and political influence.
  • nationalismThe idea that people who share a language, culture or history form a nation, and that this nation should have its own state or govern itself.

More terms: Empires, States and Rulers

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