Decolonization since 1945: The Collapse of European Overseas Empires

by John Springhall

One of the most significant changes of the post-1945 world has been the decline and final dismemberment of European colonial empires in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and the Caribbean. In 1939, roughly a third of the world's entire population lived under colonial rule. At the end of the century, less than one per cent do so. In this study, each major European overseas colony, rather than being subject to chronological or thematic subdivision, receives separate, extensive and consecutive treatment.

Genres: History

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sam Hawkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for History 419

This book was a solid 2.5 stars for me. The author not only jumps around with the writing and locations that he was describing, he also makes an entire thesis statement at the beginning of the book and then goes HA WAIT, I have more. Like bro. You can't just go and write a whole-ass book and then be like, "These collaborative elites were the entire reason that imperialism fell apart."

It is just frustrating when you are RAMBLING for like 70 pages just to go back at the end of your novel to be like, let's add this too! The collaborative elites don't even get a whole chapter, which doesn't make any sense to me.

[zidayin · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for history 419.
the one thing i hate about books with wide ranged history is that it seems so incomplete. like obviously springhall wraps up the decolonization patterns for every country he touches on, but there’s a certain point where it toes a line of being extremely vague. people and organizations are mentioned as one-offs, which given how the book is structured makes sense, but as a student it sometimes gets frustrating. it makes it hard to differentiate what is important and what’s not.

overall i did like how the book was structured. the argument was extremely well thought out and explained with the conclusion touching on his addition of collaborative efforts during decolonization. i do think this is a good point, but if he would have established it earlier on and expanded on it in more than four pages it would have had a lot bigger impact. i think this is a good book, i just wish it was more centralized on one specific area so springhall could give more detail and explain things better.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent survey of decolonization in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, ad Africa. Helpful for understanding specific cases and decolonization historiography as a whole

[Clayton Hauck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting overview of European colonies worldwide post WWII, as the title suggests. A great read for those interested in world history and not already an expert on the subject.