AP World History: Modern · Lesson 4 of 8 · Unit 8

Decolonization after 1900

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Decolonization after 1900 reshaped the global political map, replacing European empires with dozens of new nation-states across Asia and Africa. On the AP exam, you will be tested on Governance (GOV) through comparison and causation: why some colonies achieved independence peacefully at the negotiating table while others fought bloody wars of liberation, and how internal divisions challenged inherited borders.

By the end you’ll be able to

Compare the processes by which various peoples pursued independence after 1900.
Explain how nationalist leaders and parties in Asia and Africa, such as the Indian National Congress, Ho Chi Minh, Kwame Nkrumah and Gamal Abdel Nasser, sought varying degrees of autonomy within or independence from imperial rule.
Explain why some colonies negotiated their independence, such as India, the Gold Coast and French West Africa, while others achieved independence through armed struggle, such as Algeria, Angola and Vietnam.

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Core ideas (continued)
Worked examples
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Quick recap
Check your understanding (3 questions)

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What the exam asks

Multiple Choice (Section I, Part A): Expect primary sources from nationalist leaders (speeches by Kwame Nkrumah or Ho Chi Minh) or political cartoons depicting the end of empire. Questions frequently ask you to identify the author’s point of view or compare the strategies of different movements.
Short Answer (Section I, Part B): You may be asked to explain one reason why a specific colony experienced violent decolonization while another negotiated peacefully.
DBQ & LEQ (Section II): Prompts regularly ask you to evaluate the extent to which decolonization processes were similar across regions, or how Cold War ideologies influenced nationalist movements.

Core ideas

Nationalist leaders and parties

Anti-colonial movements were frequently led by Western-educated elites who used European political ideals (self-determination, socialism, democracy) to challenge imperial rule (GOV). Initially, many sought greater autonomy within the empire before demanding full independence.

Indian National Congress (INC): Founded in 1885, it evolved under Mohandas Gandhi in the 1920s–1940s into a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience (satyagraha), boycotts, and marches to force Britain to negotiate Indian independence (1947).
Ho Chi Minh: Appealed to Western powers at Versailles (1919) for Vietnamese self-determination; when ignored, he turned to Marxism-Leninism, founding the Indochinese Communist Party and leading the Viet Minh in armed struggle against Japan, France, and later the United States.
Kwame Nkrumah: Led the Convention People’s Party in the British colony of the Gold Coast. Using strikes, boycotts, and mass rallies alongside constitutional negotiations, he secured independence for Ghana in 1957 and championed Pan-Africanism.
Gamal Abdel Nasser: After overthrowing the British-backed Egyptian monarchy in 1952, Nasser asserted full economic and political independence by nationalizing the Suez Canal in 1956, surviving a joint British-French-Israeli invasion, and promoting Pan-Arab nationalism.