European dominance in politics, economics, and culture forced all ancient civilizations to reappraise their beliefs, institutions, and traditions. They had to make decisions about what to preserve from their own cultures and what to borrow from the Europeans. Even as European domination peaked at the end of the 19th century forces were building that would end the dominance. Within colonial empires a sense of solidarity was emerging among Western-educated middle class groups who created political parties to arouse mass nationalist sentiments. Most Asian and African nationalists, except in settler colonies, relied on peaceful measures advocating principles based on a blend of their rulers' democratic traditions and indigenous beliefs. The European dependence upon the indigenous elite in their administrations made them very vulnerable to such challenges. The European global wars of the 20^th century and the Great Depression helped to erode the colonial order.

The ideas of communism and the successful Socialistic revolution in Russia also inspired ant-colonial struggles across the world.

The resulting social and economic disruptions assisted nationalist leaders to build a mass base for resistance. The Western European colonial world disintegrated within a few decades after World War II.

Prototypes for the Independence Struggles: The First Phase of Decolonization in India and Egypt.

India and Southeast Asia, among the earliest of colonized territories, had the 1st movements for independence. Before the close of the 19th century, in India, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines, Western-educated groups were organizing nationalist associations to make their opinions heard. India, Europe's most important colonial possession, produced patterns that were later followed all over the colonial world. The diversity of the colonial world produced important variations in the decolonization process, but key themes were the lead of Western-educated elites, importance of charismatic leaders, and reliance on nonviolent tactics. In the North Africa Egypt was the scene of early nationalist action.

India: The Makings of the Nationalist Challenge to the British Raj. The party that led India to independence, the Indian National Congress formed in 1885, grew out of regional urban political associations. It had British support as a means of learning the opinions of educated Indians. The organization was loyal to their rulers; it lacked a mass base or firm organization and was most interested in elite-related issues. The members reacted to British racist attitudes. As time passed Indians developed a common identity that had not previously existed among India's many diverse peoples.

Social Foundations of a Mass Movement: By the end of the 19th century there was much dissatisfaction with British rule. Businesspeople were angered by the favoritism given to British interests and products. The Indian army absorbed a large share of revenues and was used widely outside of India to advance British concerns. British officials received high salaries and pensions. The peasantry was pushed into the production of cash crops at the expense of food production. Landlessness, disease, and poverty were widespread.

The Rise of Militant Nationalism: A united nationalist movement was hindered by the differing concerns of Hindus and Muslims. Leaders such as B.G. Tilak ignored the split and asserted that nationalism should be built on appeals to the Hindu majority. He broke with moderates by demanding boycotts of British goods, and threatening violence if independence was not granted. Tilak was the first leader with a mass following, but it was limited to Bombay and its region. His use of reactionary Hindu ideas alienated Muslims, moderate Hindus, and other religious groups. Tilak was imprisoned by the British. Another early nationalist threat came from Hindus pushing violent overthrow of the raj; they committed terrorist acts in Bengal. The British crushed them by World War I. The failure of the two movements strengthened the more moderate Congress politicians who advocated a peaceful path to independence. The British cooperated through the Moreley-Minto reforms of 1909 that expanded opportunities for Indians to elect and serve on local and national councils.

Egypt and the Rise of Nationalism in the Middle East: Egyptian nationalism predated the British occupation. The unsuccessful rising of Ahmad Orabi in 1882 had aimed at liberating Egypt from its unpopular rulers and their European associates. The British put down the movement and continued the dynasty in power under their control. British High Commissioner Lord Cromer. His reforms mostly benefited the small middle and elite classes and foreign merchants. Rural landlords (ayan) also were significant gainers at the expense of the mass rural population. Resistance to the system grew among urban business and professional families. Unlike India, journalists and not lawyers were predominant.

During the 1890s several nationalist political parties formed, all without a mass base. The British often utilized harsh techniques against protesters. The extent of the hostility of the mass of the population to the British was demonstrated in the Dinshawi Incident of 1906. A small clash, with limited fatalities, demonstrated British racial arrogance and undermined support for their presence in Egypt. By 1913 the British recognized the rising nationalism by granting a constitution and an indirectly elected parliament.

World War I and the Postwar Crisis of the European Empires: During World War I Europeans for the first time fought each other in their colonies. Significant campaigns occurred in Africa and the Middle East. British naval supremacy allowed the Allies to draw heavily on their territories for men and raw materials. Indian industrial production was encouraged to help the war effort. Asian and African soldiers and laborers served on many fronts during the war and gained direct experience of their rulers' weaknesses. African administrative personnel had opportunities to exercise increased administrative responsibility. The Allies to win support made promises about postwar progress for colonies, but after victory did not carry them out.

India: Gandhi and the Nationalist Struggle

India had loyally supported Britain with men and resources during World War I. But, as the war dragged on, Indian casualties mounted while economic conditions in India hurt all sectors of the population. Inflation and famines raged as war production increased upper-class profits. Moderate politicians after the war were frustrated by Britain's refusal to honor promises of a steady move to self-government. The Montage- reforms of 1919 had increased powers of Indian legislators at national levels and placed aspects of provincial administration under Indian direction. But the Rowlatt Act of 1919 offset the reforms by restricting key civil rights. The localized protest present during and after the war provided the base for Gandhi's nationalist campaign.

Gandhi combined knowledge of the British with the attributes of an Indian holy man and thus was able to win followers among all classes. He stressed nonviolent, but aggressive, protest tactics (or truth force) to weaken British control without provoking reprisal.

The Rise of Communalism and the Beginnings of Political Fragmentation- driven by the British policy of divide and rule there appeared communal cleavages in Indian Political structure; in 1906 certain fundamentals under british influence founded their own Muslim League. Although small in numbers until the 1940s it was a dangerous threat to a unified national movement. Gandhi tried without success to bring the Muslim and other minorities into the nationalist mainstream. Gandhi nonetheless was the central figure in the nationalist struggle. The campaign against the Rowlatt Act demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of his tactics. It was impossible over time to control the participants in mass disobedience movements. Violence led to police reprisals. Gandhi reacted by calling off the anti-Rowlatt campaign. He and other nationalists were arrested and imprisoned. The nationalist movement slowed but did not disappear. Local protests continued and harsh Britain repression, along with the effects of the Great Depression, revived civil disobedience campaigns by the 1930s. Gandhi led the dramatic Salt March in 1931. The British finally bowed by passing the Government of India Act in 1935.

The British kept control of the central administration but turned over provincial governments to Indians chosen by an expanded electorate. The nationalists took office in 1937 and civil disobedience quieted.

The Middle East

Betrayal and the Growth of Arab Nationalism: France and Britain did not honor the promises about Arab independence made during World War I. They occupied the former Turkish lands as League of Nations mandates. Further Arab anger came from conflicting British promises to Arabs and Jews concerning Palestine. A pledge to the Jews fed aspirations for a return to the Holy Land; 19th-century pogroms had convinced some Jews that acceptance in Europe was impossible. Zionist organizations formed to promote a Jewish state. Theodore Hertz of the World Zionist Organization was indifferent to the presence of Palestine's Arab inhabitants. Arab opposition to Jewish emigration led the British to restrict the pledges made to the Zionists, but did not stem them from building up their local position. Nothing was done by the British to encourage the development of a strong Palestinian leadership able to promote its own interests..

Revolt in Egypt, 1919: Egypt had been made a British protectorate in 1914. Martial law was declared when World War I began to ensure protection of the Suez Canal. The many troops stationed in Egypt drained local food supplies, while forced labor and inflation made conditions of mass life even harsher.

When a delegation of Egyptian leaders was refused permission to present their case for self- determination to the conference at Versailles, unexpected mass demonstrations erupted. The British repressed the movement but recognized the necessity to listen to Egyptian opinion. The Wafd Party of Sa'd Zaghlul gave a unified nationalist base for Egyptian demands. After negotiations the British agreed to a gradual move to independence beginning in 1922 and ending with withdrawal from the Suez Canal zone in 1936.

The khedival regime remained and Britain kept the power to reoccupy Egypt if it was threatened by a foreign power. Egyptian political parties after 1922 did little to increase the welfare of the majority of the population. Politicians used their positions to enrich themselves while they quarreled about control of the government. The utter social bankruptcy of the regime prepared the way for revolution in 1952 under Gamal Abdul Nasser.

The Beginnings of the Liberation Struggle in Africa

Most Western-educated Africans remained loyal to their colonial rulers during World War I. Along with traditional African rulers they gained local authority as the Europeans drew upon their lands for men and resources. The war disrupted colonial life because of reaction to recruitment of soldiers and laborers and interruption of export crops. The failure of Europeans after the war to keep promises of further reform and the effects of the Great Depression contributed to unrest.

Western-educated politicians began to organize during the 1920s; some were influenced by Afro-American leaders, such as Marcus Garvey or W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Pan- Africanist movement. By the mid-1920s nationalist leaders from the British and French colonies were on separate paths. French subjects focused on Paris and the Négritude movement formed by such writers as Léopold Sédar Senghor, Aimé Césaire and Léon Damas. Africans, except in settler colonies, had greater opportunities to organize politically. They were allowed representation in advisory councils and developed the beginnings of true political parties. By the 1930s new and vigorous leaders came forward and made the first efforts to gain a mass following.

In Depth: Women in Asian and African Nationalist Movements. The educational establishments established by colonial rulers and missionaries produced a group of articulate and politically active women. Many women received education to allow them to share in the lives of their educated husbands.

Women thus, especially in the upper social classes, found the colonial presence a liberating experience. They participated in both peaceful and violent nationalist movements. Educated women also challenged in their own male-dominated societies. Although their activities helped women to gain basic civil rights once independence came, full equality has not arrived.

Another Global War and the Collapse of the European World Order

The impact of World War II proved fatal to European empires. Japanese and German victories demonstrated the decline of Western might. Western war losses left a lack of will for additional struggles in the colonies. The war also increased the power of the United States and the Soviet Union, and both were hostile to European colonial domination. Most nonsettler lands relatively easily moved to independence.

The Winning of Independence in South and Southeast Asia

The Indian National Congress refused to support the British war effort unless independence was promised after the conflict. The British did not agree to the terms and mass civil disobedience campaigns called the Quit India movement occurred in 1942. Dissidents, including Gandhi, were arrested; only the Muslims and Communists supported Britain.

The war caused hardship in India through inflation and famine. When a Labour government came to power in Britain in 1945 independence in the near future was conceded. The divided Indians were unable to work out a compromise between Hindu desires for one nation under majority rule and Muslim wishes for a separate state. When communal rioting spread, the British agreed to the creation of two independent nations, India and Pakistan, in 1947. Hundreds of thousands of people then perished as Hindus, Muslims, and other groups attacked each other. Millions fled from one region to another. Gandhi's assassination in 1948 by a Hindu fanatic added to the malaise. Other parts of the Indian empire, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma), peacefully received independence shortly after. Other empires were already then decolonizing. The United States after the war quickly granted independence to the Philippines. The Dutch fought against nationalists in Indonesia until losing in 1949. The French did the same in Indochina.