reading for class and source:

Young, Robert J. C. Postcolonialism : An Historical Introduction, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated,
2001.
WaThiong’o, Ngugi. “Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language” in African Literature.
James Currey, 1986.

Class notes:

Decolonization:
 In the mid-20th century:
o many colonized countries began independence movements.
o Britain was nearly bankrupt after World War II.
o India gained independence, leading to the partition of India and Pakistan in
1947.
 1952 - 1963:
o The Mau Mau uprising in Kenya occurred from 1952 to 1963
 resulting in many deaths and the use of torture by both sides.
 1960 and 1968:
o Between 1960 and 1968, all African colonies gained independence.
 1960s:
o During the 1960s, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados became
independent.
 1970s and 1980s:
o In the 1970s and 1980s, other Caribbean islands also achieved independence.

Across the world, national liberation movements fought for independence.

 In some regions
o these movements involved political campaigns and protests
o while in others they engaged in armed resistance.
  These movements expressed ideas about politics, collective action, democracy, and national
identity, both on their own and through international collaboration.
o Important thinkers in these movements, who had diverse views on the best methods
of resistance, included
 , Frantz Fanon, Aimé Cesaire, George Padmore

However, there are limits to decolonization:

 During the Cold War:
 the US and the Soviet Union
 often used newly decolonized countries as proxies, installing governments
that supported their ideological positions.
 meant that true independence was hard to achieve
 as many countries became entangled in the Cold War
and did not fully attain independence.

 Political liberation:
 did not lead to economic liberation, and without economic independence, political
freedom is incomplete.
 International financial organizations and multinational companies hold
significant power over less economically developed countries, and Britain
has not paid reparations for the economic benefits it gained through
colonialism
 resulting in a lack of economic independence.

 Additionally, many postcolonial thinkers, like Ngugi wa Thiong’o, emphasize the

importance of “decolonizing the mind.” (Thiong’o 1986)
 This means that even after achieving political change, colonial values and systems,
such as racial hierarchies and cultural definitions, can persist.
 Therefore, decolonization is not a single historical event but an ongoing
process of changing ways of thinking.
reading for class and source:
Young, Robert J. C. Postcolonialism : An Historical Introduction, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated,
2001.
WaThiong’o, Ngugi. “Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language” in African Literature.
James Currey, 1986.