The 'Winds of Change' and Decolonisation
Britain's retreat from Empire was already underway by 1951, with India's independence in 1947 setting a precedent. During the 1950s, national independence movements gained momentum across British colonies in Malaya, Kenya, and Cyprus, creating mounting pressure that became increasingly difficult to contain.
Early British policy aimed for gradual transition from Empire to Commonwealth, assuming colonial resistance could be managed until territories were "ready" for independence. The Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya (1952) challenged this thinking. Initially, authorities believed they could easily suppress the movement, imprisoning its leader Jomo Kenyatta—who later became president of an independent Kenya. The brutal treatment of Mau Mau captives damaged Britain's international reputation.
After the Suez Crisis, decolonisation accelerated dramatically. Ghana gained independence in 1957, followed by Nigeria and Cyprus (1960), Tanganyika and Sierra Leone (1961), Uganda (1962) and Kenya (1963). This shift was signalled by Macmillan's famous "wind of change" speech in Cape Town, acknowledging the unstoppable movement toward self-governance.
Success story Despite initial resistance, British decolonisation was ultimately completed more swiftly and with less violence than that of other European powers like Belgium and Portugal. Macmillan's pragmatic approach, though born of necessity after Suez, proved remarkably effective in managing imperial decline.