THE INDOCHINA WAR, FRANCE AND THE TEST OF DECOLONISATION

Events that shaped the countries of the Mediterranean

An episode from the series ECHOES OF HISTORY

Synopsis

At the end of the Second World War, the natives of the colonies, often employed to bolster the ranks of the Allied armies at war, felt the need to break free from the ties that bound them to a ruined and bloodless Europe.

The world was swept by an unstoppable global trend: decolonization.

Southeast Asian peoples were the first to call for the departure of the Europeans. In 1947, the United Kingdom granted independence to India, followed by Burma and Ceylon in 1948. Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands in 1949.