XXII. Decolonization
While Romania struggled to get over its difficulties, Europe and the rest of the World was changing fast and dramatically.
In 1947, Europe was free from Communism and in the span of only a few years, its pernicious ideology was strictly relegated to the fringes of the society.
The Independence Movements
Sadly, the situation in the European colonies across the Globe was not that good. From the deserts of the Middle East to the jungles of South-East Asia, from India to the depths of Africa, the colonized people were determined in their fight for independence.
The real issue here was that most of the independence movements were also communist in nature.
It is obviously an overstatement to say that the freedom fighters were all communists. In fact very few were true believers in the communist cause. Their allegiance to communism was mostly opportunistic. Their oppressors were fighting against the Comintern. It felt natural to ally with your enemy's enemy. Not to mention the very important fact that the Comintern was ready and willing to help with logistics, advisors, money, weapons etc.
It is thus clear why almost all independence movements across the colonized World were at the same time communist movements. That situation had to be changed. Somehow.
Does Europe really have a choice?
After the end of the war in Europe, the colonial powers were victorious but devastated by fighting, bombing campaigns and the communist mis-management of their economies and societies. Their cities were in ruins, their economies destroyed, their societies in disarray, their armies at the brink of exhaustion.
In not so many words, all colonial powers, except maybe Italy, were either unable, unwilling or both to keep fighting for most of their colonial empires.
An important fact was also that, at the moment, most of their colonies were in turmoil and the communists were only kept in check by the Americans and their Latin-American allies. The biggest issue here was that if they were surely against communism, they were also not very fond of colonialism.
After long and difficult international consultations among them as well as with their American allies, it was more or less decided that most of the European Colonial Empires had to be dismantled and the colonies must get their independence (preferable on the European powers' terms)
League of Nations Declaration
On 10 March 1950, the League of Nations passed the decolonization resolution with a clear majority, paving the way to the resolution of the colonial conflicts.
It was actually a compromise, which could be worded like that:
Colonised peoples, we have an offer for you. We realize that you will probably, eventually, get your independence anyway. Just choose which way seems to be the best for your long-term interests:
1. Keep the communist ideology. We will keep fighting you for years, destroying your lands, cities and infrastructure. After that you will be a pariah, isolated, rogue state, kept out of the international community with no means to do any international trade or get any loans or help from any other state.
2. Drop the communist insanity and immediately become an internationally recognized independent nation, full member of the League of Nations with all the rights and duties implied by this. Trade with your former colonial power as well as with other states will continue and even increase. A democratic form of government will ensure that the rights of every citizen and economic enterprise will be respected. The good will of the international community will bring prosperity and success for your people.
Make the wise choice.
The Resolution of the Conflicts
The LoN resolution had an enormous effect.
In most colonies, the war stopped immediately as the leaders of the uprisings dropped the communist label as a hot potato.
In others, a brief civil war between the communist and non-communist factions ensued. With the help of the Western Powers, the non-communists were quickly victorious.
By the end of the year, the decolonisation was almost over.
Another momentuos decision of the LoN was to completely drop the uti possidetis principle and completely redraw all the borders of the new states based first on ethnic, tribal and religious affinity and second on economical considerations.
Some interests of the former Colonial Powers and of the small European population left behind were negotiated on a case by case basis.
The Map of the World changed dramatically in only one year.
165 new independent countries were formed: 88 in Black Africa, 23 in the Arab Sphere, 31 in the Indian Subcontinent, 17 in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 3 in the Caribbean, 3 in the Pacific.
The territories which were not given independence were either small, remote, thinly populated or with a significant European population, mainly islands and some littoral cities like Ceuta, Mellila, Oran, Constantine, Algiers, Singapore, Hong-Kong, which were mostly integrated into the respective states.
1952 was probably the first year in history when all the World was at peace.
