The End of the Age of Expansion

The End of the Age of Expansion

The fad of imperialism had enjoyed intermittent popularity in Europe before World War II, but was permanently retired by anybody who was anybody afterward.  Colonized people who had participated in the War were unhappy with contributing major resources to their colonizers in a conflict which did more damage to them than they got any recognition or satisfaction from,  and so they began to demand the right of self-determination. The Colonizers, the Western European superpowers, were somewhat content in complying with their once fundamental colonies' plead for freedom as their war with Imperial Germany had revealed to them the darkest evils of imperialism, and left them with a bad impression of the entire practice. And so one by one, colonized nations negotiated their emancipation and left these former empires on peaceful terms.

They actually took both from these guys, but trust me, it worked out for everyone else.

How the Two Main European Imperial Empires Reacted to Decolonization:

Britain 

Britain was the laxest with decolonization, as they wanted an autonomy of their states. In the interwar period they renamed their empire the British Common Wealth of Nations, and after the war it became just the Commonwealth of Nations, to suggest the equality of its component units.  For example, though most African and Asian nations left the British Empire, European countries such as Scotland decided to stay. Though these nations had a historic animosity with the British government, the new found respect they were paid mared well with Britain's ability to bring stability and financial opportunity to their land appeased them into a lasting partnership with England.  

A visual example of the process of decolonization.

France 

France was a bit more hesitant when it came to letting go of its influence over other nations than Britain was. The French had suffered far worse from World War II than the other Allied Powers, and so they were rather unenthusiastic at the thought of getting rid of any component of their economy let alone one so fundamental to their leftover power and influence. They did end up following in Britain's footsteps in regards to equalizing the "feel" of their empire, changing their title to the French Union and eventually "the Community," but they wanted the independent states they formally had complete sovereignty over to remain somewhat reliant on the French alliance. Trouble only arose when a people wanted a complete break from French influence, like Indochina (future Vietnam) and Algeria, which caused the French to go all controlling but distant parent on their rebellious, adopted foreign children.

No easy way to get rid of those French