Short-answer question (SAQ)
Decolonization of Asia and Africa
- Unit 9
- 3 points
- About 13 minutes
You read one source and answer three short parts (A, B and C) about it, each in a few sentences. Each part asks you to describe or explain something about the source or the history around it. On the exam: 3 required questions in 40 minutes (Section I, Part B), 20% of the score. Starting May 2027 every SAQ has a source: question 1 a secondary text, question 2 a primary text, question 3 a non-text source such as an image, map or chart.
The question and its sources
Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
Passage
Between 1945 and 1960, three dozen new states in Asia and Africa achieved autonomy or outright independence from their European colonial rulers. . . . There was no one process of decolonization. In some areas, it was peaceful, and orderly. In many others, independence was achieved only after a protracted revolution. . . . Some European governments welcomed a new relationship with their former colonies; others contested decolonization militarily. . . .
During World War II Japan, itself a significant imperial power, drove the European powers out of Asia. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, local nationalist movements in the former Asian colonies campaigned for independence rather than a return to European colonial rule. . . .
Nearly all of the United States’ European allies believed that after their recovery from World War II their colonies would finally provide the combination of raw materials and protected markets for finished goods that would cement the colonies to Europe. . . . Although the U.S. Government did not force the issue, it encouraged the European imperial powers to negotiate an early withdrawal from their overseas colonies.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, "Decolonization of Asia and Africa, 1945–1960," Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations (history.state.gov). A U.S. government work; the Milestones series has since been retired and is no longer updated.
Suggested time: 13 minutes
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Part (a)
1 pointDescribe ONE reason the passage gives for why independence movements in Asia grew stronger after 1945.
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Part (b)
1 pointExplain how ONE specific example of decolonization in the period 1945–1975 supports the passage's claim that some European governments "contested decolonization militarily" while others did not.
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Part (c)
1 pointExplain ONE way decolonization affected politics or society in Europe in the period 1945–2001.
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