The End of the British Empire of Protectorates, 1945-1960

Abstract

How far did the way in which empire was acquired impact the way in which it ended? Most would say not much. The British Empire was made up of a diverse combination of territories, acquired at different times, under different legal bases, and ruled under a variety of political systems—from directly ruled crown colonies to protectorates, protected states, and ‘the empire by treaty’. But when we come to the story of the end of empire, these differences are generally regarded as irrelevant, when confronted by the overriding desire of colonial peoples everywhere to achieve national independence and freedom. ‘The end of the British empire of protectorates’ reveals some of the unique legal, constitutional, and political challenges that arose in attempting to end a protected rather than a colonial empire for imperial reformers and nationalist leaders alike, in a globally-spread cross section of British protectorates in West Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia. It offers a study in the profound political diversity of the transformations that took place in the course of its decolonisation after 1945, offering a new perspective on the end of empire story that can challenge a range of familiar orthodoxies about the emergence of our modern world of nation-states.