The British Experience of Decolonization

Abstract

In reconstructing the metropolitan experience of the ‘end of empire’, one of the key questions might be posed as follows: how much did it really hurt? Was it a mere glancing blow to the head, or some more crushing punishment delivered to the chin or solar plexus? How successful – to pursue the boxing metaphor - was the metropole at improvising a ring-craft to come out on top, or at least avert defeat, in the contest of decolonization? This article will assess the extent to which the loss of empire for the British constituted an agonizing and disorienting experience, or whether it was a ‘rite of passage’ accomplished with relative ease and a soothing sense of inevitability.