A talk by Peter Kingdom Booker

One of the outcomes of WW2 was the swansong of the European empires in Asia and Africa. Britain led the way, as India, Pakistan and Burma gained independence soon after the end of the war. Malaysia and the African colonies proved that the wind of change swept the whole globe. Belgium lost the Congo, and Algeria broke away from France, as did Vietnam, which was not able to gain its independence until the US had been forced to leave in 1975. Portugal ́s overseas possessions began their long journey towards independence in 1961. Reluctant to recognise the inevitable, Salazar ́s Portugal struggled to maintain its grip on its African possessions, and eventually paid the ultimate price of revolution at home in 1974. How successful was the Portuguese effort to retain its African colonies, and what part did the African wars play in the democratisation of Portugal? What were the other costs to this small country on the edge of Europe? Have these wars had a continuing effect on Portugal, and why should we remember them?