Introduction to Thinking Through Sources 22: Articulating Independence

For millions of people in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean, the achievement of political independence from colonial rule and foreign domination marked a singular moment in their personal lives and in their collective histories. That achievement had taken shape in many different ways, with variation in the duration and intensity of the struggle, in the tactics of the independence movements, and in the ideologies that they espoused. Here, however, we focus less on the process by which independence was acquired than on the various meanings ascribed to it. Everywhere the moment of independence represented a surprising triumph against great odds and an awakening to the possibility of building new lives and new societies. The sources that follow reflect the hopes, aspirations, and warnings of that remarkable moment. Many of the most ambitious goals subsequently went unfulfilled or were betrayed, fueling immense disappointment. Nonetheless it is worth reflecting on the varied meanings associated with the coming of independence, for in human affairs, almost always, our reach exceeds our grasp.