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Latin America decolonized in the early 19th century. Following the end of World War I, some limited decolonization took place. But as nationalism gathered pace in the 1920s and 1930s mass movements for liberation and independence blossomed. In the aftermath of World War II the decolonization of Asia took place. Starting in the late 1950s and through the 1960s the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean took place. During the 1970s the decolonization of Oceania took place. Later still, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Timor-Leste and South Sudan achieved their liberation. Today, only a handful of colonies remain.

Part 1 of this Episode examines the origins of decolonization, paying particular attention to the end of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the rise of nationalism across Asia and Africa.