It is generally accepted by many historians that former British colonies have fared better than the former colonies of other European powers. This is primarily attributed to the British commitment to encourage the local population to participate in and control the administration of their territory. This, it is said, better prepared the colonial people for self-rule following the end of European rule.

The French did not give up their colonies without a fight in the years following World War Two. The French left Indochina in the mid-1950s following their defeat to the forces of resistance. Likewise, the French tried desperately to hold onto their territory in Algeria, but were eventually overwhelmed by the strength of nationalist resistance in the country.

The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam, formerly a part of French Indochina, into a communist North Vietnam and a capitalist South Vietnam. The intention was to prevent conflict, but as the Cold War escalated, conflict became almost inevitable. 

The New Imperialism of the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century differed from the style of imperialism that came before it in a few noticeable ways. Most significantly, in the earlier period of imperialism and overseas colonization, the European powers focused a lot of their efforts on establishing trading posts and ruling through proxy control of the local powers. The New Imperialism model was focused a lot more heavily on using military force to establish direct control over other territories. Although a lot of this New Imperialism was focused on the African continent, it was also practiced in Asia and South America. Religion played a deeply important role in both periods of European imperialism.

Having once been a part of the Ottoman Empire, Libya was colonized by the Italians in the 1910s. The Italians would also forcibly occupy Ethiopia before their failures in the Second World War cost them their African colonies.

The Belgian King Leopold II wanted Belgium to be a major imperial power like many other European nations and so carved out for himself a personal fiefdom in Central Africa. The Belgian Congo was several times larger than Belgium itself and ruled under the personal control of Leopold until his manifest crimes caught up to him. The Congo provided extremely lucrative quantities of rubber as well as many other raw resources; however, it was administered with profound cruelty and apathy towards the safety and health of the local population. Some modern estimates put the number of people who died during Belgian control of the Belgian Congo in the tens of millions.

The Sepoy Mutiny occurred in 1857 when Hindu and Muslim troops in the army of the British East India Company revolted against their imperial masters. The causes are often debated, but popular history tends to blame British disregard for Hindu and Muslim religious customs. The Mutiny was suppressed and led to the end of the British East India Company’s control over the Indian subcontinent to be replaced by direct control of the British government. This period of Indian history is known as the British Raj.

All of these countries came under the control of European imperialism in the nineteenth century except for Japan, which was able to maintain its independence. Japan even famously defeated the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. China was divided into spheres of European influence; India was under the direct control of the British government; and Vietnam and Laos were controlled by the French as part of the colony of French Indochina.

The defeat of the Spanish in the Spanish-American War (1899-1902) led to the independence of Cuba and the United States taking control over most of the remaining remnants of the once mighty Spanish Empire. The Americans took direct administration of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

All of the figures named were leaders during World War II, but of them only Winston Churchill came to power AFTER the war had started. Neville Chamberlain was the Prime Minister of Britain until 1940, at which point Churchill took over.