Contagion or Coincidence? Pacific Island Independence Movements Under the British Empire
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Starting in 1970, the British Empire in the Pacific began to collapse, and within a decade, it was entirely dismantled. Compared to the remaining American and French colonial empires in the Pacific, this timeline is unique. Literature largely credits the rapid decolonization of British dependencies in the Pacific to British interests and their decision-making processes. There is only limited discussion of how these islands may have affected each other and influenced this rapid period of decolonization. My research seeks to answer the following question: To what extent did Pacific Islands influence each other’s decolonization movements, timing, and processes? This thesis pursues this question by closely examining two case studies: Fiji and New Hebrides. More specifically, I analyze their independence journeys through the lens of the first elected political leaders, who were also among the first advocates for independence during these formative years of state-building. Using rich archival material from the U.K. National Archives, Australian National University, and National Library of Australia, I examine the political leaders’ personal writings and identify specific sources of influence in the years leading up to Fijian and New Hebridean independence. My research finds that Pacific leaders and their independence movements drew inspiration from prior colonial dependencies that shared some significant deterrent to independence, for example ethnic division, and these precedents were often found outside the region. I find limited evidence of Pacific Islands influencing each other’s decolonization processes and movements, despite their close proximity.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Publication date | June 6, 2023 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Rodriguez, Rachelle |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor | Rakove, Robert |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University |
| Department | Stanford University, Program in International Relations |
Subjects
| Subject | British Empire |
|---|---|
| Subject | Oceania |
| Subject | Autonomy and independence movements |
| Subject | Pacific Islands |
| Subject | Colonial legacy |
| Subject | Politics and government |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Rodriguez, R. (2023). Contagion or Coincidence? Pacific Island Independence Movements Under the British Empire. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/qn889fz2580. https://doi.org/10.25740/qn889fz2580.
Collection
Stanford University, Program in International Relations, Honors Theses
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- Contact
- rrodrig@stanford.edu
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