Decolonization quiz: trace a global struggle for self-determination
Decolonization
guess the exact year of key moments in decolonization.
Explore the worldwide shift from empire to independence in a chronology game. Place selected milestones on the timeline and compare how the pace and form of decolonization differed from one region to another.
Five rounds. Each guess scores according to how close you are to the exact year.
Build a streak, protect your lives and face increasingly difficult rounds.
Selected milestones in decolonization
These dates point to specific national and international milestones within a much longer global process.
- 14 August 1947: Pakistan marks its independence; India marks its independence on 15 August. The legal appointed day under the Indian Independence Act was 15 August for both.
- 18 April 1955: the Asian-African Conference opens in Bandung, Indonesia, bringing together countries including newly independent states and territories still under colonial rule.
- 1 January 1956: Sudan becomes independent after the end of Anglo-Egyptian condominium rule.
- 6 March 1957: Ghana becomes independent from Britain. It is often described as the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from a European colonial power.
context
Before you play
Decolonization was a long, uneven process shaped by local independence movements, political organizing, war, international diplomacy, and changing imperial power. This collection connects examples from South Asia and Africa with broader efforts to establish self-government and national sovereignty.
significance
Why this collection matters
Decolonization reshaped borders, international institutions, and debates over sovereignty that continue today. Its history is more than a sequence of independence days: it includes the work of anticolonial movements and the different political arrangements that followed colonial rule.
guide
Moments that shaped this story
The independence of India and Pakistan amid partition and the end of British rule.
The Bandung Conference and new forms of cooperation among Asian and African states.
Sudan’s independence and Ghana’s role in African decolonization.
questions
Before you start
1What is decolonization?
It describes processes through which colonized peoples and territories sought and achieved self-government, independence, or another freely chosen political status.
2Did decolonization happen at the same pace everywhere?
No. It unfolded over many decades, and movements in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and elsewhere faced different political conditions.
explore more
More collections to explore
transparency
Sources consulted
Automated verification · 2026-10-23 · version 2.0.
Introductory copy is designed to orient players without revealing event years.