Decolonisation was the process of emancipation of the colonies leading to their independence. It began in 1775 in America but it was not until after World War II, from 1945 to 1975, that Europe lost the majority of its colonial empires in Asia and Africa. The USSR’s and the United-States’ openly ant-colonialist stance influenced the process. Decolonisation occurred without any major complications for the British Empire, but not for France, which ended up at war with Indochina and Algeria. The Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium were mostly opposed to independence movements and the latter were generally resolved in conflict.