During the 1930's and 1940's workers' movements in the Caribbean began to challenge the colonial system. World War II (1939-1945) brought many changes and made it possible for many countries to become independent. In 1947 India won its independence from Britain. In 1945, Vietnam had declared its independence from France, but the French opposed this move and launched a bloody war which ended in a Vietnamese victory in 1954. many African and Asian nations also fought wars against In the Caribbean and Belize there was no need to fight a war to gain independence.

After War World II the states on the winning side of the war organized the United Nations "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war".

In 1960, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the end of colonization. As more colonies became independent, they joined the UN. and worked for decolonization everywhere. Even after independence, colonial countries still exercised a lot of control, since merchants, banks and foreign companies controlled most of the wealth of these new nations.

Part Three will show that in spite of the resistance of the colonisers, gradually things started to change. We will see how workers organized and fought for their rights, how the nationalist movement joined forces with the workers to defeat colonialism. We will also find out why Belize's independence was delayed, and how it was finally achieved.