Not sure why I’m drawn to this visualization by Pedro Cruz, but I am:

Visualizing empires decline from Pedro M Cruz on Vimeo.

It does highlight a few things. First, the visualization reveals the sheer speed with which post-colonialism moved in the 1950’s and 1960’s. From the perspective of the power elite, this must have been a chaotic and challenging time. You could also see where the romanticism of the 1960’s emerged. Such a significant paradigm shift from the hegemony of major colonial powers to the sudden fragmentation of that power into hopeful, independent nation states must have been thrilling to those supportive of post-colonial movements. The reality that “colonialisms” take multiple forms probably hadn’t fully set in yet.

HT: Chart Porn (my favorite blog name BTW)