<P> Opposition to imperialism and demands for self - rule emerged across the empire; in all but one case the British authorities suppressed revolts . However, in the 1770s, under the leadership of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, it came to an armed revolt in the 13 American colonies, the American Revolutionary War . With military and financial help from France and others, the 13 became the first British colonies to secure their independence in the name of American nationalism . </P> <P> There is a large literature on the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which saw a very large scale revolt in India, involving the mutiny of many native troops . It was suppressed by the British Army after much bloodshed . </P> <P> The Indians organised under Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and finally achieved independence in 1947 . They wanted one India but the Muslims were organized by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and created their own nation, Pakistan, in a process that still is heatedly debated by scholars . Independence came in the midst of religious communal violence, chiefly between Hindus and Moslems in border areas . Millions died and millions more were displaced as the conflicting memories and grievances still shape subcontinent tensions, as Jisha Menon argues . </P> <P> Historians of the empire have recently paid close attention to 20th century native voices in many colonies who demanded independence . The African colonies became independent mostly in peaceful fashion . Kenya saw severe violence on both sides . Typically the leaders of independence had studied in England in the 1920s and 1930s . For example, the radical nationalist Kwame Nkrumah in 1957 led Ghana to become Britain's first African colony to gain independence, and others quickly followed . </P>

At the end of the 17th century the most productive of all of britain's colonies was