World War II was a catalyst for the end of European colonialism. Britain, France, and the Netherlands emerged from the war economically exhausted and unable to maintain control over their vast overseas territories. Furthermore, the war's rhetoric of 'freedom' and 'self-determination' (as seen in the Atlantic Charter) inspired independence movements across Africa and Asia. Within a decade of the war's end, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and dozens of other nations gained independence, fundamentally changing the world map and shifting the focus of international politics to the Cold War superpowers.