 The independence of British Somaliland in 1960, along with the "Wind of Change" speech that Macmillan delivered in South Africa earlier in the same year, is what started the decade when the dismantling of the British Empire reached its climax, as no fewer than twenty-seven former colonies in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean left the Empire and became independent.At the same time, the African nationalists were becoming increasingly demanding in their initiative for self-rule.The path to independence in the Southern African states proved more problematic because the White settler population became hostile towards the idea of majority rule.