# Macmillan delivers the 'Wind of Change' speech (1960)

URL: https://english-history.com/timeline/1960-macmillan-delivers-the-wind-of-change-speech
Categories: main-event

Prime Minister Harold Macmillan acknowledged the force of African nationalism in a speech to the South African Parliament. Within the broader Postwar & Modern UK period, decolonization, welfare institutions, migration, European integration and withdrawal, devolution and social change reshaped the modern United Kingdom. This event is placed at 1960 in the chronology so it can be read alongside the political, military, social and cultural changes around it. The speech signalled British acceptance that rapid decolonization across Africa was unavoidable.

## Why it matters
The speech signalled British acceptance that rapid decolonization across Africa was unavoidable.

Ruler at the time: [Elizabeth II](https://english-history.com/rulers/elizabeth-ii)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Macmillan delivers the 'Wind of Change' speech](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Macmillan+delivers+the+%27Wind+of+Change%27+speech&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Macmillan delivers the 'Wind of Change' speech](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Macmillan+delivers+the+%27Wind+of+Change%27+speech)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of British history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_British_history)
- [The National Archives — Postwar collection](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/)