Historians continue to debate when the Empire reached its peak. At one end, the insecurities of the 1880s and 1890s are mentioned, especially the industrial rise of the United States and Germany. The Second Boer War in South Africa, 1899-1902 angered an influential element of Liberal thought in England, and deprived imperialism of much moral support. Most historians agree that by 1918, at the end of the First World War, permanent long-term decline was inevitable. The dominions largely had freed themselves and began their own foreign and military policies. Worldwide investments had been cashed in to pay for the war, and the British economy was in the doldrums after 1918. A new spirit of nationalism appeared in many of the colonies, most dramatically in India. Most historians agree that following the Second World War, Britain lost its superpower status, and it was financially near bankruptcy. With the Suez fiasco of 1956, the profound weaknesses were apparent to all and rapid decolonization was inevitable.