What is this about?
How various states changed due to internal and external factors
- From 1900-1920, the authoritarian governments of Russia, China, Mexico faced and succumbed to wildly popular rebellions
- These rebellions challenged not only political rule but also the existing social order
- Established land-based and maritime empires also collapses
Revolution in Russia
- By early 1900s, Russia was significantly behind Europe, the US, and Japan
- Most of Russia’s problems were internal but there were also some external ones
Internal Problems
- Poor economy
- While other states during this time period were rapidly industrializing and encouraging economic growth, Russia didn’t
- Widespread poverty and unemployment
- Transportation networks were bad
- Entrepreneurs couldn’t get loans or other financial support
- Government resisted calls for political reforms and hesitated to grant civil liberties that were starting to become more popular thanks to Enlightenment ideals
- The problems caused by the poor economy cascaded into external problems
External Problems
- Russian economy wasn’t good enough to support a strong and modern military
- As such, Russia became weaker in international affairs
Russo-Japanese War
- Was between 1904 and 1905, it was primarily fought over Manchuria and Korea
- Outcome shocks the world: Russia, a European power, was defeated by an Asian power
- The loss exposed Russia’s military weaknesses to the world
- Also led to a significant economic loss as Russia invested greatly in the war and in developing its territories in the Far East, both of which it lost
- War also caused more and more people to lose faith in the Russian tsar and revolutionary movements gained more traction
Bolsheviks
- Bolsheviks = organization that represented the revolutionary working class
- Believed that a party (them) would be responsible for the revolution on behalf of the working class
- Led by Vladimir Lenin
- Seized control of Russia in the Fall of 1917
- Were communists:
- believed that workers should own the means of production
- private trade should be abolished
- took over ownership of the country’s factories and industries (nationalization)
Upheaval in China
- Qing Dynasty collapses in 1911
- Overthrown Sun Yat-sen, who establishes a republic in its place
- However his rule was short
Internal Challenges
Ethnic Tensions
- China consists of many ethnic groups
- Largest ethnic group in China is the Han while the rulers of the Qing Dynasty are Manchu
- Tensions between Han and Manchus remained large
- Ex: Han Chinese men were forced to adopt the Manchu hairstyle and wear Manchu clothing as a sign of submission, creating resentment
- Due to the mistreatment of the Hans, many would do stuff that would undermine the Qing dynasty, like collaborating with foreign governments and launching rebellions
Famine
- From mid-1700 to mid-1800 China’s population grew greatly
- However food supply and farmland did not grow as the population grew
- This meant any natural disaster that affected the supply of food would cause much more deaths and suffering
Low Government Revenue
- China relied on an outdated tax system to earn government revenue which was not adjusted to meet changes in the economy
- Taxes were largely land-based taxes collected from peasants and landlords and didn’t target new industries
- As such China didn’t get much from taxes, meaning it didn’t have the money to maintain roads, bridges, and other infrastructure and services
External Challenges
- Europeans grew much more powerful in the late 1700s thanks to industrialization and were able to demand more stuff from China
- European influence in China increased under the Qing
- Qing tried to modernize in order to combat European influence but such efforts often failed
- As such the people were very unhappy that foreigners were exerting their will on their country and wanted to overthrow the dynasty that they thought “sold the country”
Chinese Republic
- Sun Yat-sen overthrows Qing and established a republic in 1911
- Despite being a Christian, he emphasized Confucian values like loyalty, respect for ancestors, and efforts to promote social harmony
The Three People’s Principles
Is Sun Yat-sen’s political philosophy
- Nationalism:
- Emphasized strong national identity around culture and shared values
- Also emphasized a strong independent state that can resist foreign influence
- Livelihood:
- End the rampant wealth disparity in China
- Improve the well-being of all people, with an emphasis on the poor and working class
- Democracy:
- The common people should be involved in the decision making of the country
- Would ensure protection of the rights of the people
- Ideas of democracy was influenced by the US’ democracy
Sun Yat-Sen’s Legacy
- Sun Yat-sen never had enough military power to rule all of China as various warlords controlled the majority of the country
- The party he founded, referred to as the Nationalists, or the Kuomintang, would later lose power to Chinese Communists in a civil war two decades later
Self-Determination in the Ottoman Collapse
- By 1900s the Ottoman Empire became known as the “sick man of Europe”
- Was an agricultural economy that was declining and had very few exports
- In contrast to the decline of the Ottoman’s economy, Egypt’s cotton based economy was blooming
The Young Turks
- Were a group who wanted to reform the Ottoman Empire
- Advocated for Turkification
- Meant making all the citizens of the multi-ethnic empire identify with Turkish culture and convert to Islam
- Came into power in 1908
- The Young Turks, who were in control of the Ottoman Empire, would start the Armenian Genocide in 1915
- Armenians, who were Christians, did not want to “Turkify”
- Young Turks would blame the country’s problems on the Armenians
- Also used World War I as an excuse to massacre the Armenians as they were a supposed threat to national security
Fight Against Foreign Influence
- European economic investments gave them significant economic and political influence in the empire
- Gave Europeans more wealth while Ottomans struggled
- Ottoman Empire secretly allied with Germany in World War I
- After World War I which ended with the defeat of Germany, the Allied powers broke up the Ottoman Empire, dissolving for good in 1922
- The much smaller Republic of Turkey rose in its place (still there today)
The Rise of Atatürk
- After World War I, Mustafa Kemal leads a nationalist movement in Turkey to advocate the creation of a new, independent Turkish state
- Organized an army to kick out the Greek, British, French, and Italians from Turkey
- Succeeded and was able to create the modern state of Turkey
- This new state would have self-determination as well as be modern, secular, and democratic
- Wanted to create a modern country based on Western democracies instead of one with strong Islamic influences
- Kemal implemented several reforms, including public education for both boys and girls, abolishing polygamy, and expanding suffrage to include women
- Kemal also known as Atatürk (meaning “Father of the Turks”)
Power Shifts in Mexico
- Mexico entered the 1900s as an independent nation under the control of a dictator named Porfirio Díaz
- His rule saw stability and some economic progress
- Allowed foreign investors, especially those from the US, to control most of the country’s resources
- Huge income inequality as well: the wealthy 1% owned 97% of the land
Mexican Revolution
- Lasted from 1910-1920
- Goal was to overthrow Porfirio Díaz and establish a democracy
- Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s forces led to the overthrow of Díaz in 1911
- Emiliano Zapata’s forces also fought for the rights of peasants and indigenous people
- Despite Díaz’s overthrow, Mexico continued to be plagued by instability and power struggles
- New constitution adopted in 1917:
- Led to the redistribution of land
- Nationalization of resources
- Universal suffrage and public education
- Led to the development of new forms of art, literature, and music that reflected the revolutionary ideals of social justice and national identity
- Example: murals