What is this about?
How continuities and changes in who what holds what territories created tensions after World War I
- Victors of World War I (Allies like Britain, France, Japan) continued to hold or even expand their colonial possessions
- However anti-imperial sentiments were growing all over Africa and Asia, marking a spread of nationalism
Effects of the War
- US prospered after WWI because of all the war materials and agricultural products it sold to Britain and the other Allies
- European countries were devastated by by the damage caused by the war and their economies also were pretty bad
Effects on Colonial Lands
- WWI renewed hopes of the people in colonies for independence
- African and Asian troops contributed thousands of soldiers to the Allied war effort and expected that they would be rewarded
- Also the war made many colonial peoples, who were brainwashed for generations in thinking that they were inferior to Europeans, realize that colonial powers like Britain and France were not invincible
- Peace conference’s Big Three granted right to self determination to white countries in Eastern Europe but not to anyone else
The Mandate System
- Arabs were promised by Allies that after the war they would be granted right to self-determination
- Instead the Allies established a mandate system to split the lands controlled by the Ottoman Empire and Germany
- The justification was that these states needed guidance from more “advanced” countries in order to survive
- Was basically a new form of colonization
- Cameroon, a German colony in Africa, was divided amongst French and British
- Japan got Germany’s islands in the Western Pacific
- Mandates like Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq (in the Middle East) were basically colonies of Britain and France, further agitating Arabs
- This agitation set the stage for the rise of Pan-Arabism
Balfour Declaration
- In 1917, British declared that Palestine should became land for Jewish people
- Those who supported this idea were called Zionists
- After World War II, European Jews moved in droves to Palestine, which Britain controlled
- Arabs saw this as another form of colonialism and were largely against Israel for this reason
Pan-Arabism
- Political ideology that advocates for the unity and independence of all Arab countries
- Emerged in the early 20th century after World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
- Largely against the rise of European colonial powers in the region
- After World War II, the idea of Arab unity gained momentum with the founding of the Arab League in 1945 and the focus on Pan-Arabism as a response to European colonialism and the establishment of Israel
Anti-Colonialism in South Asia
- Indian National Congress founded in 1885 but became a strong voice for independence after World War I
Amritsar Massacre
- In spring 1919, Indian protestors protested in Amritsar, Punjab over the arrest of two freedom fighters
- The protest took place during a Sikh festival, which attracted thousands of people
- British responded to this peaceful protest by killing ~379 people
- The massacre further radicalized Indians
Gandhi
- His satyagraha movement a form of nonviolent resistance that utilized civil disobedience, became very popular
- Indians encouraged to break unjust laws peacefully and serve jail time
- Goal through this was to expose these unjust laws both in Britain and around the world
- Also led boycott against British goods (economic)
- Wore traditional, homespun cotton clothes called dhoti
- Was a form of protest against British fabrics made from Indian cotton and sold to Indians at inflated prices
Salt March
- British made it illegal for Indians to make their own salt as British wanted a monopoly on salt
- Gandhi led thousands of Indians to the Arabian Sea and simply picked up a few grains of salt
The Two-State Solution
- Although anti-colonial sentiments were brewing in India, there was conflict on how India should define its national identity
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah, originally part of the INC, proposed a two-state solution: one state for Muslims and the other for Hindus
- Although independence did not come for India and Pakistan until after World War II, the interwar years were critical times for the anti-colonial movement
Nationalism in East Asia
The March First Movement in Korea
- In 1910 Japan took over Korea
- Koreans mad that not only Japan was controlling them but also the Europeans were backing Japan
- March First Movement was a massive protest on March 1, 1919 where Koreans protested against Japan occupation and called for independence
- Japan cracked down harshly on protests, killing several thousand Koreans
- Despite this nationalist movements in Korea continued on
The May Fourth Movement in China
- China supported the Allies in WWI
- British and French hired hundreds of thousands of Chinese to work in factories, dig trenches, and do other work
- Allies promised China that if they won they would give China the land Germany controlled along the Shandong Peninsula
- However Japan wanted the same land and after the war the Allies gave the land to Japan instead of China
- Infuriated, many Chinese led anti-Japanese demonstrations, such as the May Fourth Movement in 1919
- This movement called for modernization and democracy (rejecting traditional Confucian views)
- Many Chinese also rejected Western-style governments
- Chinese also angry that the Chinese government didn’t stand up to this injustice
- Played a big role in the rise of the Chinese Communist Party
Chinese Communist Party
- Founded in 1921 and was eventually led by Mao Zedong
- Instead of energizing the working class, Mao believed that China’s communist revolution could be based on the revolt of peasants, who made up the vast majority of China’s population
Kuomintang
- Also known as Chinese Nationalist Party
- Led by Sun Yat-sen
- Called for full independence and industrialization
- Chiang Kai-shek took over after Sun Yat-sen’s death
- Deeply mistrusted the Communists
- In 1927, Chiang’s forces attacked and nearly annihilated Mao’s forces, initiating the Chinese Civil War
The Long March
- Due to the near annihilation of Mao’s forces, the Communists retreated into China’s interior and stayed in hiding for several years
- Communists was very weak after the Long March, but along the way they recruited peasants who became great supporters of Mao
- This support they built up later became crucial to the Communists’ eventual victory over the Nationalists
- Until then, Nationalists continued to rule China but their policies alienated many
- They continued to advocate for Confucianism, but old traditions were losing support
- Also cracked down on free speech
China, Japan, and Manchukuo
- Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 seeking access to natural resources on the Asian mainland
- Communists and Nationalists suspended their civil war to focus on fighting the Japanese
- In 1932, Japan established puppet state called Manchuku to make it seem like an independent Chinese state
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
- Japan continued with its ultra nationalist policies and continued to expand its empire until it lost WWII in 1945
- Seized Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, Burma, and numerous Pacific islands
- Termed these territories the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Spheres
- Basically Japan said they were justified in taking over these territories to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and “make Asia Asian again”
- Japan promoted themselves as a unifier of all the Asian peoples
Resistance to Colonial Rule in West Africa
- Like in Asia, Africans were disappointed that despite contributing to the war effort their efforts were not recognized and saw that Britain and France were not invincible
- Pro-independence movements in Africa began with European-educated intellectuals
- John Kenyatta of Kenya studied in London
- LĂ©opold Senghor of Senegal studied in Paris
- Black workers in French West Africa staged a series of strikes, including a strike of railway workers in 1917 and a general strike in 1946