Mr. White’s World History Class

When we are finished this section, we should be able to: Explain how nationalism impacted events in the Middle East and Africa during and after World War I  Explain how Gandhi used non- violent methods in India's struggle for independence from Britain  Explain how nationalist and communist forces struggled in China  Describe how Japanese political, economic, and social pressures resulted in Japanese militarism and expansionism

As part of his Fourteen Points, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson hoped nations would be given self-determination following World War I – they would be allowed to decide for themselves what they wanted In most cases, European powers tightened their control on their colonies, or expanded into new spheres of influence

In the Middle East and Africa, new forces for nationalism and independence created tensions.

In the Middle East and Africa, World War I and the influence of European nations had de-stabilized the region and added many new dynamics Middle East – Ottoman Empire collapsed, Arab nationalism rose, independence movements started Africa – Movements opposed to European rule began to press for independence

The nation of Turkey was all that was left of the Ottoman Empire after World War I Greece invaded Turkey in attempt to crush the Turkish state, but failed General Mustafa Kemal of Turkey led a group known as the Young Turks and defeated Greece With Kemal's growing popularity, the Turkish sultan gave up his power, and Kemal became the first Turkish president Kemal wanted to industrialize Turkey so that it could become a modern nation

Kemal adopted many western customs in an attempt to modernize Turkey Adopted the European calendar, Latin alphabet, and metric system, supported adopted western names Banned the fez, tried to stop female veiling Reformed the legal code and separated government and religion Kemal adopted other reforms to give a sense of Turkish national pride Purged the language of Persian and Arabic influences and words Changed his name to Kemal Attaturk While his reforms were not always popular, Kemal did successfully modernize Turkey

The nation of Persia was ruled by a shah After World War I, Great Britain and the Soviet Union had interests and businesses in Persia's oil fields In 1921, Persian nationalist forces under Reza Khan overthrew the shah to end these foreign influences The new government built infrastructure – schools, roads, hospitals Reza Shah Pahlavi used Persia's oil fields to make money for the nation

Coming up to World War II, Pahlavi aligned his government with Hitler – was an admirer and considered Persians and Germans to be of the same Aryan descent Pahlavi changed the name of Persia to Iran (variant of Aryan) Britain and the Soviet Union sponsored a revolution by Pahlavi's son to overthrow him

After World War I, Britain received a mandate for the area known as Palestine – Britain would oversee the area basically as a colony The previous relationships between religious groups in the area had been peaceful, and kept that way by whichever Muslim empire had ruled the area – Abbasids, Ottomans, etc. As the British ruled the area, Jews and Muslims within Palestine came into conflict with each other

Beginning in the late 1800s, Jewish persecution in Europe (such as pogroms) resulted in many Jews returning to Palestine Jews claimed land based on a Biblical heritage; many wanted to set up a Jewish home state - Zionism Muslims and Arabs claimed that they had held the land continuously During World War I, the British had promised self- government and independence to Arabs in return for support against the Ottomans The British had also made promises to support a Jewish state As more and more Jews immigrated to Palestine, Great Britain struggled to keep the peace

Egypt had been held by the British as a protectorate since the late 1800s Egyptian nationalist forces under Saad Zaghlul demanded independence In 1922, Britain gave Egypt limited independence In World War II, when Italy (allied with Nazi Germany) invaded Ethiopia, the British granted Egyptian independence in return for Egyptian support against Italy

In Kenya, independence movements struggled against British colonialism After World War I, the British increased their imperial control on Kenya – coffee plantations were planted and used as cash crops Kenya's Henry Thuku protested colonial taxes and labor laws – the British arrested him Jomo Kenyatta opposed British imperialism by campaigning for Kenyan independence in London – slow going

In Nigeria following World War I, the British increased their colonial control A protest by unarmed Nigerian women attacking British goods and property resulted in police killing fifty people – many Nigerians started to want independence Future Nigerian protests adopted non-violent methods Still no independence for Nigeria by World War II

In British colonial India, Mohandas Gandhi used non-violent methods to protest British colonialism and work for Indian independence.

Great Britain's most valuable colony prior to World War II was India Coffee, tea, jute, indigo, and cotton were cash crops that Britain got from India In return for the support of Indian troops, Britain promised eventual independence for India

Over time, more and more Indians stopped seeing British rule as beneficial or benevolent In 1919, a large crowd of around 10,000 Indians gathered for a political and religious festival in a walled- off garden The British had outlawed large public gatherings To disperse the gathering and discourage such disobedience, British General Reginald Dyer ordered sepoy troops to fire into the crowd until it dispersed

The sepoy troops had blocked the largest escape route As people tried to escape through the other small passages, they often were trampled to death by others behind them Many Indians dove into a well in the center of the courtyard to avoid the gunfire – reports of 120 bodies found in the well A British imposed-curfew prevented anyone from tending to the wounded that night – many more died Totals reached 400 dead, 1200 wounded The British General showed no remorse for his actions The Amritsar or Jallianwala Bagh massacre shocked many Indians, and many began to call for independence

Mohandas Gandhi was educated in England and had practiced law in South Africa In response to British imperialism, Gandhi proposed and supported pacifist methods Civil disobedience – disobey laws considered unjust Gandhi began to work with the Indian National Congress to gain Indian independence Urged tolerance between India's groups – Hindus and Muslims Opposed Western notions of brute force, money worship, and prejudice

Gandhi's non-violent methods led to increased popularity and followers He began to organize boycotts of British goods Spun cloth for 30 minutes a day so he wouldn't have to buy British cloth As Gandhi gained in popularity, the British arrested and imprisoned him for the rest of the 1920s

When Gandhi got out of prison, he continued to use non-violent methods The British passed a law taxing salt in India – very necessary for life Gandhi led a growing march to the sea, where he and others gathered salt, breaking the British law Gandhi and his followers continued to disobey British laws until the British would respond with arrests, threats, or violence

The British gradually began to give Indians more political power In 1935, the Government of India Act gave India a constitution Some limited power in making laws for the Indian people Many people were unhappy with this small measure, but Gandhi's influence convinced many people that this was a small, but important, first step

Even with Gandhi as a unifying influence, Hindu- Muslim relations became strained As possible self-government approached, the Muslim minority began to a government run by Hindus When Hindus won some provincial elections, Muslims began to demand a separate nation Gandhi called for unity, but the Indian independence movement split because of these religious differences

Chinese nationalists and communists struggled to take power in China; an invasion by the Japanese forced them to work together.

 Sun Yat-Sen was the leader of the Kuomintang, or the Chinese Nationalist Party  In 1912, Sun took power in China and tried to establish a democratic republic  Held power for a few months, then was overthrown by Yuan Shigai  Sun organized resistance to Yuan, but failed to overthrow him and fled to Japan

 Yuan died in 1916, and China descended into civil war  Sun returned from Japan, and with the help of the Soviet Union and an officer named Chiang Kai-Shek, the Kuomintang took power in China  Even though Sun wanted a republic, the Kuomintang government was undemocratic  It improved infrastructure in the nation, but did not improve the lives of the peasants

 In 1927, communists who had helped Sun and the Kuomintang tried to take over the party, but failed  Chiang Kai-Shek, fearing the communists, decided to purge them from the Kuomintang  The communists fled to the southern part of China and formed the Chinese Red Army  Worked for the support of the peasants  Overthrew local landholders and redistributed land to peasants

 A civil war between the nationalist Kuomintang and the communist Red Army began  By 1934, the Red Army was almost defeated  The Red Army escaped through a year-long forced march, pursued by the Kuomintang army – known as the Long March  Japan’s invasion of Manchuria would force the Kuomintang and Red Army to work together

Japan’s military gradually took power from the democratic government of Japan.

 Japanese relations with the western nations after World War I were mixed  On the positive side:  Japan gained Germany’s Pacific colonies north of the equator  Japan was allowed, by an agreement, to build the nation’s third- largest navy (U.S. and Great Britain)  On the negative side:  The League of Nations had refused to accept a Japanese proposal for a statement of racial equality in the League charter – insult  The United States had banned Japanese immigration  The western nations opposed Japanese influence over China, which Japan had basically made into a protectorate

 Japan had experienced a population explosion between the 1870s and the 1920s – from around 35 million to 60 million people  Social, political, industrial, and military factors, plus this population explosion, encouraged Japan to expand or for its people to move by one of three ways:  Immigration  Imperial expansion  Capitalism and world markets

 Japan had rapidly industrialized during the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries  Because the U.S. would allow no immigration, the Japanese focused on manufacturing and trade to provide employment for people  Heavy industry expanded in the hands of rich industrialists known as zaibatsu, and the government  Increased manufacturing spurred a desire for cheap raw materials - colonies

 Social changes placed more pressures on Japan that could be relieved by expansion  Overpopulated rural areas and land scarcity drove many Japanese into the cities to work in industrial jobs  In those cities, western customs and culture were adopted – clash of cultures with traditional  More and more Japanese had the right to vote, so there was growing democratic representation

 Even though more and more were voting, political power in Japan was concentrated in the hands of nobles, zaibatsu, and the military  Emperor Hirohito and the people, in theory, were supposed to have power, but didn’t  When the Great Depression caused prices to drop in Japanese manufacturing, many unemployed and desperate Japanese began to call for strong leadership

 Militarism began to influence many aspects of Japanese life  The military opposed western lifestyles and promoted Japanese culture  The military leaders thus were wary of the western customs that many people were adopting

 September, 1931 – without government approval, the Japanese military invaded Manchuria in China – government had lost control  The military gradually took more power in the government, and by 1937 basically was the government  The emperor, fearing a strong stance would result in his overthrow, didn’t take a stand against the militarists  As Japan invaded other nations, western criticism of Japan led to many Japanese backing the military  With this, the support for militarism in the nation grew