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

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