Unresolved Tensions After World War I and the Rise of Global Anti-Colonialism
Global Tensions and the Spread of Nationalism After World War I
Context of Unresolved Disputes: Following World War I, economic crises impacted countries globally, and disputes over territorial control persisted. - The victors of the war, primarily European powers and Japan, maintained or expanded their control over colonial territories. - Concurrently, anti-imperial resistance grew throughout Asia and Africa.
The Global Trend of Nationalism: The rise of nationalism in these regions was part of a larger global movement that included: - The breakup of empires in Europe. - The success of the communist revolution in Russia. - The spread of anti-immigrant sentiments in the United States. - Examples of this trend include Turkey’s push for self-determination, the May 4th Movement in China, and the activities of the Indian National Congress.
Indian National Congress Declaration: The Independence Day Resolution (Purna Swaraj) of January 26, 1930, stated that the British Government in India had deprived the Indian people of freedom and "debased it economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually."
Economic and Social Effects of the War
Varied Regional Impacts: - The United States: Prospered significantly by selling war materials and agricultural products to Britain and the other Allies. - Europe: Countries that suffered the most damage were left economically devastated.
Impact on Colonial Lands: - Nationalist movements had been developing for decades in South Asia and West Africa, but the war renewed hopes for independence. - African and Asian colonial troops contributed thousands of soldiers to the Allied effort. - The war demonstrated to colonized peoples that imperial powers like Britain and France were not invincible.
Rebellions and Reciprocity: - German propaganda during the war predicted colonial uprisings, which mostly did not materialize, though local rebellions occurred. - The Volta-Bani War (November 1915 – September 1916): A large group of villages in French West Africa (modern-day Burkina Faso) attempted to drive out the French. The French suppressed the revolt with great effort and loss of life on both sides. - Consequences of Rebellion: The revolt forced the French to recognize obligations toward colonized people. After the war, many colonial veterans assisted in colonial administration upon their return home.
The Mandate System and the Big Three
Expectations of Self-Determination: Colonized people expected that the principle of self-determination, as articulated in Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, would lead to self-rule.
The Big Three's Stance: David Lloyd George (Britain), Woodrow Wilson (USA), and Georges Clemenceau (France) were not interested in freeing colonies. - Self-determination was granted only to white countries in Eastern Europe. - Wilson refused to meet with Vietnamese nationalists, including a young Ho Chi Minh, who sought to discuss self-determination for Vietnam.
The Mandate System Definition: Established through Article 22 of the League of Nations charter. It stated that colonized people in Africa and Asia required "tutelage" from more "advanced" nations to survive. - This allowed Allied countries (France, Great Britain, Japan) to increase imperial holdings. - Cameroon: Formerly a German colony, it was divided and transferred to France and Britain as separate mandates. - German Islands: Japan seized German-held islands in the Western Pacific.
Upheaval in the Middle East and Pan-Arabism
Betrayal of Arab Rebels: Arab rebels had been promised self-rule for fighting with the Allies against the Ottoman Empire. These promises were ignored in favor of the mandate system.
League of Nations Mandates: Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq became virtual colonies of Great Britain and France rather than sovereign lands.
Pan-Arabism: An ideology calling for the unification of all lands in North Africa and the Middle East, fueled by anger over the mandate system.
The Balfour Declaration (1917): The British government stated that Palestine should become a permanent home for the Jews of Europe. - Zionists: Supporters of a Jewish homeland. - Following the war, European Jews moved in large numbers to British-controlled Palestine, creating a source of ongoing conflict.
Anti-Colonialism in South Asia
Indian National Congress (INC): Formed in the late 19th century, it became a powerful voice for independence by 1918.
The Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919): - Indian nationalists gathered in a public garden in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest the arrest of two freedom fighters during a Sikh festival. - Although the crowd was unarmed and peaceful, public gatherings had been made illegal. - British colonial forces fired hundreds of shots, killing an estimated people and wounding more. - Impact: Radicalized many Indians and convinced moderate INC members that full independence was the only solution.
Mohandas Gandhi and Civil Disobedience: - Satyagraha ("devotion-to-truth"): A campaign of civil disobedience encouraging Indians to break unjust laws and serve jail time to expose imperial injustice. - Mahatma ("the great soul"): Gandhi led boycotts against British goods. He wore the traditional Hindu dhoti (homespun cotton) to protest British fabrics sold at inflated prices. - The Salt March (1930): To protest the British monopoly on salt, Gandhi led thousands to the Arabian Sea to pick up grains of salt, defying British edict.
The Two-State Solution: - Muhammad Ali Jinnah: Originally favored Hindu-Muslim unity but later proposed a separate state (Pakistan) for the Muslim minority, fearing their interests would be overwhelmed in a Hindu-majority India. - This proposal caused anxiety for leaders like Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru (India's future first prime minister).
Nationalism and Conflict in East Asia
The March First Movement in Korea (1919): - Japan took control of Korea in 1910. - Following the death of the Korean emperor and the prospect of expanded Japanese power, Koreans (out of a population of ) protested on March 1, 1919. - Japanese forces killed several thousand, but the movement solidified Korean nationalism.
The May Fourth Movement in China (1919): - China supported the Allies in WWI, providing laborers, hoping to reclaim the Shandong Peninsula from Germany. - At the Paris Peace Conference, the Allies sided with Japan. - On May 4, 1919, Chinese intellectuals and workers staged anti-Japanese demonstrations. This led many to reject Western-style government in favor of the Soviet Marxist model.
The Chinese Civil War: - Chinese Communist Party (CCP): Founded in 1921, led by Mao Zedong. Mao focused on a peasant-based revolution rather than the urban working class. - Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party): Led by Sun Yat-sen, then Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang was conservative and distrusted communism. - In 1927, Chiang's forces attacked Mao's forces, initiating the civil war.
The Long March (1934–1935): - A retreat by Mao's forces from Jiangxi to northern China to escape Chiang's army. - Approximately people started the march; only remained at the end. - The stamina of the CCP during this march gained them significant peasant admiration and support.
Japanese Imperialism and African Resistance
Manchukuo: In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. In 1932, they established the puppet state of Manchukuo, installing the last Chinese emperor on the throne. - When the League of Nations condemned Japan, Japan withdrew from the League.
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Japan seized the Philippines, Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, Burma, and Pacific islands. - Japan claimed to be liberating these regions from Western imperialism, but was viewed as a conqueror.
Resistance in West Africa: - Pro-independence movements were led by European-educated intellectuals like Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) and Lopold Senghor (Senegal). - Labor Strikes: Black workers in French West Africa staged major strikes, including a railway strike in 1917 and a general strike in 1946 in regions like Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Guinea to protest discriminatory wage policies.