7.5 Flashcards
Unresolved tensions after WWI
Explain the primary cause of unresolved tensions between major global powers after WWI.
Imperialism didn’t stop during or following WWI. Wherever colonies where, nationalistic movements arose.
Colonies’ troops/soldiers fought and died in WWI and hoped for consequential respect from imperial nations, along with decolonization.
Independence was only granted to some Eastern European nations after the fall of Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, and the colonies of the Central powers were simply transferred to the Allied powers.
Explain the rise of anti-colonial movements in India following WWI.
During the late 19th century, the Indian National Congress was established with the purpose of providing an outlet for official complaints against British colonial government. It served as a voice for Indian national independence.
The formal anti-colonial movement in India was sparked by the Massacre of Amritsar.
Mohandas Gandhi led the anti-colonial movement through civil disobedience and non-violent resistance, including:
- the Homespun movement
The Muslim minority was worried about their voices being drowned out to the Hindu majority if India became independent, leading to a plan to divide the land: India would be home to the Hindus, and Pakistan would be home to the Muslims. This never actually came to be until after WWII.
What was the Massacre of Amritsar?
Two Indian protestors fighting for India’s independence were arrested by the British colonial government, sparking widespread protest by Indian nationalists in Amritsar. At the same time, a religious festival full of Sikh worshipers was taking place.
The colonial government had banned peaceful protests and opened fire on this protest as well as the totally unrelated Sikhs, resulting in over 400 deaths and many more injuries.
What was the Homespun movement?
A non-violent anti-colonial protest led by Mohandas Gandhi, where people only created their own or bought domestically made textiles, refusing to purchase imported cotton or wool textiles from Britain.
Explain the rise of anti-colonial sentiments in Korea [East Asia] following WWI.
In the 1890s, Japan was encroaching on the Korean peninsula. By 1910, Japan dominated there, and asked Western powers to help further imperialize Asia.
In 1919, the Korean emperor died, and Koreans believed that the Japanese poisoned him. In response to all of these accumulating frustrations, the March 1st movement broke out on March 1st, 1919.
More than 2 million Koreans protested colonial rule and were violently suppressed by Japanese troops.
Explain unresolved tensions within China following WWI.
The May 4th movement broke out in 1919, as an anti-imperialist movement that called for the overhaul and reconstruction of Chinese government to be modeled after western democracy.
After WWI, China wanted German land, but so did Japan, and the western powers sided with Japan.
Following this, within China, two primary political groups competed for power:
-CCP (Chinese Communist Party), led by Mao Zedong
*appealed to peasants and was inspired by Russia’s communist revolution
-CNP (Chinese Nationalist Party), led by Sun Yat-Sen
*goal of modernization and industrialization
Sun Yat-Sen took power for several months, and was succeeded by Chiang Kai Shek. Shek attacked Mao’s forces in 1927, leading to the Chinese Civil War. The CCP won, and the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949. Also referred to as the Chinese Communist Revolution.
When was WWI?
1914-1918
When was WWII?
1939-1945
Explain the unresolved tensions in colonial West Africa following WWI.
- natives to the colonial holdings who were educated in European institutions initiated anti-colonial movements
*they’d been educated and had instilled into their minds the idea of natural rights, social contracts, etc. - black workers in French West Africa went on strike
*railway strike of 1917, led to more industries striking by 1946 - workers fought to end discrimination and gain fair wages, and were sometimes successful
