Interwar period and WWII Flashcards
Development of colonies
Became more intertwined w the metropole in many ways
Immigration: more families and administrators
Missionaries
Infrastructure
Economic specialisation: defined roles within the colonial economy
Economic decline
Metropoles focussed on themselves
Less investment due to europe’s focus on the war effort
The Great depression of the 1930s
More expenses due to democratisation and social legislation: money invested in metropole instead of colonies
Image decline
Visible cruelty and violence from the war: tainted europe’s view of self superiority
Cultural pessimism and self criticism
Development of fascism
Global competition
US colonised Philippines in 1934
USSR Bolsheviks were anti-imperialists
Japanese had imperial aspirations
Shrinking gap between coloniser and colonised
Colonised had access to more knowledge: education, contact w europe, ideas could also spread faster due to better infrastructure
Access to better technology and weaponry: Abdel Karim in Morocco 1921-26 who staged a 5 year long successful secessionist movement
Growing consciousness of colonial abuse: forced labour, taxes, exploitation
Response of the colonised
Infiltration and collaboration: missionaries and officials
Group organisation: Sub-national groups (along religious, ethnic or gender lines)
and Supra-national groups (pan-african movement, pan-arabism, class)
Political parties: communist party of vietnam and partai nasional Indonesia (both leaders studied in europe)
Violence: strikes and insurrections
Decline of the British Empire
Loss of dominant position in turkey, Persia and China
Loss of white settler colonies: Irish independence in 1922, commonwealth w the white dominions
2nd Balfour declaration 1926 and Statute of Westminster in 1932
Egyptian revolution
Saad Zaghloul: demands independence at Versailles, gets exiled from Egypt byBritain
Revolution in 1919
Independence in 1921: establishment of egyptian monarchy
Britain retained control of sudan and Suez canal
Revolution in 1952: led by Nasser - kicked the British out of the Suez in 1956
Palestine and jewish migration
400 thousand jews between 1920 and 45
Development: cities and agriculture, jewish school system, superior literacy rate among jews than arabs
Separate institutions: assembly of representatives (Knesset), jewish national council, secret service (mossad)
Consequences of jewish migration
Protest
- Syrian national congress about Versailles (1919)
- 1920 Palestine riots
- 1936-39 arab revolt
Solutions
- 1939 :British white paper - independent Palestine controlled by arabs and Jews
- 1948: British disengagement and creation of israel
British disengagement in 1948
- Wars throughout the mid-century against all of its neighbours
- Intifadas in the 80-90s and 00s
- Gaza war…
Political developments in India
Representation for indian elite in decision making:
- Indian national congress (1885)
- Muslim league in 1906
Sectarian division in India
Violence in years following 1905
- Brits supported the muslim minority and helped in the creation of the muslim league
- Efforts to weaken the indian national congress
- Led to future sectarian division
India post-war
Contribution to British war effort
- Promise of responsible government
- Massacre of an unarmed protest in Amritsar (thousands of deaths) (1919)
Gandhi: background
Studied in UK and worked in SA
Returned to India in 1915: transformed the INC from an elite party to a party of the masses
Gandhi: achievements
Non-violent boycotts in 1922 and 1930 (satyagraha)
Constructive program from 1924 (ashram)
Round table conferences in 1930s
Quit India movement in 1942
Legacy:
- Ahimsa – non-violence
- Criticism of the European model
