Relations with Indigenous people 1914 - 47 Flashcards
Ireland?
- Pre-WWI, already facing civil war as religious divide threatened 1912-13
- Home Rule Bill independence. Ulster Volunteers vs National Volunteers
- Protest escalated during war:
- Easter Rising 1916
- Sinn Féin won majority 1918 election, refused to take seats at Westminster, set up a rival government and declared an Irish Republic
- IRA guerrilla war against British Royal Irish Constabulary and ‘Black and Tans’
- Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 ended conflict - Irish Free State as a Dominion within the Empire, six northern counties opted out
- Eamon de Valera refused to accept treaty, brought another civil war, - Republicans defeated 1923.
- Southern Ireland consequently Dominion, subject to 1931 Statute of Westminster
- Valera refused to attend 1937 Imperial Conference, drew up a Republican constitution for Eire
Neutral in WWII (only commonwealth country) - 1948 Republic of Ireland Act separated entirely from Britain
- Showed British imperialism could be violently challenged successfully
India?
WWI: INC politicians support British though sporadic outbreaks of nationalist violence in Bengal & the Punjab
Lucknow Pact 1916: INC and Muslim League agreed to allow overrepresentation for religious minorities in provincial legislatures. Masterminded by Jinnah.
Expat Indians in USA, Canada, Germany tried to encourage uprisings in India headed by Ghadar Party, supported by Irish Republicans, Germans, Turks
e.g. 1915 Ghadar Conspiracy, Singapore Mutiny - 7-say mutiny of Indian sepoys in Singapore
Protest in response to 1919 Govt of India insufficiency & 1919 Rowlatt Acts - extreme tension
1919 Amritsar Massacre after rioting in region. General Dyer fired on a crowd in an enclosed square, who were protesting arrest of 2 nationalist leaders. Officially 379 killed 1200 wounded, Congress said over 1000 killed. Dyer censured & resigned but some Britons supported.
Response: Congress claimed showed British had no moral authority, galvanised Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement
1922 Chaura Chaura incident, police opened fire on violent protesters. Protesters set fire to police station, 3 civilians 23 police killed. Congress called for an end to Non-Cooperation
1931 Salt March (see notes)
Muslim League 1930s brought militancy, but British easily contained
inc. Quit India - small-scale violence all over country but suppressed heavy-handedly
Rejection of Cripps Offer of Dominion status 1942 because wanted full independence
1947 independence, 400,000 died in partition conflict.
Middle East?
1919 countrywide Egyptian and Sudanese revolution after nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul exiled
Civil disobedience, rioting, demonstrations
All classes, men and women, Christians and Muslims
Attacks on British military bases, civilian facilities, military personnel - Egyptian villages burnt, railways destroyed
800 Egyptians killed, 1600 wounded
Milner Report, then independence 1922
Remained strained: British refused to recognise full Egyptian sovereignty over Sudan, or withdraw all forces
1935 further treaty but Britain retained Suez troops
Palestinian tensions escalated 1930s as more Jews entered country due to Hitler
Haganah (Jewish terrorist milita) violence increased
Stern Gang (militant Zionists) waged open war on British and Arabs
1947 British withdrew
West Africa?
Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast had legislative councils by 1914, though limited and African representation minimal
National Congress of West Africa founded from above colonies’ activists 1919 Accra
Dominated by Gold Coast intellectual elite, supported by (often European-educated) middle classes
Demands for greater representation initially ignored
Concessions 1920s, but nationalists outnumbered by appointed chiefs
Spread of education led to young, radical nationalist leaders
West African Students’ Union (WASU) founded 1925, brought together West African students studying in London. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Krumah from Gold Coast later emerged as significant nationalist leaders.
WWII accelerated nationalism due to economic development in W Africa
1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester called for the ‘autonomy and independence’ of black Africa
