The Crisis of Imperial Order1900-1929

Origins of Crisis in Europe & Middle East

• Ottoman Empire in decline

• losing provinces closest to Europe

• “Young Turks” forced constitution, advocated centralized rule & “Turkification” of minorities

• Carried out modernization

Causes of World War I

• Military Strategy-Inflexible mobilization plans

• Alliances• Imperialism• Nationalism

The “Great War” & Russian Revolutions

• Tensions increasing for years

• All entered war confident it would be over quickly

• German victory seemed assured, but faltered-formed an unbroken line of trenches (the Western Front) from North Sea to Switzerland

• Troops ordered to charge across open fields-cut down by machine-gun fire

• Four Year Stalemate

Home Front & War Economy

• governments imposed controls • Rationing & recruitment of Africans,

Indians, Chinese & women into European labor force transformed civilian life

• German civilians paid high price-British naval blockade

• British & French forces overran German/African colonies (except Tanganyika)

• Europeans requisitioned food, imposed heavy taxes, forced Africans to grow export crops & sell at low prices, & recruited African men to serve as soldiers & porters

• U.S. businesses grew rich by selling goods to Britain & France

Ottoman Empire at War• Turks signed secret alliance w/

Germany • unsuccessful against Russia• deported Armenians (causing

deaths of hundred of thousands), closed Dardanelles Straits

• British tried to subvert Ottoman Empire- promised emir Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca a kingdom to lead revolt against Turks-he did in 1916

• Balfour Declaration suggested British would “view with favor” the establishment of Jewish national homeland in Palestine

Double Revolution in Russia, 1917

• By late 1916, large but weak Russian army experienced numerous defeats

• civilian economy in collapse• cities faced shortages of

fuel & food • March 1917, Tsar Nicholas

overthrown-replaced by Provisional Government

• November 6, 1917 Bolsheviks staged uprising in Petrograd & overthrew Provisional Government.

The End of War in Western Europe 1917–1918

• German resumed unrestricted submarine warfare

• US joined war-April 1917

• Germans broke through line-pushed within 40 miles of Paris

• Allies counterattacked-August 1918

• Germans retreated; armistice signed-November 11

Peace & Dislocation in Europe 1919–1929

• 8-10 million died in war• Millions of refugees, many

fled to France & US• US passed immigration

laws-closed doors to east & south Europeans

• Influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 spread around the world, killed 20 million people

• War caused serious environmental damage

Peace Treaties• Three men dominated Paris

Peace Conference: – U.S. President Wilson

– British PM David Lloyd George

– French Premier Georges Clemenceau

• Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany-left largely intact & potentially most powerful nation in Europe

• Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart

• New countries created in lands lost by Russia, Germany, & Austria-Hungary

Russian Civil War & New Economic Policy

• In Russia, Allied intervention/ civil war extended fighting for 3 years

• By 1922, Soviet republic of Ukraine & Russia merged- created USSR

• In 1921, Lenin’s New Economic Policy helped restore production-relaxed government controls, allowed return of market economics

• Regarded as temporary-would be superseded as USSR built modern, socialist, industrial economy by extracting resources from peasants to pay for industrialization

• Lenin died in January 1924-power struggle ensued between Leon Trotsky & Joseph Stalin

• Stalin filled bureaucracy with his supporters, expelled Trotsky-forced him to flee the country

An Ephemeral Peace

• 1920s were decade of dissatisfaction among people whose hopes had been raised by rhetoric of war & dashed by its outcome

• In 1923, French occupation of the Ruhr & severe inflation brought Germany to the brink of civil war

• Currency reform & French withdrawal from the Ruhr marked the beginning of a period of peace & economic growth beginning in 1924

China & Japan: Contrasting Destinies

• China:• rapid population growth• unfavorable ratio of population to arable land• avaricious landlords & tax collectors• devastating floods of Yellow River• Chinese society divided among many groups: landowners, wealthy merchants, &

foreigners-luxurious lives aroused resentment of educated, young, urban Chinese• Japan: • few natural resources-little arable land• earthquakes, tsunamis• Industrialization/economic growth aggravated social tensions • Japanese prosperity depended on foreign trade• more vulnerable than China to swings in world economy

Revolution & War, 1900–1918

• China’s defeat/humiliation by international force in Boxer affair of 1900 led many to conclude that China needed a revolution to overthrow Qing- modernize the country

• Regional army unit mutinied in 1911-Sun Yat-sen’s Revolutionary Alliance formed assembly-elected Sun as president of China

• To avoid civil war, presidency turned over to powerful general Yuan Shikai-rejected democracy- ruled as autocrat

• Japanese joined Allied side in World War I-benefited from economic boom as demand for their products rose

• Japan used war as opportunity to conquer German colonies in N. Pacific & on Chinese coast- further extended influence into China

• Forced Chinese government to accede to many conditions presented in document called the Twenty-One Demands

Chinese Warlords & Guomindang, 1919–1929

• At Paris Peace Conference, great powers allowed Japan to retain control over seized German enclaves in China, sparking protests in Beijing (May 4, 1919) & other parts of China

• China’s regional generals—warlords—supported their armies through plunder & arbitrary taxation-China grew poorer, only treaty ports prospered

• Sun Yat-sen tried to make comeback in Canton in1920s by reorganizing his Guomindang party along Leninist lines-welcomed members of newly created Chinese Communist Party

• Sun’s successor Chiang Kai-shek crushed regional warlords in 1927

• Chiang split with/decimated Communist Party- embarked on ambitious plan of top-down industrial modernization

• Chiang’s government staffed by corrupt opportunists, not by competent administrators: China remained mired in poverty

New Middle East: Mandate System

• Instead of independence, former German colonies & Ottoman territories given to great powers as mandates

• Class C Mandates ruled as colonies, while Class B Mandates ruled under League of Nations supervision

• Arab-speaking territories of former Ottoman Empire were Class A Mandates-lead Arabs to believe they had been promised independence

• Britain took control of Palestine, Iraq, & Trans-Jordan

• France took control of Syria & Lebanon

Rise of Modern Turkey• At end of war, Ottoman Empire at

point of collapse- French, British, Italian, & Greek forces occupying Constantinople & parts of Anatolia

• In 1919 Mustafa Kemal formed nationalist government-reconquered Anatolia & area around Constantinople in 1922

• He was outspoken modernizer-declared Turkey a secular republic; introduced European laws; replaced Arabic alphabet w/ Latin; attempted to westernize Turkish family, roles of women, & even Turkish clothing & headgear

• Reforms spread quickly in urban areas-encountered strong resistance in countryside-Islamic traditions remained strong

Arab Lands & Question of Palestine

• Among Arab people, the thinly disguised colonialism of Mandate System set off protests and rebellions.

• At the same time, Middle Eastern society underwent significant changes: population grew by 50% from 1914-1939, major cities doubled in size, & urban merchant class adopted western ideas, customs, & lifestyles

• The Maghrib (Algeria, Tunisia, & Morocco) dominated by French army & by French settlers, who owned the best lands & monopolized government jobs & businesses

• Arabs & Berbers remained poor & suffered from discrimination• British allowed Iraq to become independent under King Faisal (leader of the Arab

revolt)-maintained a significant military & economic influence• France sent thousands of troops to crush nationalist uprisings in Lebanon & Syria.• Britain declared Egypt independent in 1922- retained control through alliance w/ King

Farouk• In Palestine Mandate, British tried to limit wave of Jewish immigration that began in

1920-only succeeded in alienating both Jews & Arabs

Society, Culture, & Technology in Industrialized World

Class and Gender

• Class distinctions faded after war-role of aristocracy (many of whom had died in battle) declined-displays of wealth came to be regarded as unpatriotic

• Expanded role of government during & after war led to increase in numbers of white-collar workers

• Working class did not expand-new machinery & new ways of organizing work made it possible to increase production without expanding labor force

• In 1920s, women enjoyed more personal freedoms than ever before

• Women won right to vote in some countries between 1915-1934

Revolution in Sciences

• The discovery of subatomic particles, quanta, Einstein’s theory of relativity, & discovery that light is made up of either waves or particles undermined the certainties of Newtonian physics & offered potential of unlocking new & dangerous sources of energy

• Innovations in social sciences challenged Victorian morality, middle-class values, & notions of western superiority.

• The psychology of Sigmund Freud & sociology of Emile Durkheim introduced notions of cultural relativism

• After the experiences of war, called into question the West’s faith in reason & progress

New Technologies of Modernity

• European & American public fascinated with new technologies like the airplane and lionized the early aviators: Amelia Earhart, Richard Byrd, & especially Charles Lindbergh.

• Electricity began to transform home life-commercial radio stations brought news, sports, soap operas, and advertising to homes throughout North America.

• Film spread explosively in the 1920s. The early film industry of the silent film era was marked by diversity, with films being made in Japan, India, Turkey, Egypt, and Hollywood in the 1920s. The introduction of the talking picture in the United States in 1921, combined with the tremendous size of the American market, marked the beginning of the era of Hollywood’s domination of film and its role in the diffusion of American culture.

• Health and hygiene were also part of the cult of modernity. Advances in medicine, sewage treatment systems, indoor plumbing, and the increased use of soap and home appliances contributed to declines in infant mortality and improvements in health and life expectancy.

Technology and the Environment

• The skyscraper and the automobile transformed the urban environment. Skyscrapers with load-bearing steel frames and passenger elevators were built in American cities. European cities restricted the height of buildings, but European architects led the way in designing simple, easily constructed, inexpensive, functional buildings in what came to be known as the International Style.

• Mass-produced automobiles replaced horses in the city streets and led to the construction of far-flung suburban areas like those of Los Angeles. On farms, gasoline-powered tractors began replacing horses in the 1920s, while dams and canals were used to generate electricity and to irrigate dry land.

Conclusion:

Postwar Realignments• France and Britain emerged from the war economically weakened.

Russia was left in civil war and revolution. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires were divided into smaller, weaker nations.

• Japan and the United States came out of the war in a more strengthened position than before.

Conclusion

Postwar Promise• The fall of the Ottoman Empire generated hope among Turks,

Arabs, and Jewish immigrants of sovereign nation status.• French and British mandates thwarted those aspirations.

Conclusion

Postwar Society• Women remained in the workforce and demanded voting rights

while governments took on more responsibility for citizens’ health and well-being.

• Science and technology brought entertainment, electricity, better health, and faster transportation to western nations.

Impact: Social

• Families altered by the departure of so many men

• With the death or absence of the primary wage earner women were forced into the workforce in unprecedented numbers

• Industry needed to replace the lost laborers sent to war; aided the struggle for voting rights for women

Impact: Social

• One of the distinguishing features of the war was its totality • All aspects of the societies fighting were affected by the conflict,

even countries not in war zone

Impact: Political

• Expansion of government power & responsibilities in Britain, France, the United States, and the Dominions of the British Empire

• New government ministries & powers created • New taxes levied, & laws enacted, all designed to bolster war effort,

many have lasted to today

Demographic Impact

•more dead & wounded•more physical destruction •millions of refugees many fled to France & United States •immigration laws closed doors to eastern & southern Europeans•Influenza epidemic, killed 30 million people•serious damage to the environment; hastened build-up of mines, factories, & railroads

Geographic Impact: Territorial Changes

• tremendous changes to eastern Europe

• Empires shattered; new nations established

• Dangerous power vacuum created between Germany & Soviet Russia

Global Impact

• Destroyed/reduced some empires & diminished strength of others• New nations emerged • Shifted economic resources & cultural influences away from Europe • Reduced European global influence; encouraged nations, notably the

United States, to challenge Europe's international leadership

Global Impact

• Bolsheviks seized power in 1917• Ottoman & Austro-Hungarian Empires disintegrated• Germany replaced Kaiser's government with Weimar Republic• New nations such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia emerged • European Allies owed over $11 billion to U.S.• U.S. transformed from net debtor to net creditor• New York replaced London as world's financial center• Allies faced increasing demands for self-rule from their colonies• They no longer controlled sufficient military & economic resources to

shape world affairs as before

Global Legacy

• “Wilsonianism” • Emphasized national self-

determination• League of Nations meant to

curb nationalist excesses and aggression

• Collective security would enable nations to participate in new world order of peace & prosperity

• influenced statecraft of future generations

• continued to shape the international history of twentieth century

Global Legacy

• League of Nations failed to maintain peace when aggressive nations—notably Communist Russia, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan—later challenged the Versailles peace

• These revisionist powers rejected democracy and capitalism and challenged the status quo