Transcript The Crisis of the Imperial Order 1900-1929

The Crisis of the Imperial Order
1900-1929
Origins of Crisis in Europe & Middle East
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Ottoman Empire in
decline
losing provinces closest to
Europe
“Young Turks” forced
constitution, advocated
centralized rule &
“Turkification” of
minorities
Carried out modernization
Causes of Great War
• Military StrategyInflexible mobilization
plans
• Alliances
• Imperialism
• Nationalism
• Nationalism deeply rooted in European culture; united individual
nations but undermined large multiethnic empires
• War viewed as crusade for liberty or revenges for past injustice
• Major European countries organized into two alliances: Triple
Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary & Italy) & Triple Entente
(Britain, France,& Russia).
• Military alliance system accompanied by inflexible mobilization
plans-depended on railroad schedules to move troops
• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia-July 28, 1914- alliance
system, combined with rigidly scheduled mobilization plans,
meant war was automatic.
The “Great War” &
Russian Revolutions
1914–1918
• All entered war
confident
• German victory seemed
assured, but falteredformed unbroken line of
trenches (Western
Front) from North Sea
to Switzerland
• Troops ordered to
charge across open
fields-cut down by
machine-gun fire
• Four Year Stalemate
The 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
because of British naval blockade
• British & French forces overran
most of Germany’s African colonies
• Europeans requisitioned food,
imposed heavy taxes, forced
Africans to grow export crops & sell
them 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 campaigns 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
• In March 1917, tsar
overthrown & replaced by
Provisional Government
• On November 6, 1917
Bolsheviks staged uprising
in Petrograd & overthrew
Provisional Government.
End of War in Western
Europe
1917–1918
• German resumed
unrestricted
submarine warfarebrought US into war1917
• Germans broke
through & pushed
within 40 miles of
Paris
• Allies counterattackedAugust 1918
• Germans retreated;
armistice signed on
November 11
Peace & Dislocation in
Europe
1919–1929
• 8-10 million died
• millions of refugees
• US passed immigration
laws-closed doors to east
& south Europeans
• Fuenza epidemic of
1918–1919-spread
around the world, killing
20 million people
• War caused serious
damage to environment
Treaty of Versailles
• Three men dominated:
– U.S. President Wilson
– British PM David Lloyd George
– French Premier Georges
Clemenceau
– Conflicting goals=unsatisfying
compromises
– Germany humiliated, huge war
reparations but left largely intactpotentially most powerful nation
in Europe
• Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart
• New countries created in lands lost
by Russia, Germany, & AustriaHungary
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 Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
• In 1921, Lenin’s New Economic Policy helped to restore productionrelaxed government controls/allowed return of market economics
• Regarded as temporary-would be superseded as Soviet Union built a
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 and was assassinated.
An Ephemeral Peace
• 1920s were a decade of dissatisfaction-hopes had been raised by the
heroic rhetoric of war but crushed by the reality
• 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:
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rapid population growth
unfavorable ratio of population to arable land
avaricious landlords and tax collectors
devastating floods of Yellow River
Chinese society divided among many groups: landowners, wealthy
merchants, and foreigners, whose luxurious lives aroused resentment of
educated, young, urban Chinese
Japan:
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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 the 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 Qingmodernize the country
• When a regional army unit mutinied in 1911, Sun Yat-sen’s
Revolutionary Alliance formed an assembly & elected Sun as president
of China
• To avoid civil war, the presidency was turned over to the powerful
general Yuan Shikai, who rejected democracy & ruled as an autocrat
• Japanese joined the 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 Northern
Pacific & on Chinese coast & to further extend influence into China
• Twenty One Demands- Chinese government forced to accede to
Japanese demands.
Chinese Warlords & Guomindang
1919–1929
• At Paris Peace Conference, great powers allowed Japan to retain control
over seized German enclaves in China-sparked protests in Beijing &
other parts of China
• Qing government weak-regional generals-warlords-supported their
armies through plunder & arbitrary taxation so that China grew poorer
while only the treaty ports prospered
• Sun Yat-sen tried to make comeback in Canton in1920s by reorganizing
his Guomindang party along Leninist lines & by welcoming members of
the newly created Chinese Communist Party
• Sun’s successor Chiang Kai-shek crushed the regional warlords in 1927
• Chiang then 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
The New Middle
East
Mandate System
• Former German colonies &
Ottoman territories were
given to great powers as
mandates
• Class C Mandates ruled as
colonies-Class B Mandates
ruled under League of
Nations supervision
• Arab-speaking territories of
former Ottoman Empire were
Class A Mandates-led Arabs
to believe they were promised
independence
• In practice, Britain took
control of Palestine, Iraq,
&Trans-Jordan, while France
took Syria & Lebanon
The Rise of Modern Turkey
• At the end of the war, Ottoman Empire was at point of
collapse-French, British, Italian, Greek forces occupied
Constantinople & parts of Anatolia
• In 1919, Mustafa Kemal formed nationalist governmentreconquered Anatolia & area around Constantinople in
1922
• Kemal was outspoken modernizer who declared Turkey
to be secular republic; introduced European laws;
replaced Arabic alphabet w/Latin alphabet; attempted to
westernize Turkish family, roles of women & even
Turkish clothing & headgear
• His reforms spread quickly in urban areas, but strong
resistance in countryside, where Islamic traditions
remained strong
Arab Lands and the Question of Palestine
• Among Arab people, the colonialism of Mandate System set off
protests & rebellions. At the same time, Middle Eastern society
underwent significant changes: the population grew by 50 percent
from 1914 to 1939, major cities doubled in size, & urban merchant
class adopted western ideas, customs, lifestyles
• The Maghrib (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco) dominated by French army
& French settlers, who owned the best lands & monopolized
government jobs & businesses. Arabs & Berbers remained poor &
suffered from discrimination
• Britain allowed Iraq to become independent under King Faisal
(leader of the Arab revolt) but maintained a significant military &
economic influence. France sent thousands of troops to crush
nationalist uprisings in Lebanon and Syria. Britain declared Egypt
to be independent in 1922 but retained control through its alliance
with King Farouk.
• In Palestine Mandate, British tried to limit 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 as role of aristocracy (many of
whom died) declined & displays of wealth came to be regarded as
unpatriotic.
• Role of government during/after war led to increase in numbers of
white-collar workers; working class did not expand because the
introduction of new machinery & new ways of organizing work
made it possible to increase production without expanding the
labor force
• In the 1920s, women enjoyed more personal freedoms than ever
before-women won the right to vote in some countries between
1915-1934
Revolution in the Sciences
• The discovery of subatomic particles, quanta, Einstein’s theory of
relativity, and the discovery that light is made up of either waves or
particles undermined the certainties of Newtonian physics and
offered the potential of unlocking new and dangerous sources of
energy.
• Innovations in the social sciences challenged Victorian morality,
middle-class values, and notions of western superiority. The
psychology of Sigmund Freud and the sociology of Emile Durkheim
introduced notions of cultural relativism that combined with the
experience of the war to call into question the West’s faith in reason
and progress.
The New Technologies of Modernity
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The European and American public was fascinated with new
technologies like the airplane and lionized the early aviators: Amelia
Earhart, Richard Byrd, and especially Charles Lindbergh. Electricity
began to transform home life, and 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
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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 buildup 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
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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 selfdetermination
• 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