A Brief History of Humanity: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Chapter 44 Postwar Issues, Far and Near East
In this chapter we will look further at the peoples of Asia and Africa, who did not develop their civilizations as they did in ancient times, but were closely linked with Europe and America in making world history.

[-]. China's difficulties
During World War I, Japan accelerated its grip on China.At the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-1920, China tried to get help, but without success.Her humiliation was even deeper than that suffered during the Opium War of 1839-1842.

Chaos in China After World War I, China was in great chaos.The government in Beijing is disrespected; civil war breaks out, North and South at war.The army, like bandits, looted everywhere and did all kinds of evil.All this is dangerous to the people of the country and to the foreign nationals living in China, and the great powers are always ready to intervene.Chaos led to partition and genocide.

Young China Young China has awakened, just like Young Italy in Mazzini's time.A national government, supported mainly by university students, was established in Canton in the south.The Nationalist government was controlled by the Kuomintang, a revolutionary group formed by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

The KMT advocates: (1) Nationalism - freeing China from foreign control; (2) Democracy - sovereignty of the broad masses of the people; (3) People's Livelihood - improvement of social and economic conditions.

After 1921, both the Beijing government and the Guangzhou government claimed to be the legitimate government of China.

In Beijing In Beijing, fighting warlords created governments and overthrew them.There are many reasons why conflicting parties have seized Beijing.Because Beijing owns government buildings and some equipment, as well as important sources of tax revenue.In Beijing, there are embassies of various countries and places where representatives of great powers reside, so Beijing is a place of communication with all countries in the world.In addition, Beijing is also an ancient capital, and it has been a place of authority that has been cherished since ancient times, so it is a symbol that whoever controls Beijing has the right to rule.

The Kuomintang members who had been expelled from Beijing in Canton rallied with others to form a government of their own in Canton.They elected Sun Yat-sen as "President of China" in 1921.Not long before Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, he began to accept help from Soviet Russia. As a result, serious divisions arose in the party because of this incident.However, the Guangzhou government is still a dynamic organization.

Local chiefs had local rulers in places other than Beijing and Guangzhou.The victorious warlords ruled a province or two, or even four or five.Some of these local dictators started military dictatorships as early as 1912, while some dictators gained power only recently.Their authority is often unreliable and has had its ups and downs.

Xenophobic riots The 1925 riots in Shanghai and Guangzhou intensified the animosity between Chinese and foreigners.Then the people of the whole country are generally hostile to foreigners.This is in line with the nationalist program of the Guangzhou government.

Foreign troops in China Concerning the general confusion in China and the danger to foreigners, some countries have stationed troops in Chinese ports.The Chinese troops from all sides in the melee were prohibited from entering the places where foreign troops were stationed.

The victory of the Kuomintang A capable person who succeeded Dr. Sun appeared in the Kuomintang, and he was Chiang Kai-shek.By the summer of 1927, Chiang had taken control of all of eastern China south of the Yangtze River, and by the end of 1928 he had acquired Peiping (now known as Beijing) and reunited China, although some generals continued to plot against him.The capital was moved from Beiping to Nanjing.Chiang became president, so only the Kuomintang was the real government.Local affairs began to develop in a democratic direction.

Social and Economic Progress Chiang's government made plans to help farmers with water conservancy, agricultural reforms, and other initiatives.Manufacturing was similarly encouraged, and laws were drafted to protect wage laborers.Modern education was promoted, American experts were hired to prepare financial reforms, the railroad system was unified, roads were built, and air mail was opened between major cities.

Conflict with Japan Chiang Kai-shek's government suffered disaster because of "Manchuria".This is a vast and fertile area, all owned by China, where several railways are guarded by Japanese troops.In 1931 Japanese troops began to contest the Chinese cities in "Manchuria".China complained to the League of Nations and the United States, but Japan continued to conquer "Manchuria".Instead of annexing Manchuria, Japan gave the region a new name, Manchuria, and appointed the former Chinese emperor Puyi to rule as an independent empire.In fact, "Manchuria" was controlled by the Japanese, who also extended their power to Mongolia and North China.

[-]. Reforms in Japan
Japan's independence and national unity have taken too long, and the struggle for democracy is still going on.According to the Japanese Constitution of 1889, the right to vote is only granted to a small number of people who meet the property requirements.Years of pursuing democracy led to the passage of a law in 1925 that abolished property requirements and extended electoral privileges to all men, rich or poor.Not only that, but the principle of a majority in parliament controlling the cabinet was gradually adopted.However, the government fell into the hands of warlords in 1931.

[-]. Unrest in India
Over the years, India has increasingly yearned for nationalism and national autonomy.But during World War I, when an uprising had a good chance of success, India was generally loyal to the banner of the British Empire.To repay this loyalty and satisfy the needs of Indian nationalists, Britain passed the Government of India Act in 1919.It was a compromise plan between British imperial rule and Indian Home Rule.The plan created a central legislature, elected by the wealthy, to make and pass laws and to vote on tax policy.An elected legislature was also established in each province, with powers to decide matters such as education and public health.But the Governor-General of the British Empire is still in power.

Stimulating Sweetness The sweetness of political privilege tasted by the people of India has not soothed their dissatisfaction, but has stimulated their desires.The spirit of nationalism is more daring than ever to persist.The more extreme nationalists are ready for revolution and will start armed struggle if necessary.Moderates peacefully seek self-government under the flag of the British Empire.

Mohandas Gandhi A prominent figure in the Indian nationalist movement in recent years was Mohandas Gandhi, often referred to as Mahatma Gandhi. "Mahatma" is a title that means "great soul", or holy one.His character, his purpose, and his way have attracted the attention of the whole world.

Gandhi did not approve of revolution through war, nor did he advocate subjugation to foreign domination.He advocated the destruction of the government of British India by refusal to cooperate and active obstruction.He said the people of India should refuse not only to hold office, but also to attend public schools, pay taxes, buy British goods and sit in court.Some of them, strongly urged by Gandhi's teachings, sat facing the train to stop it from moving.Gandhi and his followers believed that this kind of passive resistance, silent and firm obstruction would paralyze the British government and win India's freedom.

Some people believe that India has not yet reached the conditions for self-government, so it is not worthy of autonomy and self-government. This view has hit some Indians' resistance to fight.To this statement, Gandhi retorted that people who were regarded by foreign masters as unworthy of governing themselves would never govern themselves.

The new constitution of the British Empire in 1935 stated that India could look forward to self-government one day, but not yet.The British Empire's military and financial control over India was carefully secured by the New Government of India Act passed by the British Parliament in 1935.On the other hand, this new constitution enfranchises a large (albeit a minority) portion of the Indian people and gives greater power to the elected legislature.It also provides for the establishment of a federal legislature representing the whole of India.

[-]. National autonomy in the Near East
Disintegration of the Turkish Empire The collapse of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire was the result of World War I.The nationalities and Turks who broke away from Turkish rule promoted nationalism and national autonomy in this disintegration.

According to the terms stipulated in the Treaty of Paris, Tumena and Thrace would belong to Greece.But Turkish nationalists, led by General Kemal, can change that plan.Kemal and his party established a republic in Asia Minor.Despite British opposition, France and Italy favored him, and Kemal was able to expel the Greeks from Tumena and Thrace.He also occupied Constantinople, deposed the sultan, and advocated a revision of the peace treaty.

Turkey became a republic so, in 1922-1923, at an international conference held in Lausanne, Switzerland, Turkey was allowed to retain Tumyrna and eastern Thrace.Turkey was declared a republic, with General Kemal as its first president, and its capital was Ankara, a city in Asia Minor.In 1924, a constitution was drawn up, establishing a unicameral parliament elected by an all-male referendum.

The highest executive body of the Republic of Turkey, that is, the President and the Cabinet, are determined by the Parliament.In this regard, the Turkish government is similar to the French government.The Constitution declares that all citizens of the Republic of Turkey are equal before the law, regardless of race or religion.This is a big improvement from a few years ago, despite the fact that Kemal was a dictator.

Significant reforms The organizers of the new Turkey wanted to adopt Western ideas and methods.They replaced the Arabic alphabet with the Roman alphabet, separated church and state, abolished the legal system based on the Koran, and even abandoned Turkish clothing styles that had been used for generations.Constantinople was renamed Istanbul.For many years its Turkish name was Istanbul.

Independence of Persia From 1917 to 1918, when Russia gave up the tsarist system, it also gave up its territorial claim to Persia.But Britain forced Persia to sign a new treaty, which became a British protectorate.This sparked a strong resistance in Persia. In 1907, encouraged by Russia, Persia declared its treaty with Britain null and void and took steps towards independence.Britain graciously accepted the status quo and withdrew its troops from Persia.

The main leader of Reza Shah's program to free Persia was an army officer, Reza Shah Pahlavi.He could have established himself as president and dictator of the republic, as Kemal had done in Turkey, but he feared that the people would rebel against such reforms.Instead, he deposed the ruling king in 1925 and took the throne himself.He laid out a progressive program, reformed the fiscal system, repaired roads, and began building a railway from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf.In addition, he created radio stations, built airfields and opened air routes.Like Kemal in Turkey, Reza Shah took steps to both liberate and modernize his country.He even changed the name of the country, and Persia was officially known as Iran after 1935.

Unrest in Egypt In Egypt, nationalism and independence spirits like Persia and some ancient countries are also on the rise, but Britain may have a firmer grip on Egypt than it did before World War I.Egyptians want independence.They advocated the withdrawal of British troops, and the Egyptians themselves managed Egypt.To achieve their wishes, Egyptian nationalists resorted to conspiracy, harassment, assassination and resistance.The incident was so violent that Britain was shocked. In 1922, Britain granted Egypt "independence", but it was subject to certain restrictions.Egypt was allowed to have a king and parliament of its own, but the British still stationed troops in Egypt, used Alexandria, Egypt, as a naval base for the British Empire, and encouraged the king to contain Egyptian nationalists.

V. Mandates
Many "backward" nations in Africa and Asia were colonies or subjects of Germany and Turkey until the First World War. After 1919, they were regarded as "mandates" and distributed to the victorious Allies, mainly Britain, France and Japan.The Covenant of the League of Nations stated that these colonies and territories had been left alone because of war, they were not yet safe to be independent, and that it was the sacred duty of the powerful nations to protect and guide them until they could become independent.

The place that is protected and guided is called a "mandate", and the powerful country that acts as a guardian is called a "mandate".When referring to the gains and losses of those powerful countries in the war, most of the post-war mandates have been mentioned above.

The African Mandates The British were the majority of the former German East African Mandates, this place was renamed the Tanganyika Territory.Belgium gets part of East Africa as a Mandate.The Commonwealth of South Africa in the British Empire became the Mandate of former German South West Africa.Togo was divided into two mandates, the British and the French.The same is true for Cameroon.

The Asian Mandates Mesopotamia and Palestine of the Old Ottoman Empire became British Mandates, while France also acquired Syria.In Palestine, the Jews managed to form a "national house" under British protection.Mesopotamia becomes the independent kingdom of Iraq.Meanwhile France made Syria a republic, but not a free democracy.

Japan, the Mandate in the Pacific, became the Mandate of the former German islands north of the equator.South of the equator, German Samoa belongs to New Zealand, Nauru belongs to the British Empire, and New Guinea belongs to Australia.

According to the provisions of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the nature of the mandate must be in accordance with the stage of development of the local people, the geographical location of the territory, the economic situation and other factors.Each mandate state must submit an annual report on the status of its mandates.

(End of this chapter)