HIS 121

HIS 121Chapter 5

Part II

Iran

From 1794-1925 Iran was ruled by the Qajar Dynasty

When one Shah tried to reform the country, he met with resistance from the Shi’ite population

The Shah then asked Russia & Britain for protection

Those against this protection formed the Persian Nationalist Movement

In 1906 the reigning Shah was forced to give the people a constitution, but he kept the protection of Russia and Britain who proceeded to divide up the country into spheres of influence; oil had been discovered there and the profits went to Britain and Russia

In 1921 a new Shah seized power: Reza Khan

Reza Khan seized power in 1921 with the idea of

establishing a republic; he was prevented by traditional forces

so he set up the Pahlavi Dynasty instead in 1925

became an effective, modernizing ruler by creating a modern army, a new university, and a railroad

Reza Khan abdicated his throne in 1941, and his son took the throne

Mohammad Reza Shah then ruled from 1941-1979 when he was forced from power

Mohammad Reza Shah

Other areas of the old Ottoman Empire were given to France and Britain as mandates

There was an international zone around Jerusalem

In 1917 the British gave their support to the idea of an independent Jewish State; supported by the Zionist Movement led by Theodor Herzl

This support was made official in 1917 with the Balfour Declaration

Britain was given as mandates the territory that is today Israel and Jordan; Britain already had Cyprus and Egypt

France got Syria which they then divided into Syria and Lebanon

Saudi Arabia

In the early 1920s Ibn Saud united Arab tribes in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula and established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 1932

The Spread of Communism

Lenin believed that communism could be a worldwide movement

Many thought that communism could not take hold in places that did not have industry (the idea of the proletariat rising up and taking over the means of production)

Many third world nations did not have industry; they provided the raw materials

Vladimir Lenin

In 1921 Lenin desperately needed allies, so he tried to appeal to non-Western societies

He felt it was the raw materials that kept Western nations alive, so cut off the raw materials and the West would shrivel and die

But most nationalist leaders didn’t want all-out revolution at that time

And most of the people practiced religions that went against Marxist atheism

Lenin felt that if communist parties were formed in these societies from the working class, they could help the nationalists get rid of the colonizers

Once the colonizers were gone, the communists could push out the nationalists

So in the 1920s Soviet agents went around the world trying to make converts

To help, Lenin began the Communist International or the Comintern dedicated to world revolution

By the end of the 1920s, almost every colonial or semi-colonial society in Asia had a party based on Marxism

Later some appeared in Africa like in the Sudan and the Ivory Coast

Communism appealed to those wishing to get rid of their colonizers and to those who wanted a classless society

It was difficult for communism to take hold in places with strong religion (Muslim societies)

Communism varied from place to place because it blended with local customs

Revolutionary Marxism had its greatest impact in China

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was begun in 1921 at Peking University

The Guomindang (GMD) and the CCP tried to bring order to China in the 1920s

They were competing with one another for power

Each party tried to court the other Actually, they were using one another and

trying to take power from the war lords Sun Yat-sen died in 1925 and was

succeeded by Chiang Kai-shek Sun Yat-sen

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang moved against the communists in Shanghai in April 1927, killing thousands

Communists then started revolts in different parts of China but these were put down; their leaders were killed or forced into hiding

Chiang established the new Chinese Republic in 1928 and reunified China by 1931

Communists were forced into the mountains of North China on the Long March in 1934

Communists under Mao Zedong would later become the best movers of the Chinese masses

Mao Zedong

Chiang was able to hold onto power with the help of the United States until the late 1940s

He did have problems Few administrative controls Weak fiscal system Control was mostly in the cities Peasants got little from the GMD Japanese aggression

Japan

Until the 1920s, it looked like Japan was a full-fledged democracy

Its economy was expanding but controlled by 4 Zaibatsu (financial cliques) by 1930

Economic growth had come at the expense of the peasants who worked in industry; poor conditions

Japan had few raw materials of its own, so it began taking over other territories

Japan

They did try Shidehara Diplomacy (using diplomacy ) but it didn’t work very well in Asia

In the 1930s Japan also had to deal with the Great Depression, conflicts with China over Mongolia, and the rise of fascism

These added pressures brought the military into power with its authoritarianism

Japan’s aggression in China and the expansion of its navy upset relations with the U.S. and Britain who sold them scrap metal

Japan moved more and more towards fascism , like that found in Italy and Germany

Japan joined in an alliance with Italy and Germany (the Axis Powers) which helped bring them into World War II – although they had their own reasons

Latin America

Latin American countries primarily exported food and raw materials

They were very dependent on that income

The U.S. invested a lot of money in some Latin American companies

To protect U.S. interests, it would support a leader who might not be good for the people

There was growing hostility towards the U.S. because of this

Latin America

The U.S. even sent troops in to some Latin countries to protect our interests there

We were then seen as an aggressive, imperialist power

Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to improve relations in the 1930s with the Good Neighbor Policy rejected the use of U.S. military force in the

region ex: FDR removed U.S. troops from Haiti in

1936

Since Latin American countries made most of their money from exports, the Depression was at first a disaster for them; no one was buying

But the situation forced them to start their own industry

At first they produced the products they imported the most; this is called import substitution

Then they began other industries They invested in themselves and emerged

from the Depression sooner than Western nations

Move towards authoritarianism:

Colonies

Republics by1830 -- dominated by elites and military

Tried democracy

Authoritarianism took hold in 1930s

Mexico

Porfirio Diaz (r. 1876-1910)

allowed U.S. investments had hacienda system 95% of Mexicans owned no land wages went down overthrown by Francisco Madero

Francisco Madero (r. 1911-1913)

idealist upper-class wanted democracy moderate well-educated assassinated by Victoriano Huerta

Victoriano Huerta (r. 1913-1914) , overthrown with help from the United States

Venustiano Carranza (r. 1914-1920) set up constitution that wasn’t enforced called for land redistibution Mexico for Mexicans but allowed U.S.

investments assassinated

Obregon and Calles governed in the 1920s – made some positive changes

Lazaro Cardenas became president in 1934 had wide support of peasants redistributed 44 million acres of land and broke

the hacienda system seized U.S. land and mineral holdings in Mexico Obregon Calles

offered to reimburse Americans for their losses

Americans didn’t want to accept their low offer

FDR finally accepted Mexico’s offer because things were heating up again in Europe, and FDR remembered his history and the Zimmerman Telegram; if war broke out, he wanted Mexico on our side

Cardenas

Culture: Mexico supported its artists Their work was used to promote their new

stronger nation Ex: Diego Rivera who produced

monumental murals showing Mexico’s past and present

Conclusion

World War I and its resultant Great Depression brought turmoil to nations worldwide

Nations were no longer isolated from one another

What happened in one nation affected others