HIS 106Chapter 28

India, Islamic Heartlands, & Africa

Europeans spread their culture They took colonies and made radical

changes to the land and people they took Direct rule: the conqueror is the ruler, no

middleman Indirect rule: uses a middleman Those being conquered fought back but lost European weapons were far superior

Natives used other ways to fight back Nationalism – the belief that those who share

a common background, history, ethnic group should have their own nation-state

It was aimed at the colonizers

Before the 20th century, religion, a tribe, or a monarch held traditional societies together

Then nationalism began to take hold and unite people against their colonizers

Political movements of the early 20th century were dedicated to the overthrow of colonial rule

Modern nationalism was a reaction against colonialism – started by the educated elite and then spread to the masses

Initially, those who rebelled were trying to defend some tradition, ex: Sepoy Mutiny of 1857– The Sepoys were native Indian troops hired by

the British East India Company to protect British interests in India

– They were asked to use a muzzle loader rifle that used paper cartridges covered with animal fat and lard

– The cartridge had to be bitten off and that broke the rules of Hinduism and Islam

– The Sepoys’ protests became a full-fledged mutiny

– They had no larger goals at this early date, and the mutiny was put down by the British

– It was a bloody conflict

The first resistance to the West in Asia and Africa failed because they weren’t organized and had no real goals

The second phase of resistance was led by the better educated members of the middle class, many of whom had been schooled in the West like Mohandas Gandhi who led a non-violent resistance movement against the British in India

Many of these native intellectuals/leaders eventually blended their traditions with Western ideas to gain independence

The true push for independence in many of the colonies came in the 1930s

They just had to figure out the best way to get rid of their colonizers

India

In the early 19th century, religion gave most Indians their identity

By the end of the 19th century, Indians were focusing on themselves as a people, a nation, and Britain was their enemy

These early nationalists first wanted reform, not revolution

They realized that India needed to modernize first, or it would never survive as a nation

This was the view of Gopal Gokhale, a moderate nationalist, and India did get some self-government from the British as a result

Other Indian nationalists, with the help of some British, formed the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885– They hoped to speak for all of India– They did not demand immediate independence– They accepted the need to change some of their

traditions like sati and child marriage– They wanted a say in governing India

The British gave them a few concessions Both Hindus and Muslims belonged to the

INC, and they didn’t always agree on what was best for India

In to this came Mohandas Gandhi– born in 1869– son of a government minister– studied in London to be a lawyer

– went to South Africa in 1893 to defend Indian emigres working there

– became aware of racial prejudice there and tried to change attitudes and laws with his non-violent movement

– returned to India in 1913, began helping the poor and became involved in the Indian independence movement

– Gandhi and his followers spoke out against the British – non-violently

– asked Indians to disobey British rules– tried to set up small industry in Indian villages, so

Indians would not be as dependent on the British, ex.: Cloth industry

– worked toward Indian self-sufficiency

People in India and in other areas of the world revered Gandhi and Indians gave him the name, Mahatma meaning “great soul”

Gandhi’s work continued– called for mass protests and civil disobedience– Amritsar – Indians gathered here in 1919 for a

religious festival, but they talked politics; gatherings were forbidden and the British opened fire killing hundreds; Gandhi arrested for his influence

– the British got a lot of bad press whenever they attacked non-violent Indians

Even from jail, Gandhi asked Indians to join in non-cooperation– refuse to work for the British– refuse to pay taxes– refuse to use British products– refuse to associate with the British

There were other campaigns for civil disobedience– 1930-1932 – campaign against the British salt tax

and their monopoly on Indian salt; Gandhi and 200 followers marched to the sea and picked up lumps of salt as a symbolic gesture of taking back what was truly theirs

– 1940-1943 – campaign against fighting in World War II as British subjects

The bad press the British kept getting when they stood up to the Indians forced them to give concessions:– Government of India Act, 1921 – gave Indians a

larger role in governing with a bicameral parliament – 2/3 elected, local councils, and 5 million could vote

Two prominent Indians working for independence were:– Motilal Nehru – INC member who pushed

aggressively for independence– Jawaharlal Nehru – son of Motilal who also

worked to oust the British; schooled in Britain and was an upper-class Brahman; tried to work with Gandhi for independence but there were problems

There were so many problems between Muslims and Hindus that Muslims called for their own state of Pakistan

British presence in India seemed to prevent civil war

By the 1940s, many started to believe that non-violence and civil disobedience would not rid India of the British

Finally, the British granted independence to India on 15 August 1947 only if there were a Muslim state and a Hindu state -- divide up India

Gandhi was against this; he still believed everyone could get along

But East Pakistan and West Pakistan were created for Muslims out of India

What remained of India was for Hindus In January 1948, Gandhi was killed by an

extremist Hindu who felt Gandhi was in the way by still talking of a united India

Ottomans

Ottoman Empire had weakened because it had:– A series of weak Sultans– ministers, religious experts, and Janissaries

competing for power– landowners who cheated the Sultan out of the

taxes owed; they took taxes paid by peasants for themselves

– Christian and Jewish merchants were dealing with Europeans more and more

– European goods were flooding the market hurting home industries

– more money was being paid to Europeans than Ottoman merchants, and that meant less money in the Sultan’s treasury

– no money to update the military or to get new weapons

That made it easier for other countries to take Ottoman lands, ex.: Russians and Habsburgs

What money there was was spent by the Sultan on luxuries

The Ottomans did survive until 1919– the British helped to prop them up– some reforms were attempted

Selim III (r. 1789-1807)– had a reform program to improve government

efficiency and to build a new army and navy– his reforms angered the military, especially the

Janissaries– Selim lost his throne and his life in a coup in 1807

Mahmud II– came in later in the 19th century– built up his own army before he began his reforms– when the janissaries revolted, they were defeated

by Mahmud’s private army– then he set up a diplomatic corps and exchanged

ambassadors with European nations– he westernized the army and navy using

Europeans to train them

Between 1839 and 1876, he enacted the rest of his reforms known as the Tanzimat Reforms– Set up western university education– Trained students in Western math and sciences– Set up a telegraph in 1830s– Built railroad in 1860s– Allowed for newspapers and legal reforms in

1876, based on the European model

Not everyone liked these Westernizing reforms– Artisans objected to a trade treaty with Britain that

removed import taxes from British goods– Trade was more open and unprotected– Women got nothing from the Tanzimat Reforms– There was talk about ending seclusion and veiling– In the end, these reforms were not made

Abdul Hamid, (r. 1878-1908)– nullified many of the reforms already made

including the constitution, civil liberties, and freedom of the press

– he kept the telegraph, railroads, and Western education

– he had dissidents tortured and killed– he was removed from the throne by Western-

educated dissidents and the military

Military officers then came to power in 1908– restored the constitution– restored freedom of the press– promised education reforms and reforms for

women

Factional fighting and World War I kept these promises from being fulfilled.

There were also rebellions in their African teritories

It would not be until the 1920s with Mustafa Kemal that things would change

A Turkish Nationalist Movement began after World War I under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal

These nationalists wanted Turkey to become a nation-state and not a mandate of the British or French

Mustafa Kemal told the League of Nations that Turkey would Westernize, if independent

By 1922, Turkey was declared a republic with Mustafa Kemal as its first president

He made the promised social and political changes

Turkey became a pro-Western, secular, nationalist republic

Political changes:– abolished Islamic influence in government– religion became a matter of conscience– the legal system was secularized and adopted

Western codes of law– one-party system established

Social and Cultural Changes:– Western-style dress for men– veiling for women was discouraged– polygamy was abolished– a civil ceremony was mandatory– education for women improved and they were

encouraged to take part in public life

– women could take part in all elections by 1934– Western-style family names were adopted– had a modified Latin alphabet– purified the language of Islamic terms– literacy doubled by 1940

Mustafa Kemal changed his name to Ataturk, Father Turk.

He died in 1938

By the time of his death, Ataturk had not made any radical redistribution of wealth

His economic changes were few, but he did institute soviet-style centralized planning for economic development and set up iron and steel mills for import substitution

He did little to reform agriculture

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 and 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 Britain and Russia 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– 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 the throne in 1941 and his

son took the throne– Mohammad Reza Shah then ruled from 1941 to

1979 when he was forced from power

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

Africa

As Europeans began outlawing slavery, legitimate trade began – trade in raw materials like palm nuts, palm oil, peanuts, timber, and hides

Europeans sent in traders, explorers, and missionaries

To protect their interests, Europeans set up settlements and sent in government officials

This caused tensions with the Africans When Africans tried to protect and defend

their territory, Europeans annexed their territory– Ex.; Gold Coast was the first British colony taken

in 1874– British had superior weapons– Used direct/indirect rule– Quinine made exploration and capture of the

interior of Africa possible

White settlement of South Africa– 17th century: Dutch East India Community set up

a station at the Cape of Good Hope– 1657: colonization was allowed; Dutch-speaking,

slave-owning, agricultural community developed– They were called Boers (Dutch for peasant or

farmer)– They felt entitled to 6,000 acres each

The Boers moved in and pushed the Bantu tribe out

Bantus moved into Zulu territory which resulted in a conflict called the Mfecane or the crushing

Zulus fought back in one of the most widely devastating upheavals of the 19th century

Zulus remained independent until the late 1870s

As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the British were given control of the Cape of Good Hope in 1806

Boers resented British presence 1820s: British settlers arrived and

disapproved of Boer lifestyle – slavery 1830s: some Boers began to move away

from the Cape of Good Hope; founded Natal

1830s: British gave Cape of Good Hope a constitution and a parliamentary government; this included non-racial franchise

Differences between the 2 groups gave rise to Afrikaner nationalism

1845: British annexed Natal

The Boers moved again and set up 2 new republics: the Orange Free State and the Transvaal

The British recognized them in 1852 and in 1854

At that point, South Africa had 2 British colonies and 2 Dutch republics

1867: diamonds were discovered near the junction of the Orange and Transvaal Rivers on the western edge of the Orange Free State

Both the British and the Boers wanted this diamond territory; the British got it

1886: gold was discovered in the Transvaal at Witwatersrand near Johannesburg and a gold rush ensued

The British built railroads to get the gold; the Boers felt threatened

Many British entrepreneurs like Cecil Rhodes moved in

Cecil Rhodes became Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890s and tried to destabilize Transvaal government; it didn’t work and that ended Rhodes political career

War broke out between the British and the Boers – Boer War 1899-1902; British won

After the war, the British moved towards unification; Natal, Cape Colony, Transvaal, and Orange Free State became the Union of South Africa – a dominion

Dutch and English were the official languages

Voting rights remained as they had been before the war, so there would be no voting by blacks in the former Boer republics

Other areas in Africa, both in the East and in the West, set up strong trade states

They dealt in slaves, ivory, copper, gum, and palm oil

They traded these for Indian cloth, firearms, and manufactured goods

By 1800, Islam had taken root in various parts of north, west, central, and east Africa

It often blended with some traditional practices

During the 19th century, there were jihads or holy wars, a revivalist movement

They tried to spread Islam to even more places in Afria

In a way, this helped combat the Christian missionary work performed by Europeans

Europeans did not appreciate the African culture; they saw it as “degraded” and wanted to change it

They set up schools, taught reading, and wrote about their experiences to others who then wanted to visit Africa

One missionary dedicated to Africa and its people was Dr. David Livingstone

Many who went to Africa became ill:– Malaria– Yellow Fever– Sleeping sickness

Toward the end of the 19th century, we find the Scramble for Africa

This was competition for colonies by European nations that wished to be seen as great nations

For that you needed colonies Page 633 - Chart

Rise of Nationalism in Africa

Took hold especially after World War I Africans had been good enough to fight and

die for the colonizers, but apparently, they weren’t good enough to have a say in their governments

They were supposed to be subservient again after the war

Some concessions were given to quiet them

After World War II, Africans pressed for and finally got their independence

For most, this occurred in the 1960s They then had to take over and run the

institutions and systems left to them by the West – without training