AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER WWI

World History: 1750 - Present

Africa and the Middle East After WWI

AFRICA

AFRICA

During the early 1900s, almost every part of Africa was a European colony

During World War I (1914-1918), more than 1 million Africans fought on behalf of their colonial rulers

AFRICA

Many Africans thought their services in WWI would lead to their independence, but it did not

Many Western-educated Africans criticized the injustice of imperial rule

AFRICA

The best jobs still went to Europeans

Due to the inequality of the imperial system, led by capitalist countries, many Africans turned to socialism

AFRICA

Many laws were passed to ensure white supremacy

Whites, by law, were paid more

AFRICA

Some blacks were forced off their land and forced to live on reservations

In South Africa, like in Kenya, blacks had to carry passes at all times

AFRICA

Blacks were not allowed to be in the streets after dark in parts of South Africa

In one province in South Africa, black land owners had the right to vote. The right was taken away in 1936

AFRICA

Segregation was commonplace

These policies would become even stricter and enforced greatly in 1948, during apartheid

Actual sign from Durban, South Africa taken in 1989

AFRICA

Pan-Africanism became popular

It emphasized the unity of Africans and people of African descent worldwide

One of the most prominent leaders of the movement was Marcus Garvey

AFRICA

Garvey preached “Africa for Africans”

Garvey also demanded the end of colonial rule

AFRICA

W.E.B. DuBois organized the first Pan-African Congress in 1919

The conference took place in Paris, where the Allies were holding the WWI peace conferences

AFRICA

Delegates from African colonies, the West Indies, and the United States called on the Paris peacemakers to approve a charter of rights for Africans

Their demands were ignored

AFRICA

French-speaking writers in West Africa and the Caribbean began the negritude movement

Writers expressed pride in their African roots and protested French colonial rule

The writers were influenced by the Harlem Renaissance in the United States

AFRICA

Egyptians held protests, strikes, and riots after WWI

In 1922, Britain was forced to grant Egypt its independence

Britain still had a large influence of the Egyptian monarchy

AFRICA

Displeased, many young Egyptians formed the Muslim Brotherhood

The organization fostered Islamic nationalism and rejected Western culture

MIDDLE EASTAfrica and the Middle East After WWI

MIDDLE EAST

The Middle East grew in prominence after WWI

The vehicles of WWI proved that gasoline was the fuel of the future and the Middle East had an abundant supply

MIDDLE EAST

The Ottoman Empire was dissolved after WWI

The Ottoman sultan also gave some land to Greece after WWI

MIDDLE EAST

Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal, overthrew the Ottoman sultan and declared Turkey a republic

Kemal defeated the Greeks and negotiated a treaty in which 1.3 million Greeks left Turkey and 400,000 Turks left Greece

MIDDLE EAST

Kemal then took the name Ataturk (father of the Turks)

Ataturk moved to westernize Turkey and separate religion from government

MIDDLE EAST

Many Turks praised Ataturk for the growth of their country

Islamic hardliners resented his rejection of religion in laws and government

MIDDLE EAST

In Persia, Britain and Russia had controlled the shah since the early 20th Century

Reza Khan led nationalists in an overthrow of the shah

MIDDLE EAST

Reza Khan modernized Persia

Like Ataturk, Khan also removed Islamic law from the government

He was condemned by Muslim religious leaders

MIDDLE EAST

Arabs were outraged by the European-controlled mandates set up at the Paris Peace Conference

Arabs thought they would get the right to self-rule

MIDDLE EAST

Instead, France was given mandates in Syria and Lebanon

Britain was given mandates in Iraq, Iraq, and Trans-Jordan

MIDDLE EAST

During WWI, The Allies made two sets of conflicting promises

First, they promised Arabs they would get their own kingdoms, including Palestine

MIDDLE EAST

The second occurred in 1917 when the British announced the Balfour Declaration

In it, the British advocated the idea of setting up a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine

MIDDLE EAST

From 1919 to 1940, tens of thousands of Jews immigrated to Palestine

At the same time, the Arab population almost doubled

MIDDLE EAST

Tensions between Jews and Arabs grew

To this day, Arabs and Jews are fighting over this territory