MODERN WORLD HISTORY FROM AD 1500: IMPERIALIST …14.139.185.6/website/SDE/ex4233.pdf · 2019. 4. 9. · The First Carnatic War. In 1742 the Austrian succession war broke out in Europe

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MODERN WORLD HISTORY FROM AD 1500:IMPERIALIST ONSLAUGHTS AND

RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS(HIS3C02)

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INDEX

MODULE CONTENT PAGE No.

I AFRO-ASIAN EXPERIENCES 06-72

II THE FIRST WORLD WAR ANDPEACE PROCESSES

73-99

III THE SECOND WORLD WAR ANDPEACE PROCESSES

101-117





Syllabus

MODERN WORLD HISTORY FROM AD 1500:HIS3C02

IMPERIALIST ONSLAUGHTS AND RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS

Module I Afro- Asian ExperiencesColonialism in India – Anti Colonial Struggles- The Revolt of 1857 – Indian NationalCongress – Gandhi and freedom struggleWestern encroachments in China – Opium Wars – Boxer Rebellion – Tai-ping Rebellion– The Revolt of 1911The Scramble for AfricaModule II. The First World War and Peace ProcessesThe First World War – Political Crises – course – Wilson’s Points – the Paris PeaceConferenceThe League of Nations – Structure – Functions – Achievements and FailuresThe Russian Revolution – establishment of the U.S.S.R – Lenin – N.E.P – StalinModule III. The Second World War and Peace ProcessesFascism in Italy – Nazism in Germany – Socio-political changesThe Second World War – course – Impact – Destruction of Colonial powersThe U.N.O – structure – Functions – Achievements and Failures – Specialized agenciesBOOKS FOR STUDYModule I7. Percival Spear, The History India, Vol 28. Percival Spear, Oxford History of Modern India 1740- 19479. Bipan Chandra et.al., India’s Struggle for Independence10. Sumit Sarkar, Modern India 1885- 194711. Sekhara Bandyopadhyaya, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India12. A. R, Desai, Social Background of Indian NationalismModule II1. Michael Beard, A History of Capitalism2. Wallbank and Taylor, Civilization: Past and Present3. C D M Ketelby, A History of Modern Times4. Wallerstain Emmanuel, The Modern World System5. Mark Ferrow, Colonialism: A World History6. E. J. Hobsbaum, The Age of Capital7. E. J. Hobsbaum, The age of RevolutionsModule III1. Wallbank and Taylor, Civilization: Past and Present2. C D M Ketelby, A History of Modern Times3. Wallerstain Emmanuel, The Modern World System4. Mark Ferrow, Colonialism: A World History5. E. J. Hobsbaum, The Age of Capital6. E. J. Hobsbaum, The age of Revolutions



MODULE-I

AFRO-ASIAN EXPERIENCES

COLONIALISM IN INDIA

INDIA IN THE 18th CENTURY

18th century was marked by three major political developments in India. The first wasthe decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire. The second was the emergence of anumber of independent and semi-independent kingdoms and powers. The third was thegreed of several European powers to have their foothold on India. All this resulted infierce struggles, conspiracies, battles and wars. Some historians view the 18th centuryIndia is one of the darkest periods of Indian history. India became a slave country of theBritish for about two hundred years. The people of India had to fight a long and arduousbattle for the liberation of the country from the foreign domination. The history of Indiaduring the 18th century was the history of decline-decline in almost all walks of nationallife.

British Settlements in India.

The English East India Company, popularly known as John Company, founded by theRoyal Charter of Queen Elizabeth 1 to 31 December, 1600, became one of the mostpowerful commercial enterprises in its time. The Company was founded by a group ofenterprising and influential businessmen, who obtained the Crown’s Charter for exclusivepermission to trade in the East Indies for 15 years. In England the Company had securedthe backing of the English monarchs and political leaders by giving them valuable gifts.Queen Elizabeth 1 herself was a shareholder. Subsequent rulers had expanded the powersof the company to include “permission to coin money, to exercise full jurisdiction overall English subjects residing at its factories or forts, and to make war or peace with “non-Christian” powers in India. The voyage to India was led by Captain Hawkins. He landedat the west coast of Surat in 1608. Though the Portuguese did their best to prevent him,he managed to reach Jahangir’s court but not succeeded to get any trade concessions forthe Company at Surat.

In 1612 Captain Thomos Best defeated the Portuguese fleet near Surat. He securedpermission for building a factory at Surat.After that Surat remained as one of the maincenters of Euro-Asian trade. In 1615 king James I of England sent Sir Thomas Roe as his



ambassador to the court of Jahangir to secure permission for the Company to set upfactories and conduct exclusive trade. Thus factories were set up at Ahmadabad, Broach,Masulipattanam, Burhanpur and Agra. Bombay was presented to the Company by KingCharles II.They made it as a well established settlement of the Company on the westcoast of India. It also served as the headquarters of the Company on the west coast. In theSouth, Francis Day secured from a local Hindu ruler a strip of land just north of thePortuguese settlement of San Thome. A fortified rectory named Fort St. George was builtthere, and around it grew up the town of Madras. In 1690 the Company established afactory was fortified and called Fort William. The villages of Sutanati, Kalikata andGobindpore were developed into a single area called Calcutta.

In the first half of the 18th century, the Company expanded its trade and influencequietly and gradually. The death of Aurangzeb, the last of the Great Mughal Emperors, in1707 opened up a vista of opportunities for the East India Company for further expansionin India. In 1691 Nawab Ibrahim Khan granted a Farman to the Company exempting itfrom paying the customs duties in Bengal in return for an annual payment of Rs. 3000whereas other European companies had to pay 3 per cent as duties. This right was lateron ratified by an Imperial Farman by Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1715.The English wereallowed to trade in Bengal free of all duties subject to the payment of Rs. 3,000 perannum.They were exempted from dues throughout the province of Hyderabad but were topay only the existing rent for Madras. They were exempted from the payment of allcustoms dues of Surat in return for an annual sum of Rs. 10,000.The coins minted atBombay by the Company were allowed to have currency throughout the Mughal Empire.These Farmans are called ‘the Magna Carta of the Company’. The Company at Bombayminted Rupees to be circulated in India. The Company’s mainstay businesses were bynow, in cotton, silk, indigo, saltpeter and tea. But, practically, the Company managed toretain its dominant position and made huge profits from India. By 1720, almost single-handedly managed by the Company, 15% of British imports were from India.

COMMERCIAL RIVALRY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE

The Anglo- French struggle for supremacy in South India was a part of the world-widestruggle between England and France for trade, wealth territory.Carnatic was the theatreof this The English East India Company and the French East India Company haddeveloped rivalry in India for colonial and commercial domination protracted struggle.The decline of the Mughal Empire wiped away any local authority to thwart thecompetition between these two powers.

The First Carnatic War.

In 1742 the Austrian succession war broke out in Europe in connection with thesuccession of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria. Frederick the Great of Prussia



refused to accept the succession of Maria Theresa. On this issue the French supportedAustria and the British supported Prussia. The echo of the Austrian succession war heardin India as well as in America. In the words of Voltaire, “The first cannon shot fired inour lands were to set the match to all the batteries in America and in Asia”. Hearingabout the outbreak of war in Europe, Dupleix tried to avert an Anglo-French contest inIndia. For that purpose, he wrote in December 1744 to the three British Indianpresidencies suggesting neutrality between the British and the French in India. It wasthwarted by Nicholas Morse; Governor of Madras. The English fleet under Barnettreached the Coramondal coast in 1745 and captured the French ship “Favori”. SoonDupleix sought the help of La Bourdonnais, Governor of Mauritius. La Bourdonnaismoved towards Madras and captured it. Dupleix wanted La Bourdonnais to give Madrasto the Nawab of Arcot. But La Bourdonnais to give concluded a treaty with MadrasCouncil, received tributes and left the place in hurry.

After his departure, Dupleix invaded and looted Madras. Then the British approachedAnwarudin, the Nawab of Carnatic, to save them and restore Madras. The Nawab askedDupliex to vacate his possession of Madras.But Dupleix refused. Nawab soon sent anarmy against the French. A severe battle was fought at St. Thome in which Nawab’sarmy was defeated by the French. After the capture of Madras, Dupleix attempted thriceto siege Fort St. David but failed. In 1748, the English besieged Pondicherry but theFrench defeated them successfully. Meanwhile, the war of Austrian succession had cometo an end by the treaty of Aixa-la-Chapelle in 1748 according to which Madras wasexchanged for Breton Island and Louisburg in North America. The first Carnatic war alsocame to a close and Madras was restored to the English on 1st September 1749.Theboundaries of both the companies remained unchanged. However the reputation of theFrench in India increased appreciably and the weakness of the Nawab of Carnatic wasexposed miserably. The importance of this war has been summed up byProf.H.H.Dodwell thus “it demonstrated the overwhelming influence of sea-power, itdisplaced the superiority of European methods of war over those followed by Indianarmies and it revealed the political decay that had eaten into the heart of Indian states” .

The Second Carnatic War.

The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle brought peace to Europe but it brought into being anarmed peace in India. Following the success in Carnatic Dupleix realized that theEuropean weapons and disciplined army was superior to the Indian forces. He thereforedecided to “loan” his army and resources to local princes in their quarrels in return formonetary, commercial or territorial favours. As a result, the French began to interfere inthe affairs of Carnatic and Hyderabad. In Carnatic Chanda Saheb, the son-in-law of DostAli claimed the Nawabship against Anwar-ud-Din, the nominee of Asaf Jah Nizam-ul-Mulk. In this contest Dupliex decided to support Chanda Saheb. In 1748 Asaf JahNizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad died. Following this the throne was contested by his son



Nazir Jang and his grandson Muzaffar Jang. Muzaffar Jang claimed the throne on theground that his succession had been authorized by the Mughal Government at Delhi.Muzaffar Jang joined the Dupliex-Chanda alliance. The English on the other handextended their help to Anwar-ud-Din and Nazir Jang.Thus began simultaneously twowars of succession which the English and the French took opposite side. Lally writes,“The entanglement of these two wars of succession threw all South India into confusionproducing that complicated series of intrigues, conspiracies, assassinations, battles,sieges, desultory skirmishing that is known in Anglo-Indian history as the war in theCarnatic”.

The joint forces of Chanda Saheb and Muzaffar Jang defeated and killed Anwar-ud-Din in the battle of Ambur (1749) with the help of the French. Mohammed Ali, theillegitimate son and successor of Anwar-ud-Din sought safety in the fort of Trichinopoly.The victors entered Arcot and Chanda Saheb was installed as Nawab.Three taluksadjoining Pondicherry (Valudavur, Villiannur and Bahur) were handed over to Dupleix asreward for his help. After this powerful French army attacked Nazir’s camp and killedhim. Muzaffar Jang was proclaimed as the Nizam of Hyderabad.But Muzaffar Jang diedin an encounter.The French soon proclaimed Salabat Jung, the third son of Asaf Jah asNizam.Thus Dupleix’s policy was successful even beyond his own expectation.

The condition of the English at this time was very critical. They feared that it wouldaffect their trade since the hinterland of Madras would be in the hands of their enemies.So they decided to take vigorous steps. Robert Clive was sent against Chanda Saheb andcaptured Arcot. Chanda Saheb fled away and was put to death by the Raja ofTanjore.Thus Muhammad Ali became the Nawab of Carnatic. Dupleix was recalled in1754.The new French governor Godeheu stopped the war and concluded the Treaty ofPondicherry with the English. By this treaty both parties agreed not to interfere in thequarrels of the native princes and to respect each other possession.

The Third Carnatic War. The peace settlement effected Godeheu failed to bringpeace in South India. After a brief interval of 18 months hostilities started again on thepretext of the outbreak of the seven years war in Europe. In the Seven years war, Britainand France were once again on opposite sides in the rival coalitions. In India the warbegan in Bengal. The French deputed Count de Lally as the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the army to conduct the war. The English under Clive and Watson attackedthe French at Chandranagore and captured in 1757. It is said that the capture ofChandranagore was not less a seal to French domination in Bengal than it was the startingpoint of British supremacy in the province. Lally captured Fort St.David in 1758. Hemade an abortive attempt to take Madras. In the meanwhile, an English army under SirEyre Coote defeated Lally at Wandiwash in 1760.In the words of Malleson’ “The battle



of wandiwash shattered to the ground the mighty fabric, which Martin Dumas andDupleix had contributed to erect; it sealed the fate of Pondicherry”. The British capturedPondicherry in 1761.After that they occupied the Northern Circars. The war came to anend by the Treaty of Parris in 1763. Accordingly Pondicherry was given back to theFrench. However they were not allowed to fortify their factories and keep troops in them.The Carnatic wars thus ended forever the French competition in eastern trade and the bidfor territorial domination.

British Occupation of Bengal.

The beginnings of British political sway over India may be traced to the Battle ofPlassey in 1757, when the English East India Company’s forces defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal. The earlier British struggle with the French in South Indiahad been but a dress rehearsal. The lessons lea rent there were profitably applied inBengal. Bengal was the most fertile and the richest of India’s provinces. Its industries andcommerce were well developed. The English East India Company and its servants hadhighly profitable trading interests in the province. The Company had secured valuableprivileges in 1717 under a royal Farman by the Mughal Emperor, which had granted thecompany the freedom to export and import their goods in Bengal without paying taxesand the right to issue passes or dastaks for the movement of such goods. Under itscoverage some of the company officials had also involved in private individual trade. TheNawab of Bengal,Aliwardi Khan took strict actions against the private trade of thecompany officials in 1740 onwards. This served the relations between the company andthe Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah,who became the Nawab in 1756.took more stringent action inthis regard.

The practice of imposing tax on Indian goods brought to Calcutta by the companyprovoked the Nawab.His request to stop this practice was discarded by the companyofficials. They also built forts in Chandranagar.The Nawab asked to demolish them.While the French acted accordingly, the English neglected it. The amenity between theNawab and the English started mounting up.The Nawab’s army captured the Englishfactory at Kasimbazar in 1756 and marched to Calcutta. Avoiding a direct confrontationwith the enemy, the company officials escaped. Fort William was captured and theNawab appointed Malik Chand as its administrator.When the Nawab had gone back tohis capital, the English hiding at Fulda on the coastal area reappeared in Culcutta.InDecember 1756, an English army arrived at Calcutta from Madras under thecommandership of Clive and Admiral Watson and re-conquered Calcutta. They attackedand destroyed the city of Hugli. The Nawab was forced to sign a peace treaty with thecompany and he had to give away many concessions.



As a part of the conflict in south India the English captured Chandranagar from theFrench, who took asylum under the Nawab.The English demanded that the French shouldbe sent out Bengal, which was turned down by the Nawab.The company authoritiesstarted conspiring with the officials of the Nawab.They offered the Nawabship of Bengalto Mir Jaffer, the commander of the Nawab, Mr Jaffer fell a prey to the conspiracy andoffered his help to the English to oust the Nawab from power.On the advice of Mir Jafferthe Nawab decided to sent the French out of Bengal. By that time the English army hadstarted its march from Calcutta to Maurshidabad, the capital of the Nawab. The Nawab’sarmy under the commandership of Mir jaffer fought against the English at Plassey in June1757.When the war was going on Mir jaffer withdrew from the battle field. The Englishhad an easy victory. Siraj-ud-daula was murdered and the English made Mir Jaffer as theNawab of Bengal.The New Nawab, Mir Jaffer permitted free trade in Bengal, Bihar andOrissa.The Company was given the Zamindari rights of twenty four parganas, nearCalcutta, apart from a huge amount as compensation.

The Plassey victory laid foundation stone for the later British Empire in India. ThoughMir Jaffer became the Nawab of Bengal, the real power was within the hands of theCompany authorities. The Company appointed Robert Clive as its governor of Bengal.Hedemanded more and more money from Mir Jaffer which could not be met by the latter.Consequently, Mir Jaffer was replaced by Mir Quasim as the Nawab of Bengal by theEnglish.In return for the favour, Mir Quasim assigned the Zamindari rights of Midnapur,Chittagong and Burduan to the Company apart from nearly thirty lakh rupees.

However, contrary to the expectations of the Company, Mir Quasim tried to ruleindependently, without listening to the instructions of Clive. As necessary compensationto the Company had already been paid, he thought that there is no necessity to becomethe instrument of the company in future. According to the existing law, tax was collectedonly from the Indian traders. Mir Quasim cancelled trade tax completely in internaltrade. This new reform considering the Indian and English traders equal was not acceptedby the Company and Clive asked the Nawab to withdraw it.The response to this demandwas negative.Then the Company started military campaigns against the Nawab.TheNawab’s army was defeated at Murshidabad and Udayanala and forced Mir Qasim toescape to Oudh. After reaching Oudh, Mir Quassim made alliance with Shuja-ud-daula,the ruler of Oudh to fight against the British, later Shah Alam II, the nominal ruler of theMughal dynasty also joined with them.The three rulers formed a combined army andmarched against the English. However, the English army under Colonel Munroe badlydefeated them at Buxar in 1764, Shan Alam immediately made truce with the Company.Mir Quasim escaped to Delhi.



With the Victory at Buxar the British domination in Bengal became a reality. TheCompany became the undisputable power in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa with thisvictory.After the Buxar, the Company again appointed Mir Jaffer as the Nawab ofBengal.As per the instructions of the Company the Army of the Nawab wasdisbanded.After the death of Mir Jaffer his son Nizam-ud-daula became the Nawab. Hehad to accept a deputy Subedar appointed by the Company, who became the real ruler ofBengal.The Oudh Nawab, accepted the suzerainty in the Company and paid one and halflakh rupees as compensation.The Mughal emperor gave Allahabad district to theCompany. Thus the territorial extent of the company expanded.

Formative Stage of Colonialism:

Mercantilist Phase.

The twin process of the drain and deindustrialization was carried out through variousstages of colonial rule. The process started from 1757.After the battle of Plassey the EastIndia Company took over the Indian control. During the same period a fundamentalchange was taking place in Britain also. This change came through a series of inventionsthat led to the industrial revolution. Important inventions were: Spinning Jenny(Hargreaves, 1764), Steam engine (Watts, 1765), Water frame (Ark Wright, 1769), Mule(Crompton, 1779), Power loom (Cart Weight, 1785) and steam engine (1788). Beforethese inventions the Bank of England was established in 1694.The plunder of Indiahelped capital accumulation. Inventions helped in generating industrial revolution.

The impact of the British rule in the initial stages can be summed up thus: Whilemachine made cotton goods from England ruined the weavers, machine made twistruined the spinners. Between 1818 and 1836 the export of cotton twists from England toIndia 5200 times. The same process could be traced in respect of silk goods, woolengoods, iron, pottery, glass and paper. The effects of this wholesale destruction of Indianmanufacturing industries on the economy of the country can be imagined. In England, theruin of the handloom weavers was accompanied by the growth of the new machineindustry. But in India, the ruin of millions of artisans and craftsmen was not accompaniedby any alternative growth of new forms of industry. The old populous manufacturingtowns of Dacca, Murshidabad,Surat and the like were in a few years rendered desolate(barren) under the ‘pan Britanica’(all British).

The pre-industrial British capital was buying Indian commodities for profitableexports. The conquest of India by the East India Company gave it the power to levy andcollect the revenue and other taxes. On the basis of the gross profits the Companyexploited Indian commodities. This semi bondage situation of India made the Britishmercantile capitalism earn tribute from conquest. During the latter half of 18th century the



total British imports from India increased from 12 to 24 per cent. At the same time,British exports to India increased from 6.4% to only 9% of the total British exports.

The phase of mercantilism gave way to the phase of industrial capitalism towards thebeginning of the 19th century. Now the emphasis shifted from revenue collection andtrade to new forms of surplus appropriation. Indian economy was now geared to serve theinterests of industrial England. India was now used to provide raw material to theindustries of England. India also served as a market for the ready-made Britishmanufactured industrial goods. Indian resources continued to be drained out to England.Similarly the process of deindustrialization also got accelerated.

Finance Capitalism.

After 1857 the British government took on direct control of India. Then Britishcapital also started pouring into the Indian market along with the manufactured goods.Now England needed India not only as a market for their goods but also as a favourableground for the investment of their capital. As a result India started getting industrializedbut only on foreign capital. All the major industries like railways, jute, iron and steelwere being run by British capital. Its result was a further drain of wealth as all the profitsmade on British capital were going back to England. Thus up to the end of 19th centuryIndia was sucked dry by the British during both phases of colonialism.

Anti- Colonial Struggles

The Revolt of 1857

The Revolt of 1857 opened a glorious chapter in the history of the anti- imperialiststruggle of Indian people. The mighty popular revolt of 1857 broke out in northern andcentral India. It began as a mutiny of sepoys or soldiers of English East India Company’sarmy. Soon it spread to wide regions and peoples. Millions of peasants, artisans andsoldiers fought heroically for over a year. It was in reality a product of accumulatedgrievances of the people against company’s administration. For over a century, theBritish had been conquering the country. Popular discontent and hatred against foreignrule had been growing among different section of Indian society. It was this discontentthat burst forth into a mighty popular revolt.

Nature and Character of the revolt.

[1)Mutiny of Sepoys: Historians have held different views about the nature of theoutbreak of 1857. The British historians William Kaye, Malison, Trevelyan and JohnLawrence have described it as a mutiny of sepoys, which did not command the support ofthe people. Sir John seeley describes the revolt of 1857 as a wholly unpatriotic andselfish mutiny, with no nation leadership and no popular support. According to him it was



a rebellion of the Indian sepoys against the constitutional government of the day. SomeIndian states also joined the revolt because of the annexation policy of Dalhousie. Thisinterpretation is unsatisfactory. Unquestionably the revolt began as a mighty rising, but itwas not everywhere confined to the army. Even the sepoys as a whole did not join therevolt and considerable of them fought on the side of the government. In fact the rebelscame from every section of the population.

(2)Religious War: Some other scholars describe the revolt as a religious war against theChristians. This is a wrong assumption. The Hindus and Muslims were defeated but nottheir respective religions.

(3) Racial Struggle: Some other scholars explain it as a racial struggle for supremacybetween the black and white. Really it was not a war of races. True all the whites in Indiawere ranged on the side of British, but not all the black rallied on the side of the rebels. Inthe British war camp Indians served as cooks and servants and looked after the comfortsof the British. In fact every white man in the camp there were certainly twenty black men.To be more correct, it was a war between white on one side and black rebels on the otherside.

(4)Conflict between Civilization and Barbarism: Some British historians like T.R.Holmes popularized the view that the revolt of 1857 was a conflict between civilizationand barbarism. This explanation reveals narrow feeling of racial superiority of the British.Some others described the outbreak was the result of Hindu Muslim conspiracy to overthrow the British. This explanation is inadequate and unsatisfactory.

(5)National war of independence: The British conservative party leader BenjaminDisraeli described the revolt as a national rising. He contended that the so calledmutiny was no sudden impulse, but was a vigilant and well planned and organized one.The people of India were waiting for an occasion and pretext. The mutiny provided both.

The early national leaders, looking for the ideals to arouse national consciousnessamong the people, reinterpreted the uprising of 1857 as a people’s revolt and its leaderswere national heroes gifted with vision of a free India. V.D.Savarkar in his book “TheIndian War of Independence” published in 1909, described revolt a planned war ofnational independence.Savarkar was writing at a time when the national movement waswitnessing militant and revolutionary moods on some sections of nationalists. He wasone among them. He challenged the British writer’s analysis of the revolt of 1857. TheBritish historians ignored the root principle of that revolt. According to Savarkar, thegreased cartridges and the annexation of Oudh were only temporary and accidentalcauses, the real causes of the revolt lay in the people desire to protect their religion and toend political slavery.



The later national leaders widely accepted Sarvarkar’s interpretation and furtherdeveloped themes of the popular character of the revolt and cited it a shining example ofthe perfect harmony and friendship between Hindu and the Muslim in the fight forfreedom from the British rule. S.B. Chaudari in his ‘Civil Rebellion- Indian Mutiny’views the revolt as a product of national consciousness in India. The revolt had twoaspects, military mutiny and civil rebellion. It began with the mutiny of the sepoys,millions of peasants and artisans joined with them to challenge the foreign power.

S.N.Sen in his book ‘The 1857’ views that the rising of 1857 was ‘a war ofindependence’. He characterizes it as a popular revolt of political nature. Sen contendsthat when a rebellion can claim the sympathies of the substantial majority of thepopulation, it can claim a national character. Unfortunately in India the majority of thepeople remained disinterested and even apathetic. The rebellion of 1857 cannot beinvested with a national character. But it was not merely a military rising. S.N.Sen comesto the conclusion “The mutiny became a revolt and assumed a political character whenthe mutineers of Meerut proclaimed Bahadur Shah as the emperor of India” what began afight for religion ended as a war of independence for there is not the slightest doubt therebels wanted to get rid of the alien government and restore old order of the king of Delhias the right representative.

R.C.Majumdar vews the revolt basically as a mutiny. His book “The Sepoy Mutinyand the revolt of 1857” he argued with S.N.Sen that the middle of the 19th century Indiannationalism was in an embryo form. According to Majumdar the revolt of 1857 wasneither the first, nor the national nor the war of independence. He viewed the revoltbasically as mutiny.Though at certain areas the mutiny was succeeded by general revolts.Though there was ‘Sympathy with the mutineers among the civil population, there wasno act of rebellion by them. The sepoys who mainly fought the British were also notinspired by any patriotic fevour. The revolt from the beginning to the end was inspired byselfish and even sordid motives. People had no idea of nationality and did not care tolook forward towards united India.

Karl Marx noticed the unprecedented unity of Indian people. Marx points out, thatsepoys were little more than tools. The principal motive power behind the insurrectionwas the people of India, who rallied in the struggle against the unbearable colonialoppression. Marx rejected the view of British ruling class, who tried to picture theinsurrection as an armed sepoy mutiny. They described the revolt as a national revolt- arevolt of the Indian people against British rule. Marx laid special emphasis on the revoltbringing together not only people of different religions but also of different socialstanding. In his Indian revolt, Marx proved doubt that broad section of the people-thepeasants most of all-took part in the insurrection in a direct or indirect way.



Feudal Counter Revolt.

The Marxist scholars like M.N.Roy, R.P.Dutt and A.R.Desai considered the revolt of1857 as a feudal counter revolt. According to them the revolt was the last desperateattempt to regain its last power. “It was a struggle between worn out feudal system andnewly introduced commercial capitalism for political supremacy. Lester Hutchinson, anEnglish Marxist scholar argues that the British attempt to weld India into an economicand political unit, were creating a nation in India. So historically considered the revoltwas against nationalism. Jawaharlal Nehru and Tara Chand also shared this view.According to Nehru, there was hardly any national and unifying sentiments among theleaders and a men antiforeigner feeling, coupled with a desire to maintain their feudalprivileges.

Peasants’ Revolt.

Some of the Marxist scholars view the revolt of 1857 as the struggle of the peasant solflier democratic combine against foreign as well as feudal bondage which failed becauseof feudal betrayal. They analyze economic background of the revolt. The primary causeof the revolt was the imperialistic exploitation of the Indian people. This exploitationaffected all class, the peasants seriously. According to P.C.Joshi a prominent communistleader the political and economic policies of the British had turned every section Indianagainst their regime. If a section of the feudal lords joined in such circumstances, apopular armed rebellion whose aim was to expel the foreigners. Hence the class interestof a section of the feudal coincided with the national interest.Bipin Chandra remarks,“The culmination of the Traditional opposition to British rule came with the revolt of1857 in which millions of peasants, artisan and soldiers participated. The revolt was aproduct of the accumulated grievance of the people against foreign government. Thepeasants were discontent with the official land revenue policy. The middle class andupper class of Indian society were hard hit by their exclusion from the well paid higherpost in administration.

The Revolt of 1857 was basically anti- imperialist and both sepoys and people wantedto throw out the imperial rulers. Broadly viewed any revolt on such an extensive scalewith the avowed object of ending the foreign rule in the country must be regarded as awar of independence

CAUSES OF THE REVOLT

The Anglo- Indian historians have greatly emphasized the importance of militarygrievances greased cartridges affairs as the most important cause which led to the revolt.But modern historians established beyond doubt that the greased cartridge was the onlyone cause, and not important cause. The rebellion was the product of the accumulated



grievance of the people against British domination. The greased cartridge and mutiny ofthe soldiers was merely a stick which exploded the inflammable material which hadgathered heap on account of variety of causes. The following are the important causes ofthe revolt.

I. Economic exploitation

The most important cause of the popular discontent was economic exploitation of thecountry by the British and the complete destruction of its traditional economic fabric.Both these factors resulted impoverishment of the vast mass of peasants, artisans andlarge number of traditional zamindars. Indian traditional economic system and selfsufficient village structure were completely destroyed. The traditional village industrywas ruined India became a market of British made goods and a place providing rawmaterials for British factories. Indian villages were impoverished.

The British deliberately destroyed Indian trade and manufacture by imposing heavyprotective duties in Britain While British goods were imported into India at a nominalduty. The machine made goods flood Indian market and ruined Indian industries. Theruin of industry and commerce turned India an agricultural colony of BritishManufacturing capitalism. More over the English Planters in Bengal and Bihar- practicedinhuman treatment of indigo cultivators which constitutes one of the blackest episodes inhistory of British rule in India.

2. The Land Revenue Policy: The main burden of administrative and wars of Britishexpansion in India had to be borne by the Indian peasants. The heavy land revenue ruinedthe peasantry to a miserable extent. While the poor class was groaning under poverty, thediscontent of upper and middle classes were no less effective. The resumption of rent freetenures by Bentinck dispossessed many land holders of their estates, though this measuresecured increased revenue to the state. It is no wonder that there prevailed gravediscontent all over India. Economic distress became more acute with the outbreak offamines in the first half of the 19th century.

3. Discontent of the middle and upper classes.

The middle and upper classes of Indian society particularly in the north were hard hitby their exclusion from the well paid higher posts in the administration. The gradualdisappearance of Indian states deprived those Indians, who were employed in them inhigh administrative and judicial posts. British supremacy is to the ruin of persons whomade a living by following cultural pursuits. The Indian rulers had been patrons of artsand literature and had supported preachers. Displacement of these by the East Companymeant the sudden withdrawal of this patronage and impoverishment of those who haddepended up on it.



4. Foreignness of British rule.

Another basic issue of the unpopularity of British rule was its very foreignness. TheBritish remained perpetual foreigners in the country .There was no social link orcommunications between them and Indians, unlike the foreign conquerors before them,they did not assimilated socially even with the upper classes of Indians; instead they hada feeling of racial superiority and treated Indians with contempt and arrogance. Most ofall the British did not come to settle in India and make their home. The main aim of themwas to enrich them and go back to Britain along with their wealth. The people of Indiawere aware of this foreign character of the new rulers. They refused to recognize theBritish as these benefactors and looked with suspicions upon every act of the British.They had thus a vague sort of anti British feeling which had found expression innumerous popular risings against the British.

5. The British policy of conquest and annexation.

In the course of the century following the battle of Plassey the British wereconquering Indian province and states. The East India Company’s policy of effectivecontrol and gradual extinction of the ‘Indian native states took a definite shape with theperfection of the subsidiary alliance system of Lord Wellesley. The policy of conquestand annexation reached culmination during the period of Lord Dalhousie. He introducedthe policy of Doctrine of Laps by which the Indian states could be taking over in theabsence of natural heirs. The right of adoption to the throne did not extent to rulers ofIndian states. Punjab and Sikkim had been annexed by conquest, satara, Jaipur, Udaipur,Jhansi and ‘Nagpur were annexed by the application of the doctrine of Lapse.

Oudh was annexed in the name of misgovernment Dalhousie removed the TitularMughal emperor Bahadur Shgah II from his ancestral palace In Delhi. He refused tocontinue pension to Nana Sahib, son of Baj Rao. The imperialist policy of Dalhousiecreated discontent among Hindus and Muslims against the British.

6. Administrative Policy.

The annexation of India states produced startling economic and social effect. TheIndian aristocracy was deprived of power and position. It found little chance to gain thesame old position in the new administrative set up under the British rule all high post,civil and military were reserved for the Europeans. The administrative machinery of theEast India Company was inefficient and insufficient.

7. Social Causes.

Like all conquering people British rulers were rude and arrogant towards the subjectpeople. The English considered Indians as inferior as uncivilized People. The rulers



followed the policy of contempt towards Indians and described Hindus as barbarians withhardly any trace of culture While Muslims were considered as bigot and cruel. TheEuropean officers in India were very overbearing in their social behaviors.

8. Religious Causes.

An important role in turning the people against British rule was the religious policy ofthe British. The introduction of western education through the medium of Englishlanguage created imbalance in the traditional orthodox class of the Indians. Permissionwas given to Christian missionaries to come to India. This confirmed the suspicion thatthe British government was determined to convert the Indians to Christianity ManyEnglishmen openly expressed the view that conversion to Christianity was a sure passportto western education. A strong spirit of protest developed even among the educatedcommunity against the activities of Christian missionaries. All people believed thatgovernment was really and sincerely desirous of interfere with the religion and thecostumes of the people converting them all to Christianity. The abolition of Sati, femaleinfanticide, legislation of widow remarriage, right of inheritance to Christian converts,the promotion of western education, spread of woman education were not welcomed bythe orthodox section of Indians.

The introduction of railways and telegraph were looked upon by the Indians asingenious devices for breaking traditional social rules and caste rules. Thus tension wasinevitable when new ideas and innovations of the west were to mingle with the orthodoxHindu society. Religious sentiments were also hurt by the official policy of taxing landsbelonging to temples and mosques, and to their priest or charitable institutions, which hadbeen exempted from taxation by previous rulers.

9. Discontent of the Sepoys

The discontent against the British Raj was not confined to the civil population. TheSepoys also had been nursing a special grievance against the British. The sepoys wereafter all a part of Indian society and therefore, felt and suffered like the civilianpopulation. The hops desire and despairs of other sections of society were reflected inthem. If their relatives suffered from the destructive economic consequence of the Britishrule, the sepoys also suffered very much. They were all affected by the general belief thatthe British were interfering in their religion and determined to convert Indian toChristianity. They know that the army was maintaining chaplains at government cost.Moreover some of the British officers carried on religious propaganda among the sepoys.The sepoys had religious or caste grievance of their own. The Indians of those days werevery strict in observing caste rules. The military authorities forbade the sepoys to wearcaste and sectarian marks, beards and turbans.



In 1856 an act was passed under which every new recruit undertook to even foreigncountries, if required. This hurt the sepoy’s sentiments as according to the religious beliefof the Hindus; travel across the sea was forbidden and led to loss of caste. The sepoysalso had .many grievances against the British. They were treated as inferior creatures androughly addressed as pig. The Indian soldiers were paid low salary. They had littlepromotion and prospects. They had to serve outside India without extra batta.

10. Immediate Cause.

By 1857, the material for a mass upheaval was ready. Only a spark was needed to set itafire. The episode of the greased Cartridges provided this spark for the sepoys.The newEnfield rifle had been first introduced in the army. Its “Cartridges; had a greased papercover whose end had to be bitten of before the Cartridges was loaded in to the rifle. Thegrease was in some instance composed of cows and pigs fat, unclean to both the Hinduand Muslims. The story spread like wild fire. It is believed that the government wasdeliberately trying to destroy their religious dogmas.

Beginning of the Revolt

On 29th March 1857 the sepoys at Barrackpure refused to use the greased cartridges.One Brahmin sepoy Mangal Pandey attacked a European officer. The regiment wasdisbanded and rebels were punished. Mangal Pandey was executed. At Meerut the sepoyswho refuse to use the greased cartridges were court marshalled and sentenced to ten yearsimprisonment. On 10th May sepoys broke out in open rebellion and shot their officersand released their comrades. Then they marched to Delhi and llth May City was in thehands of rebels. They proclaimed Bahadurshah II, the old Mughal King of Delhi as theemperor of India. He accepted the honour with reluctance. With this single act the sepoyshad transformed a mutiny of soldiers into a revolutionary war.

Spread of the Revolt

The mutiny now became general in Oudh, Rohilkhand and many parts of central India.Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow were the main centers of the revolt. Large parts of Bihar andEast Punjab shook all British authority. In many princely states rebels remained loyal totheir British overlord, but soldiers revolted. The mutiny spread among the sepoys ofNorthern and Central India. Everywhere the mutinies were followed by popular revolts ofcivilian’s population. Millions of peasants and artisans joined the revolt.

In Delhi Bahadur Shah was merely a nominal leader. Bakht Khan was the militarycommander of the Delhi rebels. The recapture of Delhi was a prestige issue and Englishefforts were directed towards that aim. Troops from -Punjab were rushed and took theirposition to the north of Delhi. Tough resistance was offered by the Indian soldiers. In



September 1857 Delhi was recaptured by the English. The emperor was arrested anddeported to Rangoon. At Lucknow the revolt was led by Begum Hazarat Mahal of Oudh.The peasants and zamindars participated in the revolt. The residency was captured by theIndian rebels. In March 1858 the city was finally recaptured. In Kanpur; Nana Sahib wasproclaimed the Peshwa. Some European people were murdered. .Nana Sahib was helpedby his able and experienced Lientement Tantia Tope. The military operation for therecapture of Kanpur was closely associated with the recovery of Lucknow. On DecemberKanpur was occupied. Tantia Tope escaped and joined the Rani of Jhansi.

In the beginning of June 1857 the troops at Jhansi mutinied. Rani Lakshmi Bai, thewidow the late Rajah Gangadhara Rao was proclaimed the ruler of the state. In April1858 the British recaptured Jhansi.The Rani of Jhansi and Tantia Tope marched towardsGwalior, where they were welcomed by the Indian soldiers. The Sindhia howeverdecided to remain loyal to the British and took shelter at Agra. Nana Sahib wasproclaimed the Peshwa. By June 1858 Gwalior was recaptured. The Rani of Jhansi diedfighting. Tantia Tope escaped southward. In April 1859 he was captured and was hanged.At Bareilly Khan Bahadur Khan had proclaimed himself the Nawab Nazim. In Bihar alocal zamindar Kunwar Sing raised the banner of revolt. By June 1858 the rebellion hadbeen almost completely suppressed.

Causes for the failure.

(1)The revolt of 1857 was localized and poorly organized: The revolt could notembrace the entire country. Bombay and Madras armies remained loyal. India, south ofNarmada was not disturbed.Sindh and Rajasthan remained quiet. Sindhia of Gwalior, theHolkar of Indore. Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Jodhpur and other Rajaput rulers,Rulers Patiala, Kashmir, Nepal were loyal to the British.

(2)The revolt could not embrace all the classes and groups of Indian society: Largenumber of big zamindars gave active help to the British in suppressing the revolt. Themoney lenders were the main target of the village attack.. They were hostile to the revolt.The merchants also gradually became unfriendly. The modern educated Indian also didnot support the revolt. The educated Indians wanted to end the backwardness of thecountry. They believed that British rule would help them to accomplish the task ofmodernization.

(3)Inferior weapons of Indians: The British were of superior resources and weapons.The rebels were short of modern weapons and other material of wars. Most of themfought with ancient weapons such as picks and swords.



(4)Poor organization: Indian mutiny was poorly organized. The sepoys were brave andselfless. But they were ill disciplined. Sometimes they behaved more like riotous mobthan a disciplined army.

(5)Lack of planning and leadership: The rebels did not have a common plan, action ora programme and centralized leadership. The uprising in different part of the country wascompletely uncoordinated. The leaders joined together by a common feeling of hatred forthe British but nothing else. They failed to evolve unity of action. They were suspiciousand jealous of one another. Many of them joined the revolt due to selfish personalreasons. Thus selfishness and lack of unity and organization sapped the strength of therebellion.

(6) Lack of popular support and apathy of Indian rulers: The lack of popular supportand apathy of Indian rulers also contributed to the failure of the revolt. Sindhia andHolkar remained legal.

(7)Absence of spirit of Patriotism and Nationalism: The weakness of the revolt wentdeeper than the failings of the individuals. The entire movement lacked a unified andforward looking programme. The movement was consisted of diverse elements, unitedonly by their hatred of British rule, but each having grievance and differing conceptionsof the politics of India. The absence of a modern progressive programme enabled thereactionary princes and zamindars to seize leadership of the movement. And since thefeudal leaders, the Mughals, the Marathas and others had failed in protecting their ownkingdoms. They would not succeed in founding a new all India state. Modern nationalismwas yet unknown in India. Patriotism meant love of one’s small locality or region orstate. Common all India’s interest and spirit of nationalism were yet to come. In fact therevolt of 1857 played on important role in bringing the Indian people together andimparting to them national consciousness.

Impact of the Revolt.

The revolt of 1857 bought far reaching changes in the character of the Indianadministration and the future development of the country. The Indian society, Indiangovernment and the Indian economy all underwent significant changes as a result of therevolt.

1. The control of Indian administration was transferred from the East India Company tothe British crown by the government of Indian Act of 1858. The governor generalreceived the title of viceroy, who became responsible to the secretary of State in London.The secretary of state was a member of the British cabinet and was responsible to theparliament. The council of the secretary of the state was known as the India council.



2. The Queen’s proclamation (November, 1858) promised religious tolerance. Theproclamation of 1858 assured equal treatment to all subjects irrespective of caste andclass. It also promised moral and material improvement of the Indian people.

3. The Mutiny influenced the British policy towards the Indian states. The Britishpromised to respect the right of dignity and honour of Indian princes. They guaranteedthe integrity of their territories, recognized the right of adoption. The policy of conquestand annexation was abolished.

4. The Revolt widened the gulf between the European and Indian as well as between theHindus and the Muslims. The bitter memories of the event of 1857 felt by the Indiansformed the basis of Indian hostility to the British rule in the future. The unity displayedHindus and Muslims during the revolt had disturbed the foreign rulers. They weredetermined to break this unity so as to weaken the raising national movement.Immediately after the revolt the British repressed the Muslims, confiscated their land andproperty on a large scale and declared Hindus to their favorite. After 1870 this policy wasreversed and attempt was made to turn upper and middle class Muslims against thenational movement.

5. After the revolt, the British government began to pursue reactionary policies in everysphere. The British abandoned their previous policy of helping social reforms. Theybelieved that measure of social reform such as abolition of ‘Sati’, permission to widowremarriage had been a major cause of the revolt of 1857. Therefore they gradually beganto side with orthodox sections and stopped their support to the reformers.

6. The Indian army carefully reorganized after 1858. The English East India Companyforce was merged with the crown troops. But the army was reorganized to prevent therecurrence of another revolt. Several steps were taken to minimize, if not completelyeliminate the Indian soldiers. Firstly the domination of army by it is European branch wascarefully guaranteed. The proportion of European to Indian army was raised.

The revolt of 1857 ended an era and sowed the seeds of a new era. The era of territorialaggrandizement gave place to the era of economic exploitation. For the British the dangerfrom feudal India ended for ever; the new challenge to British imperialism came fromprogressive India.

The Birth of Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885 at Bombay. It marked anew beginning in the history of Indian nationalism. It was the first organized expressionof Indian nationalism on an all India Scale. A.O.Hume, a retired English LC.S officerplayed an important role in its formation.



In 1884 Hume founded the Indian National Union. Its objectives were to promoteIndian nationalism and establish a close relation between and England, by securing theremoval of unjust and harmful laws. Towards the end of 1884 he came to Bombay anddiscussed with the local leaders regarding a comprehensive programme including thesummoning of an annual conference and the formation of a central National Association.A.O. Hume came into contact with Man Mohan Gosh, W.C. Banerjee, S.N.Sen and A.M.Bose. He met the viceroy Lord Dufferin and discussed his plan. The congress could serveas a focal point for national discontent. Hume made it clear that the congress should serveas a ‘safety valve for revolutionary discontent. Hume as well as other English officialsand stats men was afraid that the educated Indian might provide leadership to the massesand organize a powerful rebellion against the British government. Hume believed that theNational Congress would provide a peaceful and constitutional outlet to the discontentamong the educated Indian and would thus help to avoid the outbreak of a popular revolt.W.C. Banerjee popularized the view that the idea of the Indian National Congress was aproduct of Lord Dufferin’s brain, that he suggested it to Mr. Hume who under took towork it out. Dufferin’s idea was to have a political organization through which thegovernment could ascertain the real wishes of the people and the save the administrationfrom any possible political outburst of the country. Lala Lajpat Rai maintained to serve asa safety valve for the growing unrest in the country and to strengthen the British Empire.

The ‘safety valve’ Theory is however, is a small part of the truth. More than anythingelse, the National Congress represented the urge of the politically conscious Indians to setup a national organization to work for their political and economic advancement. We sawthat the national movement was already growing in the country as a result of the workingof powerful forces. No one man or a group can be given credit for creating thismovement. Even Hume’s motives were mixed one. In many case, the Indian leaders whoco-operated with Hume in starting Indian National Congress, were patriotic men of highcharacter who willingly accepted Hume’s help as they did not want to arouse officialhostility towards their effects at an early stage of political activity.

Surendra Nath Banerjee and many leaders of Bengal had not attended the first sessionof Indian National Congress. They were busy with the second National Conference atCalcutta; in 1886 they merged with the Indian National Congress. The second session ofthe congress met in Calcutta on December 1886, under the president ship of DadabhaiNaoroji. From the second session the Indian National Congress became the wholecountry’s congress. Here after the Indian National Congress met every year in Decemberin different party of the country. The number of its delegate soon increased in Thousands.Its delights consisted of lawyers, journalist, traders, industrialist teachers and landlords.In1890 Kadambini Ganguli, the first women graduate of Calcutta University, addressed thecongress session.



Mahatma Gandhi and Freedom Struggle

The post war period witnessed the growth of national movement into a widespreadmass movement. During this period the object of the congress was the attainment ofSwaraj by all legitimate means. The period was dominated by the personality of MahatmaGandhi who introduced new ideas into Indian politics. The name and fame of MahatmaGandhi as the hero of passive resistance against the government of South Africa for therepeal of anti Asiatic legislation of Transvaal had proceeded his return to India in 1914.In course of that struggle he had come in to contact with Gopalakrishna Gokhale, whohad extended his sympathy and active support to him in many ways. Gandhi acceptedGokhale as his political Guru. On arrival back home, Mahatma Gandhi expressed a desireto become a member of the famous Servants of India Society founded by GopalakrishnaGokhale. Gokhale himself keen on having Mahatma Gandhi has a member, but some ofthe members were not agreed to the idea. Before any decision could be taken Gokhaledied and Mahatma Gandhi withdrew his application. During the war he had offered hisservice to the government of India as a recruiting agent. He was awarded a medal for hisservice in the war.

Mahatma Gandhi selected a spot near Ahmadabad on the bank of Sabarmati River forsetting up an Ashram, to settle some 25 men and women, who were the members of hisTolstoy farm and phoenix settlement in South Africa. He named the ashram as aSatyagraha ashram.

Champaran Satyagraha.

During the 19th century the cultivation of Indigo had become a very profitableindustry. A number of plantations were established in north Bihar, particularly in theChamparan District by the English. They cultivated Indigo with the help of hiredlabourers. The English planters paid very low wages to laborers, who were poor, ignorantand helpless. In the next place the planters used to advance money to cultivators oncondition that the latter would grew Indigo on their land and hand over the produced tothe planters at a pre-determined price. If the cultivator failed or refused to grow Indigo onthe allotted land they were cruelly maltreated and beaten. They were excessivelyoppressed by the European planters. The plight of the cultivators was miserable beyonddescription. The cultivators revolted many times but were brutally suppressed. Theefforts the Bihar leaders to secure redress for their grievance availed nothing. Out ofdesperation one Bihar peasant approached Mahatma Gandhi and requested him to move aresolution on the subject from the congress platform. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to knowthe facts for himself before moving the matter. He therefore visited Bihar to see things forhimself. He was accompanied by Babu Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Hug, J.B. Kripaliniand Mahadev Desai. He conducted detailed enquiry into the condition of the peasantry.



The infuriated District officials ordered him to leave Champaran, but he defied the orderand was willing to face trial and imprisonment. This was his first act of civil disobediencein India. He was called to the court of law and there also he refused to comply with theorder and face the consequence. The magistrate did not know what to do and postponedthe case. A few days later, the case against Mahatma Gandhi was withdrawn by thegovernment and he was allowed to conduct his enquiry into the condition of the peasants.The civil disobedience had thus triumphed. He had also a glimpse into the naked povertyin which peasants of India lived.

Ahmadabad Mill strike.

In 1918 Mahatma Gandhi intervened in a dispute between workers and Mill owners ofAhamadabad.A dispute was developing between the workers and the mill owners overthe question of plague bonus. The employers wanted to withdraw once the epidemichardly passed, but workers insisted it stay, since the enhancement hardly compensated forthe rise in the cost of living during the war. The British collector asked Mahatma Gandhito work out a compromise. Ambalal Sarabai, one of the leading mill owners of the town,was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi persuaded the mill owners andworkers to agree to arbitration by a Tribunal. But the mill owners taking advantage of astray strike withdraw from the agreement. They offered 20 per cent bonus and threatenedto dismiss those who did not accept it.

The breach of agreement was treated by Mahatma Gandhi as a serious affair and headvised the workers to go on a strike. He further suggested that they would be justified indemanding 30 per cent increase in the wages. The strike began and Mahatma Gandhiaddressed the workers every day. He brought out a daily news bulletin and insisted thatno violence used against employers and blacklegs. After some time workers began toexhibit signs of weariness. In this situation Mahatma Gandhi decided to go on a fast torally the workers and strengthen their resolve to continue the strike. Finally a compromisewas reached. The strike was withdrawn and mill owners agreed to give thirty five percentincreases in wages.

By this time Mahatma Gandhi learnt that the peasants of Kheda district were inextreme distress due to the failure of crops, and that their appeals for the remission ofland revenue were being ignored by the government. Enquiries by members of theservants of India society, Vithal bhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi confirmed the validityof the peasant case.

The Gujarat Sabha, of which Mahatma Gandhi was the president, played a leading rolein the agitation. Appeals and petitions had a failed and Mahatma Gandhi advised to withhold revenues and asked the peasant to fight unto death against a spirit of vindictiveness



and tyranny and show that it is impossible to govern people without this consent.Vallabhai patel a young lawyer and other young men joined Gandhi in touring the villageand inspiring peasant. The cultivations were asked to take a solemn pledge that theywould not pay in the interest of the poor ryots. The Government had issued secretinstruction that revenue should be recovered only from those peasant who could pay, Apublic declaration of this decision would have meant a blow to government prestige. Inthese circumstances the movement was withdrawn.

Rowlett Act (1919).

During his 1917-18 visit to India Montague, secretary of state for India, felt that thegovernment of India Act was inadequate to cope with the tense political atmosphere. In1919 matters seemed to be drawing to a head. The publication of the Rowlett bill set thestage for widespread agitation against the government. The Rowlett bill introduced in thecentral legislature on February 6, 1919 armed the executive with unlimited power tosuppress political violence. After the war Indians were expecting generous treatmentfrom Britain. It definitely aroused violent protest from all parts of the country. The billwas opposed by all elected non official members of the legislature including S.N.Banerjiand Tej Bahadursapru. Mahatma Gandhi decided to oppose the Rowlett bill which hedescribed as symptoms of a deep rooted disease. The remedy proposed was sathyagraha.

Launching Satyagraha.

Mahatma Gandhi had organized a Satyagraha committee in February 1919 againstRowlett Bill. The committee members took a pledge to refuse to obey these laws. But inthese struggles they were to follow truth and refrain from violence to life, person andproperty. Early in 1919 the Government of India failed to recognize the strength ofGandhi, the giant of Indian politics. The viceroy and his advisors were convinced that theBill was necessary in the public interest. The Bill was enacted on 19 March 1919 with thesupport of the official majority.

Mahatma Gandhi launched the movement with a day of hartal i.e suspend the normalbusiness and observe that day as one of prayer and fasting. March 30, 1919 was the datefixed but it was changed to April 6. Gandhi appeals for hartal met with wonderfulresponse all over the country. While inaugurating the Satyagraha agitation, Gandhiwarned that the fight against Rowlett bill was probably the most momentous in thehistory of India. The people were inspired very much. On March 20, 1919 the police fireda procession of Hindus and Muslims in Delhi.The next day swami shraddhanand, theArya Samaj leader led the procession defying police order. Owing to a misunderstandingDelhi observed hartal on 30th March. On 6 April the whole of India from one end to theothers observed a complete hartal. Gandhi was arrested on 9April but was set free. The



news of the arrest provoked serious disturbances on Bombay, Ahmadabad and elsewhere.Gandhi decided to suspend non- violent civil disobedience, as he felt that the people werenot yet fit for the movement The Rowlett Satyagraha as a political campaign was a failureas it did not attain its object, the repeal of the Rowlett Act. But it projected Gandhi as anall India leader of immense potential and mahatma’s Indian Experiment had begun.

Jillian walla Bagh Massacre. (April 13, 1919).

In the meantime events were moving fast in Punjab. The Lieutenant Governor SirMichael O Dwyer had already become notorious for his repressive measure. Within aweek of the hartal of 6 April, a considerable part of Punjab was convulsed with agitation.Mahatma Gandi was arrested. On 10 April DR. Satyapal and Dr.Kitchalew, two popularleaders of Punjab, were deported from Amritsar. This created tension, the citizens ofAmritsar closed their shops and a crowd marched in a procession towards the residenceof the deputy commissioner. All though the crowed was totally unarmed, it was stoppedby the police and fired upon. There upon the people committed act of violence by way ofvengeance. Some Europeans were killed by them.

On 11 April Brigadier General Dyer took command of the troop in Amristar. It had alasting impact on succeeding generation. People were arrested indiscriminately. On 12April public meetings were banned. But the notice banning meeting was not widelyannounced. On 13 April afternoon a public meeting was held in Jallianwalla Bagh inAmritsar, Government took no steps to prevent the meeting. The meeting ground on allsides by high walls, had one narrow entrance. General Dyer marched to the spot with hisTroops and machine guns. Without warning Dyer ordered firing on all unarmed crowd.The firing lasted for ten minutes until the ammunition was exhausted. A virtual massacrethousands of people were killed and wounded. Martial law was proclaimed in AmritsarLahore, and several districts of Punjab.The Punjab Tragedy had a lasting impact onsucceeding generation. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood as a measure ofprotest. Gandhi returned the kaisar-1- Hindu medal given during the Boer War.Jawaharlal Nehru wrote, “It was a massacre or butchery.

Non- Co-operation Movement (1920-1922)

The Non co-operation Movement was started with the dual object of redressing thePunjab and Khilafal wrongs. There was intense activity, unprecedented co-operationbetween Hindus and Muslims and joint political action against British. A special sessionof the all India Congress committee was held from 4th to 6th September under thepresident ship of Lajpat Rai at Calcutta. It was attended by a large number of Muslimdelegates. The resolution of Non cooperation was moved by Mahatma Gandhi andseconded Dr. Kitchelu.lt was supported by Motilal Nehru and Ali Brothers. Theopposition was led by C.R.Das, B.C.Pal and Pandit Malavika, the resolution was finally



passed. It tentatively accepted the programme of Boycott of legislative council but leftthe final decision to the regular session. Immediately after the special session was over,Gandhi undertook an extensive Tour of the whole country with a view to popularizing theprogramme and generating enthusiasm among the people. This resolution came up fordiscussion and ratification at the regular annual session of the congress held in December1920 at Nagpur. C.R.Das himself moved the resolution for non co-operation and LajpatRai seconded it. The Nagpur session was a personal triumph of Gandhi, The resolutioncalled upon the people (1) to surrender all titles, honorary office and resignation fromnominated seats in the local bodies. (2) Refusal to attend government durbars and otherofficial and semi official function.(3) Gradual withdrawal of students from schools andcolleges owned, aided or controlled by government and in place of such schools andcollege, the establishment of national schools and colleges.(4} Gradual Boycott of Britishcourts by lawyers and Boycott of foreign goods.

For the Sake of clarity the programme may be divided into two parts- One negativeand the other constructive. It consists of the boycott of the legislative council, boycott oflaw courts, boycott of educational institutions, the surrender of titles and. honoraryoffices, and the boycott of foreign goods. The positive and constructive part wasconsisted of the adoption of Swadeshi, encouragement of hand spinning and handweaving, removal of untouchability and the promotion of Hindu Muslim unity.

The adoption of non co-operation ushered in a new era in the India’s struggle forindependence and marked a turning point in the history of the Indian National Congress.The attainment of Swaraj by all legitimate and peaceful means was now regarded as thefundamental objects of the Congress. Gandhi was now regarded as the great force of thenation. A wave of unprecedented enthusiasm swept the land. Gandhi toured differentparts of India. An unusual frenzy of burning of foreign cloths undertook the country.Nearly 2/3 of the voter’s abstained from the election to the councils held in November1920. A large number of students abstained from attending schools and colleges. MotilalNehru, Rajendra Prasad, C.R. Das, Valla Bai Pattel and C.Rajagopalachari gave up thislucrative career. Subhash Chandra Boss, who passed in I.C.S examination, resigned hispost. Jails lost its terror and people courted arrest voluntarily. Non co-operationMovement spread to rural areas. Peasants revolted in many places.

In September 1921 Ali brothers were arrested. Soon afterwards forty five Indianleaders headed by Gandhi issued a manifesto calling upon every Indian civilian andsoldiers to give up their jobs. This was an open challenge but the government hesitated totake action owing to the impending visit of the Prince of Wales in November 1921. Whenthe prince landed in Bombay on 17 November people grew violent and attacked thepolice. In the riots that followed 53 died and 400 were wounded. The government now



began to take drastic action. Nearly 30,000 people were arrested, including MotilalalNehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lajpat Rai and C.R.Das.

At the Ahmadabad session of the Indian National Congress held in December 1921.The Congress expressed its determination to continue the non violent non co-operationmovement and organize civil disobedience among the masses. Gandhi was appointed asthe sole executive authority of the Congress to lead the movement. The outbreak ofviolence had cautioned Gandhi. He wanted to hasten slowly with the mass disobedience.He therefore wanted to experiment with it in Bardoli in Surat district. He gave a clearwarning that if violence broke out in any form, the movement would lose its character.Gandhi sent an ultimatum to the viceroy on February 1, 1922. He demanded among otherthings, the release of political prisoners, and the removal of all restriction on the press. Ifthese demands were not conceded within seven days, he threatened to start civildisobedience in Bardoli.

Before the movement was launched; mob violence at Chauri chaura in Gorakhpurdistrict of U.P took place on February 1922. Twenty Two police men were killedincluding the young sub inspector of police. This was followed by mob violence atBareilly. Mahatma Gandhi viewed the tragedy as a red signal and suspended themovement on 12 February 1922. A few days later the Congress working committee metat Delhi endorsed the decision.

What led Mahatma Gandhi to suspend the movement indefinitely was the realizationthat there was a strong undercurrent of violence in the country. The incident of ChauriChaura was just like a straw indicating the direction in which the wind was blowing, itwas symptomatic of the general temper of mass mind which was steeped in violence andhad not yet imbibed to any appreciable extent the spirit of non violence. Gandhi showed atrue and deeper insight into the meaning of the Chauri Chaura than those who regarded asan isolated event. Gandhi knew that a section of khilafat conference wanted to serape theclause imposing non violence on them. He realized as Subhash Chandra Bose andJawaharlal Nehru did not seem to realize, that non co-operation movement was losing itsnon violent character. At the appropriate movement he applied the brake and cried a halt.Then he explained the whole background against which he took the decision.

The first phase of the non Co-operation movement ended with Gandhi’s carrying halt.Though the movement failed to achieve Swaraj it generated a feeling of freedom amongthe masses. Even Lajpat Rai who did not fully agree with Gandhi’s political ideasobserved that the passive resistance in India was an achievement unique on our history. Itraised political consciousness of the country by one big leap. For the first time theCongress freed from the dominant middle class turned to the masses as a sheet anchor oftheir programme. The movement also contributed to an awakening of the masses to the



economic problems. Even the common villagers began to feel that Swaraj was thesovereign remedy for this ill. There was also an increasing awareness of social evils likeuntouchability and drinking and the importance of Khadi. A supreme self confidenceseized the people. Gandhi became aware of the strength of the movement.

The Khilafat Movement.

While the whole of India was outraged at Jallianwalla Bagh tragedy, the Muslimcommunity was seething with discontent against the British policy towards the Sultan ofturkey, who was looked as the Khalifa of Islam. Turkey had fought the war on the side ofGermany against the Allies. The British Prime Minister Lloyd George had assured theIndian Muslims that Turkey would be treated fairly after the war. In 1918 Turkey wasforced to sign the armistice terms and the Sultan was deprived of all real authority andwas placed under the control of High Commission. The Indian Muslims got disillusionedat the treatment meted out to the Khalifa.

Like a practical politician, Gandhi perceived in the emerging situation as opportunityto cement the bond of Hindu Muslim unity. He therefore urged the Hindu’s to give fullsupport to the movement which the Muslims were planning to launch and win thesympathy of Muslims for the national movement. Ali brothers, (Muhammad Ali andShoukath Ali) and Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad organized a Khilafath movement, for therestoration of the Sultan of Turkey as Khalifa of Islam to his previousstatus.17October1919 was observed, as Khilafat day when Hindus united with theMuslims in fasting and observed hartal on that day. Gandhi was elected president of allIndia Khilafat conference on Nov. 23, 1919. On 24 November the all India Congresscommittee met in Delhi under the chairmanship of Gandhi and resolved to withdraw allcooperation with the government until the promise made to the Sultan was restored. Itwas decided to lead a deputation to the Viceroy. The Viceroys reply was discouraging.

Mahatma Gandhi also issued a manifesto on March 10, 1920. In which he outlined thecourse of action to be adopted by the Khilafat Conference. The manifesto contains thefirst elaborate statement of Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of non violent non co-operation,which became a prominent feature of India’s struggle for independence. It is interestingto note the philosophy and programme of non co-operation in India was first unfoldedbefore the Khilafat conference. In May 1920 the terms of the peace treaty with Turkeywas published. Under its terms, the Sultan was deprived of all his territories in Europeand Asia. Turkey lost the whole of Trace to Greece. In this hour of despair for theMuslims, Gandhi advised them to begin a non cooperation movement. This proposal wasreadily accepted by the Khilafat committee.

The Central Khilafat committee organized an all India hartal on 1 August l920 underthe guidance of Gandhi. The congress and the Khilafat committee jointly proclaimed the



policy of civil disobedience. The result was the outbreak of widespread violence whichcould not be restrained by the concept of non violence. In 192I an open rebellion tookplace in Malabar. Gandhi himself set the example by returning the medals given to himby the government in recognition of his war service. At a later date Mohammed AH andShoukath AH were arrested and sentenced to a Two years term for asking the Muslims toleave the army and the police.

Civil Disobedience Movement.

Since the country was drifting towards violent revolution, Gandhi decided to give it apeaceful direction. In mid February 1930 the congress working committee met atsabarmati gave Gandhi full power to begin the civil disobedience movement at a time andplace of his choice. On his part this time Gandhi gave an assurance to that the movementwould not be stopped because of sporadic act of violence. He noted that at that time therewas great resentment and unrest in the country against the salt tax passed. Undoubtedlysalt is the cheapest and commonest article of food. The production of salt was amonopoly of government. Gandhi learned from experience that to rouse the masses it wasnecessary to use symbols that they could easily, recognize. He realized they politicalpotency of common salt and turn it into a gun powder of the freedom struggle. In a strokeof genius, he linked the essential need of every Indian to the longer goal of freedom forevery Indian. He appealed to the viceroy with his 11 point programme to ease thesituation, failing which he would start his disobedience movement. Lord Irwin ignoredthe 11 programme and there was now only one way out- civil disobedience.

Dandi March.

On 11th March, 1930 at Sabarmati Ashram, Gandhi decided to inaugurate thecampaign by manufacturing salt at Dandi. a small village on the Gujarat sea coast.Gandhi said on that historic occasion, “our cause is strong our means the purest and Godis with us. There is no defeat for Satyagrahi till they give up the truth. I pray for the battlewhich begins tomorrow”. On 12, March 1930, Gandhi and his 78 companions whichincluded Sarojini Naidu begun the 240 miles March from Ahmadabad to Dandi. Onreaching at Dandi, he would break the salt law by collecting salt from the beach.

Mahatma Gandhi reached Dandi on 5th April and began civil disobedience on the 6th

April by picking up salt lying on the beach. This was the signal for starting it on anationwide scale. Illegal manufacture of salt was begun almost though out the country.The Dandi March was historic. Subash Chandra Bose compared it Napoleon’s march onParis on his return from Elba. The press gave the widest publicity to this epic march, andsalt became the symbol of revolt. But on the other hand the Anglo Indian press equallyridiculed the idea of salt Satyagraha saying that Gandhi would go on boiling water till



Dominion status was attained. Brails ford, an English Journalist described it akindergarten stage of revolution. He scoffed at the notion that the king empire can beunseated by boiling sea water in a kettle.

Soon after Gandhi urged the people to celebrate April 6 to 13 as the national week andto manufacture salt, picket liquor shops, foreign cloth shops, and burn foreign cloths andto leave colleges and government service. A wave of enthusiasm swept the country. Thecivil disobedience movement spread like fire. Huge public meetings took place in bigcities. Hundreds left government jobs, many of the legislatures resigned liquor shopswere boycotted, peasants refused to pay revenue. The boycott of foreign cloth wassuccessful beyond calculation. It proved a blessing in disguise to domestic cloth millowners. By June 1930 the country appeared to in be full revolt. The British governmentlaunched policy of repression. Police firing lathi charge and arrest became the order ofthe day. Thousand’s were imprisoned. Even women were not spared. The press was alsoput under restriction. On 5, May 1930, Gandhi was arrested. There were Hartals, massdemonstration, public meeting and procession. The machinery of repression was in fullswing. Jails were filled. More than 60,000 people courted arrest. The governmentresorted to emergency ordinance. There congress was declared unlawful. The strugglecontinued vigorously for six months more after the arrest of Gandhi. The people revealedremarkable power of organization initiative and resourcefulness. One of the mostremarkable phenomenon was the way in which Indian women helped the movement bythe organizing the picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops.

The Round Table Conference.

On 12, May 1930 Lord Irwin announced November 12, 1930 as the date of the RoundTable Conference. On 27 May 1930 the Simon commission Report was published. Butthe political climate of the country was still tense. An attempt was made to persuade thecongress to suspend the movement and attend the proposed Round Table Conference.But it failed. The demand of the congress regarding the national government was notaccepted by the government. The plan for the Round Table Conference however wentahead even without the congress. The Round Table Conference was held on 12November 1930 at London, under the chairmanship of the prime minister Ramsay MacDonald.The conference boycotted by the congress, continued till January 19, 1931. Theconference was attended by statesmen represented British political parties, Indian LaborFederation, Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha, Depressed classer and Indian states. Theconference proved abortive. B.R. Ambedkar demanded that the depressed classes betreated as a separate community. The Muslim delegation also demanded adequatesafeguards for the Muslim of India.

Gandhi - Irwin pact.

The British government was anxious to secure the cooperation of Gandhi and othercongress leaders for the success of the Round Table Conference. They were fully aware



that no constitutional reform could materialize unless the mainstream leadership assentedto it. Accordingly Lord Irwin lifted the ban on the congress and released Gandhi andmembers of the congress working committee.Tej Bahadur Sapru, Dr. M.R. Jeyakar, andSri. Srinivas sastri saw Gandhi and were able to convince him that the Labor governmentwas earnest and was willing to concede the right of self determination in India. A meetingbetween Irwin and Gandhi was arranged. After a long negotiation of 15 days anagreement was reached on 5 March 1931 known as Gandhi Irwin pact. Gandhi agreed tosuspend the civil disobedience movement and to participate in the next Round TableConference. While the government with draw all repressive measures and released allpolitical prisoners except those convicted of violent crime. The pact was ratified by theKarachi congress (March 30, 1931) the congress authorized Gandhi to represent thecongress at the second Round Table Conference. The curtain was thus drawn on the firstphase of the civil disobedience movement (1930-31), The pact had a mixed reception.Majority of the people welcomed it as a great victory for the congress but the leftistcondemned it as surrender to the government. According to Subash Chandra Bose it wasgreat disappointment to the politically minded section of the people and the youthorganization of the country.Jawa harlal Nehru was shocked by the terms of one of itsclause, the mention of reservation or safeguard in regard to matters like defense, externalaffairs and the position of minorities distressed him. The people of Bengal should noenthusiasm, for it did not secure the release of political prisoners convicted for violentactivities. In spite of the best efforts Mahatma Gandhi could not secure the commutationof the death sentence on Bhagat Singh and his two comrades. Gandhi described the pactas victory for both sides. It was a victory for the common desire of both Gandhi and Irwinto arrive at a settlement.

The Second Round Table Conference.

The second Round table conference met in London in September 1931 under the darkshadow of the execution of Bhagat Singh and the communal riots at Kanpur. Gandhiattended the conference as the sole representative of the congress. Sarojini Naidu wasanother participant representing Indian women hood. 107 delegates representing the threepolitical parties, British Indian political parties and Indian states attended the conference.The main issues for discussion were the future constitutional structure for India andrepresentation of minorities. Gandhi demanded that responsible government must beestablished immediately both at centre and the provinces. No agreement could be arrivedat on the question of the structure of Indian political system among the congress theMuslim League and the Indian princes. On the question of representation of minoritiesalso there was rivalry among the delegates. Sadly enough following the Muslim league,the depressed classes also demanded for separate representation. B.R. Ambedkardemanded separate constituencies and proper protection for the untouchables. Gandhi,



however vehemently opposed both separate electorate and special safe guards forminorities. The scales were terribly loaded against the congress at the conference. Toquote Nehru, “In that crowded hall Gandhi was a very lonely figure; Subash ChandraBose was the opinion that Mahatma Gandhi should have to go to London with a fullcontingent of notable representatives to counter the mischievous move of the handpicked.

The 2nd Round table conference did not make any further progress beyond working outsome details of plan already decided op on the conference ended on December 11, 1931Gandhi said in distress that while he had asked for bread, he was given a stone. Threedays later he left London for India “A saddened grieved and intrigued man”.

Second phase of the civil disobedience movement:

Mahatma Gandhi returned to India on December 28, 1931. By that time he wasconfronted with a tense political situation. The Gandhi Irwin pact was reduced toshambles. The new government in Britain resorted to measures of repression, andrepeated attempts were made to cow down the spirit of Indian Nationalists. Thegovernment ordinances put the machinery of repression full swing. Hence Gandhi wascompelled to resume the civil disobedience movement in 1932. The government declaredcongress as unlawful. The police arrested many congress leaders including Nehru,Purushotham Das Tanton Abdul Ghaffar khan and his brother Dr. Khan sahib and othernationalist leaders were imprisoned. Within a week almost all leaders were in prison,Gandhi was also arrested. The country was again astir, particularly after the arrest ofMahatma Gandhi. The Indian people responded with anger. Even though the congressentered the battle rather unprepared, popular response was massive. In the first fourmonths, over 80.000 Sathyagrahis, most of them urban and rural poor, were jailed. Whilelakhs took to the picketing of shops selling liquor and foreign clothes. Illegal gathering,non violent demonstration, celebration of various national days and other forms ofdefiance of the ordinance were the rule of the day.

The government took stern measures to crush the movement. The agitation becameintensive throughout India it was in this context the people in Ankola and Sidapur Taluksof Bombay presidency resumed to no tax campaign in vigorous manner. The freedom ofthe press to report or comment on the movement or even print pictures of national leadersand Sathyagrahies was banned. Within the first six months of 1932 action was takenagainst 109 journalists and 98 printing presses.

The people fought back. But Gandhi and other leaders had no time to build up thetempo of the movement and it could not be sustained for long. The movement waseffectively crushed within a few months. However the movement continued to linger tillearly 1934 when the inevitable decision to withdraw it was taken by Gandhi.



The civil disobedience movement marked a critically important stage of the progressof the anti imperialist struggle; it had certain marked features which distinguished it fromnon co-operation movement. This time it was the government which took the initiativeand acted with great swiftness and was determined to crush the movement. Therepression was much more brutal and severe than before. A vast variety of social groupshad been politicized. On the side of Indian nationalism the support had the movement hadgeared from the poor and the illiterate merchant class both in form and in the country,was remarkable for the Indian women the movement was the most liberating experienceand can truly be said to have marked their entry in to the public place. The movementHowever, apparently failed become it come to stop without achieving its objectives.Nevertheless the spirit of revolt look firm root in the heart of the people and fire ofpatriotism remained smoldering.

Communal Award (August 1932): the Poona pact (September 1932).

While the disobedience movement was going on the British prime minister announcedon August 17, 1932 his decision regarding the communal question known as thecommunal Award imposing a scheme of representation. In this award separate electoratewere allowed not only to Muslims but extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, AngloIndians and Europeans. The Europeans were given special weight age but the most novelfeature of the award was the creation of the special constituencies in which the depressedclasses were entitled to vote. In fact the depressed classed were given two votes- one in ageneral constituency and the other in a special one. The award sought to create divisionamong the Hindu’s log creating a separate electorate for untouchable or depressed class.Mahatma Gandhi began a fast unto death on the untouchables separate electorate issue onSeptember 20, 1932. But will a view to save his life the Hindu leaders met in Poona andincluded and agreement on 25 September 1932 known as Poona pact. The pactrecommended joined electorate for the depressed classed along with the Hindus.Dr.Amedkar also believes though reluctantly, a signatory of this pact the pact reserved atotal of 148 seats for the depressed classes in the provincial legislatives. The Britishgovernment also accepted the agreement and modified the award accordingly. Gandhibroke his fast on September 26.

Mahatma Gandhi’s fast gave a fillip to the movement for the eradication ofuntouchability it lad, however, a highly adverse effect on the civil disobediencemovement. After the successful termination of the fast Gandhi began to direct thecampaign against untouchability from behind the prison bars. This diverted the attentionof the people and the workers away from civil disobedience movement.

Individual Civil Disobedience.

After the rejection of the August 8th offer, the gulf between the Indian NationalCongress and government widened. More over the congress looked with suspicion the



undue concession of the government for minorities. At its Lahore session held in March1940, the Muslim League enunciated the theory that the Muslims were not a minoritycommunity in India, but a Separate Nation and demanded a home land or state of theirown. The demand for Pakistan was thus made. The congress, however, could not remaina passive spectator of the deepening crisis there was no course open to it but to resort tocivil disobedience and it authorized Gandhi to lead the movement. However, in view ofthe critical war situation Gandhi did not like to do anything which would lead to disorder.He wanted the movement to be symbolic in character, and just register India’s moralprotest against ‘its attitude and draw the attention of the world at large to the right of theIndian people to freedom and their determination to win it. In November 1940 theindividual Satyagraha was started as a symbolic protest against the attitude of thegovernment. The first Satyagrahi selected by Gandhi was Vinoba Bhave. Introducing himto the public Mahatma Gandhi wrote “Vinobha is next to me the best exponent andembodiment of nonviolence”. He was arrested and seen tensed to three monthsimprisonment. Jawaharlal Nehru was chosen as satyagrahi no.2. But before he could offerSatyagraha, he was arrested for a speech and sentenced to a term of four years. It isestimated that about 25,000 persons were sent to the jail, including top ranking leaders.

This novel form of Satyagraha was invented by Gandhi to give the minimum possibleoffence to authorities and get to keep the torch of nationalism burning. While theindividual Satyagraha was going on, the Executive Council was expanded and eight outof thirteen were Indian’s in it and also instituted the war advisory council in terms ofAugust declaration. The key department likes. Home, Finance and Foreign affairshowever remained with the British member, while unimportant departments were giventhe Indian members. The civil Disobedience of individual continued during 1940-41.Many leaders were arrested Congress was told that in the absence of an agreement nopower could be transferred. To counter The Congress demands the Muslim Leaguedemand4ed partition before independence, as demand described as “divorce beforemarriage” by aged.

By December the government decided to release congressmen convicted in connectionwith the civil disobedience movement. This jail delivery had no effect on MahatmaGandhi. He did not suspend the movement. C. Rajagopalachari, however forward thesuspension of the movement as political strategy. Mahatma Gandhi wanted the A.I.C.C todecide whether or not to suspend the movement. The A.I.C.C met to consider thesituation. By this time British troops failed to stop the Japanese advance in Singapore,Malaya and Burma. This failure of the British convinced Indians that they must not.depend upon the government for the defense of the country. The congress thereforesuspended the movement.

Quit India Movement Mahatma Gandhi again became active in the political arena afterthe outburst of World War II in 1939. On August 8, 1942 Gandhi gave the call for QuitIndia Movement. Soon after the arrest of Gandhi, disorders broke out immediately



throughout the country and many violent demonstrations took place. Quit India becamethe most powerful movement in the freedom struggle. Thousands of freedom fighterswere killed or injured by police gunfire, and hundreds of thousands were arrested. Hecalled on all Congressmen and Indians to maintain discipline via non violence and Do orDie in order to achieve ultimate freedom.

On 9th of August, 1942, Mahatma Gandhi and the entire Congress Working Committeewere arrested in Mumbai. In view of his deteriorating health, he was released from thejail in May 1944 because the British did not want him to die in prison and enrage thenation. The cruel restraint of the Quit India movement brought order to India by the endof 1943 although the movement had modest success in its aim. After the British gaveclear signs of transferring power to the Indians, Gandhi called off the fight and all theprisoners were released.

Partition and Indian Independence.

In 1946, upon persuasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi reluctantlyaccepted the proposal of partition and independence offered by the British cabinet, inorder to evade a civil war. After independence, Gandhi`s focus shifted to peace andcommunal harmony. He fasted for abolition of communal violence and demanded thatthe Partition Council compensated Pakistan. His demands were fulfilled and he broke hisfast.

Mahatma Gandhi was, thus, able to bring the whole nation under one umbrella to fightthe British. Gandhi developed and improved his techniques gradually to assure that hisefforts made significant impact.

Western encroachments in China

A Large Land with a Great Culture, China is a large mass of land in the east andsoutheast of Asia. Its area is about 3,760,000 square miles. It is bounded in the east bythe largest ocean, the Pacific, and in the south by the highest mountains, the Himalayas.In the West also the mountain ranges are almost impenetrable. In the north there areextensive deserts. The vast Chinese territory stretching out to the east of the Desertof Gobi is watered and enriched by the two main rivers, the 2.600 mile long Hwang-hoand the 1.700 mile long Yang Tse-Kiang.The coast line over 2.000 miles in length isfreely indented. The Chinese culture is certainly one of the oldest in the worldexisting side by side with ancient cultures like the Egyptian, the Indus Valley and theMesopotamian.

Great Contributions.

The Chinese made very valuable contributions to the history of mankind. AncientChinese gave to the world paper, printing, tea, Porcelain, gun-powder, mariner's compass



and several other useful things. Ancient Chinese learning and philosophy were trulyvast and deep.

Great Setback in Modern Times.

This great land suffered a serious setback in modern times owing to various factors. Itdecayed rapidly and became one of the most backward countries in the world,exploited most cruelly and pitilessly by almost nil the highly civilized Westernnations.

Isolation of China. China, which was called Celestial Empire, was almost isolated tillthe 19th century. The Chinese believed that their country alone was civilized, and allother countries were barbarian. The Western countries had become very powerful, andscientifically and technologically they were far ahead of China. But in her totalignorance, arrogance and contempt for other countries, China tried to live in a splendidisolation. Overtures made by Western countries to have trade and other contacts withChina were spurned with contempt. China wrongly thought that she could afford toremain self-sufficient, stagnant and completely isolated, when the rest of the world wasmoving fast in all fields.

Coming of Europeans.

Even though China stoutly opposed the entry of Europeans, she could not succeed inkeeping out Europeans indefinitely. Sooner or later they were bound to enter her maingate, with violence, if need be. The earliest to come to China were the Portuguese, whowere able to settle in 1557 at Macao on the estuary of the River Canton. With theleasehold of Macao as their base, the Portuguese were able to command almost amonopoly of the trade with China in the 16th and 17th centuries. Other Europeans like theSpaniards and the Dutch could make very little progress in China. The British, who madea show of force by their expedition in 1635, were able to steal a march over thePortuguese, and gradually they could secure the lion's share of the Far Eastern trade inthe eighteenth century. Canton was the port on the southern coast through whichEuropeans established their commercial contacts with China. Russia (China's neighbor)was able to sign in 1689 the Treaty of Nertchinsk with China to secure tradingconcessions. But China did not allow Russia to expand her trade till the end of the 18thcentury.

Edicts to Regulate Trade.

The European merchants were detested and kept at arm's length by the ChineseGovernment. The Chinese Emperors regulated trade with Europeans through edictsissued from time to time. Europeans could only trade with the "Co-Hong", a group ofChinese traders officially recognized by the Chinese Government. Emperor Chin Lungissued an edict in 1685 giving permission to foreigners to trade at all the coastal ports.



The Emperor wanted to ensure that the "barbarians" were kept as far as possible from thecapital Peking, and, therefore, by an edict of 1757 the port of Canton was declared as theonly open port. In Canton also the movements of European traders were strictlyregulated. They were lo live on.ly in the restricted small area of "Factories" for a part ofthe year and live at Macao for the remaining part. The European merchants (who weretreated with scant respect like the Chinese merchants who were given the third rank in,society next to the scholars, farmers and artisans) bore all the humiliation patiently,because even after paying heavy customs duties to the arrogant Chinese officials, theirprofits were very high.

Trade Balance in China's Favour: For a long time, trade balance was in favour of

China. The Chinese taking pride in their isolation and, self-sufficiency openly said that

China had everything in plenty and did not require the factory goods of Western

"barbarians". "China sold much to the Europeans, but bought comparatively little from

them. China had to be paid in specie or bullion. The favourable balance of trade

continued till the Chinese opium addicts began to import large quantities of opium. It was

opium that disturbed the balance of trade.

Rapid Expansion of British Trade with China:

The British merchants of the East India Company (which was established in 1600)were able to expand their trade profits with China by leaps and bounds, as they were ableto command advantages as great empire builders in India. The British made it impossiblefor the French, their main rivals, to build an empire in India. The British were able toconquer the whole of India by the middle of the 19th century. The Indian empire gavetremendous financial and military strength to the British East India Company, which wasable to secure the first and foremost place among the European traders in China. TheBritish merchants, who were conscious of their power, began to behave arrogantly anddictate terms to the Chinese Government. In China the balance of trade was unfavourableto the British till they began their illegal trade in opium on a very large scale. After theIndustrial Revolution (1750-1850) broke out in England, the British East India Companywanted to sell machine-made goods to China, but the Chinese government was very coldto the British move to expand her trade. When the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815,England made another attempt to increase her trade with China, but here again she wasnot successful. The British Government failed to establish relations with China on thebasis of equality, as the Chinese Emperor claimed superiority to all the rulers in theworld.



Opium Wars. The Portuguese introduced Indian opium into China in the first part ofthe 17th century. The drug was used strictly for medicinal purposes in the beginning. Butgradually it was misused by the millions of Chinese addicts for smoking. The Britishwanted to take advantage of the Chinese vice and after 1770 took up the highly lucrativetraffic the drug. With the collusion of the corrupt and treasonous local officials, theBritish were able to make fabulous profits by smuggling huge quantities of the drug. Thehealth of the drug addicts was shattered and the wealth of China was drained. TheImperial Commissioner appointed in 1838 was given full power to destroy the illegaltrade in opium. The British merchants were compelled to surrender very large stocks ofopium for being burnt.

This led to the First Opium War (1839-42) between the British and the Chinese. TheChinese were defeated and compelled to sign the most humiliating terms of the Treaty ofNanking on August 29. 1842. During 1856-60 the Second Opium War was fought. Thistime again the Chinese were defeated and cornered to sign unequal and awfullyhumiliating set of treaties—the treaties of Tientsin In 1860. China had to legalize underthese treaties the opium trade and throw open 11 additional ports to foreign trade andsurrender to the bullying terms not only of Britain, but also of France and Russia. Chinalost her sovereignty, and became the virtual vassal of (he victorious imperialist powers.

Tai-Ping Rebellion.

The Manchu government (1644-1912) was particularly unpopular in the Kiangsi,Kwangtung and Hunan provinces of South China, where the people suffered by theravages of Hoods and famine. The inefficiency, corruption and nigh handedness of localofficials compounded the difficulties of the people. In these areas the discontented peoplewere eager to follow any leader who could overthrow the Manchu government HungHsiu-chuan organized a revolutionary group known as the Association of WorshippingGods. As the group was engaged in subversive activities, it was banned by the Manchuregime. This provoked Hung to launch a holy war against the government. In 1850members of the group clashed with soldiers in a petty town in the Kwangsi Province. Theclash ultimately led to what came to be called the Tai Ping Rebellion. Hung, who thoughtthat God had chosen him to destroy all the evil on the earth proclaimed himself as theHeavenly King, whose aim was to establish a new dynasty known as Tai Ping (PerfectPeace). The rebellion spread far and wide within three years, and a large number offollowers joined it in the provinces of Hunan, Hupei and Kiangsi The rebel revolutionaryarmy, which reached the strength of 10 lakhs was able to capture Nanking in 1853. Hung,assuming the name of Tien Wang (Messiah king) at his capital Nanking appointedseveral vassal kings to govern the various parts of China.

The Manchu army was defeated in the south, and the rebels drunk with success movedto the north. But their efforts to establish their rule in the north by capturing Peking were



abortive, as they were pushed to the south. Hung was in power for 11 years in SouthChina. During this period, he introduced revolutionary social, economic andadministrative reforms. Though the reforms were wholesome, for want of publiccooperation they failed.

Though the Western imperialists in China were wavering as regards their relations withrebels, ultimately they decided to support the Manchu Government against the rebels.The foreigners wanted a weak government to serve their nefarious-ends. With the help ofthe foreigners, the Manchu Kings could finally crush the Tai- Ping Rebellion. In 1863Soochow a great stronghold of the rebels, was captured by the Manchus. In 1864 with thesuicide by the Heavenly King, the rebellion collapsed.

Manchu Fully Exposed.

The spectacular success of the Tai- Ping Rebellion and the hold of the rebels overSouth China for as long a period as 11 years showed how weak and rot ten the ManchuDynasty had become. The rebellion, which was neither anti-foreign nor anti-Christian,was anti-Manchu. It left permanent imprints on China and rocked the ManchuGovernment, which was exposed with all its vulnerability. For more than a decade therewere conditions of civil war, and even long after the suppression of the rebellion, the longtrail of anarchy and confusion could not be wiped out. The foreign imperialists werewatching the state of affairs with undisguised glee. The Manchus, who were unable tocollect taxes during the civil war, were facing bankruptcy, as they were unable to meettheir expenditure or to make payments to foreigners according to the humiliating treatiesimposed upon them. It seemed the Tai- Ping Rebellion almost sounded the death knell ofthe Manchu Monarchy. The reckoning time came in 1911-12, when China became arepublic.

For thirty years (1864-94) after the suppression of the Tai- Ping Rebellion it seemedthere was over all peace and order. But China could not have a permanent cure, as theimperial court had become a hot bed of intrigues. Foreigners wanted to take undueadvantage of these machinations and strike at an opportune moment.

China Bullied by Western Imperialist Powers.

Foreigners like the British, the French, the Russians, the Germans, the Belgians, theDutch and the Japanese penetrated into modern China and carved out exclusive spheresof influence for themselves. These imperialists broke the splendid isolation of China,behaved as they pleased making a mockery of Chinese sovereignty. Japan had resistedthe entry of foreigners in the beginning, but later wisely changed her attitude andindustrialized herself with the help and co-operation 'of European scientists, engineersand technologists. Japan, as a small imperialist power, made common cause with the bigWestern imperialists in bullying and exploiting China. She also wanted a big slice of theChinese melon.



US Open Door Policy.

No European power could outright annex any part of China, as the USA alsoproceeded to join lands with the European powers to exploit China. The desire of theUSA to exploit China prevented the dismemberment of the country. John Hay, the USSecretary of State, declared that the USA would not allow the violation of the territorialintegrity of China. This was known as Hay's Doctrine or Open poor Policy. John Hayproposed in notes to Britain. France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia that there shouldbe no interference n the Sphere of Influence of one nation by other nations, and heChinese customs in riff and other dues in those areas should be the same for all. Afavorable reply was received from all these countries though the Russian note wasevasive. The Hay proposals conditioned the right of equal trade opportunity for all withthe recognition of Spheres of Influence. Nevertheless there is no doubt that theacceptance of these proposals helped to avert partition of the Chinese Empire byproducing an area of agreement within the conflicting interests of the major powers, andreducing fear of unilateral action by any one of them."

Through the Open Door, the USA also secured a share in China's exploitation. Thesovereignty of the Manchus was a myth. The reality was the ruthless exploitation ofChina by all the foreign imperialists, big and small, to whom China was an open and freemarket for trade. The Chinese melon was in the hands of all the imperialists. The entry ofthe mighty Dollar Imperialism of the USA and of the aggressive Japanese imperialismmade China's condition more pathetic and miserable. No European power went againstthe US Open Door Policy, and China was saved from being annexed by Western Powers.

Wars Forced on China.

Earlier foreign imperialists forced wars, like the Opium Wars, on China for realizingtheir selfish objectives. Japan, who wanted to conquer Korea from China, forced theSino-Japanese War (1894-95) on China. Here again China was defeated, and had tosurrender Korea and Formosa to Japan.

Hundred Days of Reforms.

In 1860 on the death of Emperor Hsian Fang, the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi began towield de facto though not de jure power in the Chinese court. She could exercisedictatorial power by putting on the throne one minor prince after another. When EmperorTung Chi died in 1875, she put the minor Kwan Hsu on the throne. Even after he becamea major in 1898, Tzu Hsi tried to exercise ' real power, which the emperor found to be toogalling. Emperor Kwan Hsu (1875-1908) came under the influence of Kang Yu-wei, thegreat reformist leader, and began to introduce a series of reforms through Edicts in 1898.He opened a new phase of his rule, which came to be called "Hundred Days" of reform.These numerous reforms which covered a wide and comprehensive field could haveushered in a new era in China. Carlton Hayes: “The imperial bureaucracy was to bereorganized along European lines. An imperial university and a system of schools were to



be established for the study of modern European science as well as ancient Chineseclassics. A central cabinet of ministers of the European type was to be instituted andcorresponding changes were to be brought in the high command of the army." The partyof the Dowager Empress, which suffered humiliation owing to these reforms wished totake revenge on the emperor. Yuan Shih-kai, her right hand man, taking advantage of theEmperor's illness, seized power by a coup d'etat in September 1898 and restored thepower of the Dowager Empress. At her instance all the Reform Edicts were annulled, andthe Emperor was pushed into the background. He lived as if in captivity till he died in1908. The "Hundred Days" of reform brought Western influence in China and werethoroughly anti-Manchu. The failure of these reforms clearly showed that it would beimpossible to reform China till the Manchu rulers were swept aside.

The "Hundred Days" of reform were followed by widespread disturbances. Though thereforms were wholesome, and would have done good to China, the soil of China was notprepared for them. Large sections of population were against these sweeping changes.The Empress Dowager and her clique planned to divert the minds of the Chinese from thedefects of the Manchu regime by provoking the people against the foreigners.

Boxer Rebellion, 1900 AD

The defeat of the Chinese armies at the hands of the Japanese, and the division of thecountry into spheres of foreign influence made the youngsters restless, and ultimately arebellion broke out in 1900. It was called me Boxer Rebellion. In Shantung province,where Germany and England had acquired concessions by force, the "Society ofHarmonious Fists" or Boxers launched a campaign against Christian converts and foreignimperialists in 1899. Poor peasants, disbanded soldiers and the discontented members ofthe lower sections of society were the members of the Boxer association. The youngBoxers wished to overthrow the weak and antiquated Manchu Government, but the rulingfamily adroitly redirected the Boxer wrath against the foreign missionaries andmerchants. The Boxers were told that the cause of their poverty and misery was thepresence of foreigners. Accordingly, Christian churches were attacked, missionaries weremurdered, Chinese Christians were hotly,-and unaided and foreign shops in Peking werelooted and destroyed. The situation became pretty grave, as the government openlysupported the Boxers. The Dowager Empress rashly and lucklessly went against allforeigners whose antagonism and wrath she invited. Foreigners sought shelter in theforeign legations, where too their fate was hanging in the balance, ill outside aid arrived.Much bloodshed ensued till a combined armed force of Europeans and the Japanese putdown with severity the Boxer uprising before it spread throughout land. Carlton Hayessays "In the spring of 1900 Boxer outrages occurred in all the major cities and readied aclimax at Peking, where the German minister was killed and the foreign residents wereclosely besieged and threatened with extermination, whereupon an international



military expedition, comprising soldiers or marines of Russia, Great Britain the UnitedStates, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. Hastily assembled at Tientsin, fought its way toPeking and put the Chinese troops to rout and the imperial court to flight." Theforeigners did not dismember China. They thought that instead of completing theprocess of cutting the Chinese melon, it was better to allow the weak and corruptManchus to rule. A humiliating settlement known as the Boxer Protocol, 1901,compelled China to pay heavy indemnities amounting to 333 million dollars, to permitthe stationing of foreign troops for the proper protection of the foreigners and theirlegitimate interests. Western powers were in full control of China at the turn of thecentury, though national consciousness dawned on the Chinese mind.

Maritime customs were put in charge of foreign officials. Chinese officials, who wereimplicated in the rebellion, were executed. Foreign troops were permanently stationedat Peking and all along the road from the capital to the sea. After the imperial courtreturned to Peking in 1902, it »vas awkward to see the Empress Dowager (who was alsocalled Old Buddha) trying to appease and win the friendship of the arrogant foreigners.In order to ensure the foreign imperialists that she was not against them, she introducedWestern methods of administration and education. Davidson and Forster say onpage 33to 01 me New Cambridge Modern History Vol. XJI (Cambridge University,1968): "The Boxer rising had, however, more far-reaching repercussions. Thoughthe powers had acted together in suppressing it, they had done so in an atmosphere ofincreasing mutual suspicion. Throughout the joint action, they had been as muchconcerned with the advancement of their future national interests as with the solution oftheir immediate common problem. Moves by Russia in support of its position inManchuria had, in particular, aroused the fears of the other powers." In attackingBoxers to wreak vengeance foreign troop’s committed great atrocities on theChinese people. Property was destroyed or burnt on a large scale and women weremolested. The whole of China was thrown to the tender mercies of foreigners, with theManchus helplessly watching the developments.” If the Boxer insurrection hadoccurred only, a few years before it did, it would have supplied the excuse forannexations. Yet from the troubles China emerged with her independence guaranteed, ifrestricted." The failure of the Boxers brought about the destruction of the old order.

Reasons for the Failure of Boxer Rebellion/UprisingA. The impossibility of fighting all foreign powers

The conduct of the Boxers angered all foreign powers, who thereby organized an alliedforce to march to Peking. China could not hope to resist all foreign powers at the sametime.B. Military superiority of the Allied Expedition



The military forces of the Allied Expedition were far superior to the Boxers and theQing troops. Despite military reforms carried out between 1895 and 1900, the Chinesetroops in Peking were weak and useless.C. Weakness of the Boxers

The Boxers were actually bandits. They were disorganized. Many of them joined theBoxer Movement not so much because they were patriotic as because they were poor andhungry. They claimed that bullets and fire-arms could not hurt them because theypracticed kung-fu. But they quickly fell apart when they met foreign troops. They wouldnot defend the country; some of them did not even have the intention of doing so.

D. Absence of popular support for the Boxers

Popular support for the Boxers was lacking throughout the provinces. The provincialindependence during the uprising left the Boxers in Peking alone to fight foreign troops.Neither did the Chinese people help. The Boxers were therefore bound to fail.

Effects of Boxer UprisingA. Effects on China: political

i. Further violation of China's national right

With the conclusion of the Boxer Protocol, China's national rights were furtherviolated. The terms of the Protocol interfered with China's internal administration. Also,her national defense was badly shaken.

ii. Provincial safety and continued Qing rule

Thanks to the policy of neutrality of clear-head statesmen like Li Hung-chang andChang Chih-tung, however, most of the provinces in China were not affected by Boxerdisturbances or Allied invasion. With the excuse that the Boxers were rebels out of thegovernment's control, the dynasty could return to power. The Qing dynasty continued torule over China.

iii. The Empress Dowager's decision on reform

Within the Qing court, even the Empress Dowager realized the impossibility offighting against foreigners. To save the Manchu dynasty, the Empress knew thatinstitutional reform (which she opposed in 1898) was really necessary. The failure ofresistance against foreign imperialism left only one alternative: reform. Some historiansargue that the Empress was only trying to hide her shame by an insincere promise ofreform. Other historians suggest that in announcing a reform movement in 1901, theEmpress was playing a game of delay. Be it one way or another, however, reform (i.e. theLate Manchu Reform, 1901-11) was really carried out by the Qing government.

iv. Further provincial decentralization

But the political decentralization of the late Qing period was made worse during theBoxer Uprising. The independence of some provinces in 1900-01 clearly showed thatPeking's control over the country at large was weak. In such circumstances, it wasunlikely that the reform efforts after 1901 would succeed.



B. Effects on China: social and economic

i. Growth of anti-Manchu feelings and of social support for the revolutionary movement

In society, suffering and discontent increased when the Qing government raised taxes topay for the heavy indemnity. At the same time, the corrupt and hopeless Manchu rule,and the Boxer humiliation brought about by the Manchus, convinced many Chinese thatrevolution, not reform, was the only effective way of saving China. Having failed toresist the foreigners by force, the people concentrated on blaming the Manchus for theirinability to defend China. The downfall of the Qing dynasty quickened whenrevolutionary activities received more social support.

ii. Erosion of Chinese pride and self-respect

The Allied Expedition's brutal demonstration of power and China's quick defeat greatlyhurt Chinese pride and self-respect. The Chinese attitude toward the Foreigners began tochange from one of hatred to one of fear.

iii. Heavy burden of the large indemnity.

The large indemnity had a harmful effect on the Ch'ing dynasty's financial conditionsand obstructed China's economic growth, as large amounts of money flowed out of thecountry. The total sum that China had to pay in the next 39 years, with interest included,was over 900 million teals. The Qing dynasty lost much money that could otherwise beused for reform. Later, as an act of goodwill, some foreign powers used part of theindemnity to promote modern education in China. This helped bring about a class ofmodern intellectuals and students who were opposed to the corrupt Qing rule and whomade possible the 1911 Revolution.

C. Effects on China's foreign relations

i. Delay in the revision of unequal treaties

To the foreign powers, China appeared much uncivilized in 1900-01, as the behaviourof the Boxers was very barbarous. Foreign governments were therefore less willing toconsider any revision of unequal treaties, especially treaty rights like extra-territoriality.China's chance of recovering national rights was delayed.

ii. Decline of the Qing government's international position

In Peking, foreign ministers strengthened their position over the Qing government byorganizing themselves into a powerful group. The Qing dynasty's international reputationwas at its lowest.

iii. End to the Scramble for Concessions

On the level of Sino-Western relations, the Chinese determination to resist foreigners inthe Boxer Movement had the effect of checking and moderating foreign imperialism inChina. The foreign powers were convinced of the need to adopt an Open-Door policy andstop the Scramble for Concessions. As a result, in a general willingness to reduceinternational conflict and to maintain the existing conditions of China, the principle ofequal exploitation was accepted by the powers, even though by 1901 the powers had



occupied Peking and was in a position to partition China. The breakup of China wasavoided.

D. Effect on Russo-Japanese relations

Seeds of future international conflicts in the Far East had already been sown during theBoxer disturbances. During the uprising, Russian troops entered Manchuria, pretendingto protect the region from Boxer disorder but actually trying to extend their influencethere. After 1901, the Japanese demanded the withdrawal of these Russian troops.Russia's deliberate delay in withdrawing them was partly responsible for the outbreak ofthe Russo-Japanese War in 1904.

THE CHINESE REVOLUTION OF 1911

The Manchu dynasty came to an end as a result of the revolution of 1911. The causesleading to this revolution are the following.

1. Manchus were Weak, Incompetent and Corrupt. The Manchus were weak,incompetent and corrupt. The people were completely dissatisfied with their rule. Thehumiliation of China at the hands of foreign imperialists, all and sundry increased thediscontent of the people. As the Manchu emperors were helplessly watching the rape ofChina by foreigners, the people's anger was roused. Though in the later days the Manchustried to improve conditions, it was too late.

2. Extreme Poverty, Misery, Flood and Famine. The extreme poverty and misery ofthe people was another cause of the revolution. While Western nations had madespectacular progress in all the fields, China continued to be steeped in abject poverty,with the Manchu emperors, Chinese nobles and war-lords ruthlessly exploiting the vastmasses of people. China's population was increasing at an alarming rate. It shot up from377 million in 1885 to 430 millions in 1910. Food production did not increaseproportionately and food shortage in the opening years of the 20th century became trulyacute. The gigantic problems of the people could not be tackled by the Manchugovernment. Discontent and anger became intense, when food shortage, floods, andfamine in 1910-11 took a heavy human toll and rendered millions of those, who survivednature's ravages, penniless and destitute.

3. Intolerably Heavy Taxes. The discontented people who had no love for the rulersfound the taxes to be intolerably burdensome. The reorganization of the army along themodern lines, construction of new railways,implementation of new educational reformsand the need of paying heavy indemnities to Japan (the victor of the Sino-JapaneseWar) and to Western imperialist powers (which had crushed the Boxer rebellion) hadraised the level of taxation far beyond the capacity of the people to pay.



4. Impact of Western Ideas. The impact of new and liberal ideas from the West createdconditions favorable for a revolution. The introduction of the Western system ofeducation was responsible for propagating the liberal and democratic ideas of the West.Many Chinese who went to Western countries for business, studies and other purposesrealized that there was a vast difference between the people in the West andthose in China. Western society had been freed from exploitation and the Western mindhad been liberated. They did not understand why Chinese society should be in amoribund condition shackled by meaningless and obscurantist traditions. The need toreform Chinese society and save it had become urgent. Confucian philosophy waswholesome for China for a long time, but Confucian principles could not providesolutions to the problems of China for all time in a fast moving world. The efforts madeby those in power to prevent the introduction of great changes resulted in the stagnationof Chinese society. A revolution was required to break the old social moulds and castsociety in the modern moulds.

5. Death of Empress Dowager. The death of Tzu Hsi, the Empress Dowager onNovember 14, 1908 pulled down the last pillar supporting the decrepit Manchu regime.Though she was power hungry and her policies were harmful to the country, at least shecould shrewdly keep the revolutionaries at bay and avert the outbreak of a revolution.Within a few hours after her death, Emperor Kwan Hsu, who was like a toy in the handsof conspirators in the court, also died, and a three year old infant Hsian Tung was placedon the throne, with a clique exercising real power. It would not therefore, take much timeto sound the death-knell of the Manchu dynasty and arrange for its burial.

6. Resentment against Centralization. Political and administrative reforms in the latterpart of the 19th century resulted in strengthening the hands of the central government andin eroding the powers of the provincial and local governments. The reforms deeply cutinto the traditional rights and privileges of provincial officials and the common folk.Hence, there was great resentment against these reforms.

7. Discontent in the Army: The reorganization of the army on modern lines createddiscontent in the troops posted at Hankow and Nanking in the southern provinces. Thenew army which was much better and more disciplined .than the old army was fullyaware how hollow and rotten the Manchus had become. The troops of the new army,particularly those posted in the southern provinces, where Manchu rule was veryunpopular, had doubtful loyalty to the Manchu government. The danger of this armydeserting the Manchu side and joining the revolutionaries was lurking all the time.

8. Better Means of Transport and Communication. As China is a large land, ideastake much time to spread. With the better means of transport and communication like



rail ways, post and telegraph, it was possible for people to movefreely and spread revolutionary ideas with comparative ease.

9. Growth of the Press. The growth of the press, chiefly the vernacular press providedgreater scope to give wide publicity to new ideas and principles to put dynamism inChinese society. The minds of the people began to be fed on progressive andrevolutionary ideas of the vernacular press.

10. Emergence of Revolutionary Parties. As the Manchu rulers did not do much toalleviate the sufferings of the people, and their reforms proved to be too feeble, too half-hearted and too late, revolutionaries got the upper hand in the first decade of the 20thcentury. It was crystal clear that reformers with slow-moving democratic methods couldnot make much head way, and revolutionaries would be able to snatch the initiative fromthe hands of reformists. The success of Dr. Sun Yatsen in uniting in August 1905 thevarious revolutionary parties into a single party called Tung-meng Hui (Alliance Society)proved to be fatal to the Manchu dynasty. This party, which couldnot openly conduct its activities in the early days, came into the open in 1911 to pull outthe Manchu dynasty by its roots.

11. Railroad Nationalization- the Immediate Cause. Companies had been formed byChinese capitalists, bankers and financiers in Central South and Southwestern China forthe construction of railways from 1905. The rights of Chinese companies in railwayconstruction were nationalized early in 1911 not for the good of the country but for beingmortgaged to foreign banks to guarantee repayment of a loan of 6 million dollarsadvanced by British, American, French and German bankers. The wrath of the people,moderates as well as revolutionaries, was roused against this action of the Manchus formaking further efforts to humiliate the country before foreign imperialists. It was knownto all that the Manchus were seeking the solid support of foreigners to continue theirdynastic rule.

Course of the Revolution of 1911.

Unjust Arrests and Firing. Chinese shareholders of the proposed Chengtu-ChunkingRailway in the Szechuan Province sent a deputation to register their protest againstnationalization of railways. Instead of giving a hearing, the imperial viceroy had themembers of the deputation arrested. The people of Chengtu, whose feelings wereoutraged, demonstrated for getting the arrested persons released. Here again thegovernment turned unreasonably highhanded and recklessly ordered troops to fire on thedemonstrators. The tyranny of the Manchu rulers was fully exposed.

October Explosion. On October 10, 1911 there was an explosion in a house in Hankowin the Russian sphere. Thinking that the best way of defense was offence, the Chineserevolutionaries openly revolted on a large scale under the leadership of Li Yuan-hung, a



Japanese military officer. The underground revolutionaries of the Tung-Meng- Hui partyprovoked the Chinese troops to rise in rebellion against the Manchu monarchy. The sparkof the Hankow explosion became a tongue of a revolutionary flame, which finallybecame a huge conflagration all over South China. The Manchu dynasty was sure toperish in this conflagration while the whole of South China repudiated the Manchuauthority. North China continued to be loyal to the Manchu court, whose army was wellin control of the situation in the northern parts.

Formation of Constitutional Monarchy. For saving the Manchu dynasty, those inpower in the imperial court recalled General Yuan Shih-kai, who had been sacked afterthe death of Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi. With initial reluctance Yuan agreed to mediatebetween the imperial court and the revolutionaries, provided his six conditions werefulfilled for the establishment of constitutional monarchy. These conditions were: (i)forming a parliament the next year, (ii) constituting a cabinet responsible to parliament,(iii) grant of amnesty to all political offenders (iv) legal recognition of the revolutionaryparty, (v) full control of Yuan Shih-kai over the army and (VI) adequate fund for militarypurposes. The imperial court had no other alternative but to grant these demands for thevery survival of the Manchu dynasty. Yuan Shih-kai was elected Prime Minister by theNational Assembly and was vested with supreme power to control the army and the navy.

Capture of Nanking by Revolutionaries. While the imperial court "was trying to saveitself from extinction, Li Yuan-hung, the commander of the revolutionary army, occupiedNanking, which was proclaimed on January 11, 1912 as the capital of a new ChineseRepublic. The Manchu army under the control of Yuan Shih-kai was far superior to therebel army supporting the revolutionaries, and therefore, Yuan could negotiate from aposition of strength. But Yuan was not a man to be trusted, as he was more interested inentrenching himself in power than in saving the Manchu dynasty.

Great Inspiration from Sun Yat-sen: The Chinese revolutionaries drew greatinspiration from Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the greatest leader of young China and nationalist parexcellence. Michael Edwards says:"In China the revolutionary movement of Sun Yat-senemerged as a struggle upon two fronts-against the traditional China of the Man-chus andagainst the 'investment imperialism' of the West. The movement had its roots In theSouth, in the middle-class China of traders and bankers who, rebelling against the inferiorposition assigned to them in the Confucians system, turned to the West for the mechanicsof a new and dynamic China freed from the shackles of tradition. The southern Chinesehad had much longer contact with the West, and most of the traders, who had immigratedto the countries of South-East Asia, had done so in order to free themselves from theConfucian atmosphere and to satisfy their self-interest without involvement in a highlystratified social order."



Dr. Sun, whom the Chinese revered as the Father of New China, was born in a humblepeasant family in 1867 and took his medical degree from Hong Kong in 1891. Thepathetic condition of China attracted his attention, and he dedicated his life to the serviceof his motherland. In 1894, he organized a secret national organization called the ChineseRevival Society. By his speeches and writings he roused the youth of his country andstaged a revolt against the Manchu rule in 1905. "But the revolt failed, and he had to fleeto Japan, since the Chinese offered a rich reward for his head, alive or dead. In Japan, hestarted the Chinese Revolutionary League, and traveled widely in the USA and Europe toseek foreign aid for the liberation of his country. He had embraced Christianity. While inLondon he was cleverly captured by the Chinese Legation, who wished to pack him offpromptly to China to his final doom, but the timely intervention of his English host, aformer English professor of his Hong-Kong medical school, made him a free man again.He received encouraging promises of aid everywhere. He returned to Japan in 1910 andmade preparations for a final showdown. He greatly strengthened his political party andrenamed it as Kuo Min-tang (KMT) or the People's National Party. He gave the Chinesethree principles for revolutionary activities: (1) Nationalism, (2) Democracy, and (3)Socialism.

Negotiations by Sun Yat-sen. In response to the invitation of Li Yuan-hung, delegatesfrom the provinces, which had revolted attended a meeting at Nanking and elected Dr.Sun Yat-sen as the Provisional President of the Chinese Republic. Dr. Sun, who becameProvisional President on the New Year's Day of 1912, was able to bring about unityamong the revolutionaries and it was possible for his government to hold peacefulnegotiations with the Manchu court. The revolutionaries demanded that monarchy shouldbe ended immediately and the future form of government should be decided by aNational Convention. Both the parties reached an agreement to abolish monarchy, but itwas not possible for them to agree upon the method of forming a National Convention,which was to create the future form of government.

Problems for Both the Parties. Both the negotiating parties faced formidable problems,and hence both were very keen on reaching an early settlement in order to save them. Theimperial treasury was empty, and Yuan Shih-kai had to compel the regent to makepayments to the army from the Household Treasury. Bankruptcy compelled the imperialcourt to be reasonable in its negotiations. The position of the provisional government wasalso unenviable, and in no way better than that of the imperial court. Therefore, it was inthe Interests of both the parties to sort out the problems immediately and reach a peacefulsettlement.

Initiative of Yuan Shih-kai. As a mediator between the revolutionaries and theManchus, Yuan Shin-kai took the initiative in the later phase of talks. He made it very



clear to the Prince Regent and the Manchu officials that it was in their own interests thatmonarchy should be ended and a republican form of government should be set up.However, Yuan tried to secure for the royal family the most favorable terms in thecircumstances.

End of Monarchy. The infant Manchu Emperor Hsuan Tung abdicated on February 12,1912, and thus monarchy came to an end. After abdication, the Emperor, who came to becalled Henry Pu-yi, continued to stay in the Peking palace. After some time, however, heescaped to Japan, where he became the pensioner of the Japanese Government, whichmade him in 1932 Emperor Kang Teh of Manchuria (Manchukuo). It was intriguing tonote that the royal edict transferred power to Yuan Shih-kai and not to the revolutionarygovernment. The Manchu family was treated liberally for giving up power. The emperorwas to receive an annuity of 4 million taels. The republic was to accord to the emperorthe respect commonly due to a foreign monarch. (3) The emperor could continue to havehis palace and guards. (4) He was guaranteed protection of his ancestral temples, wherehe could enjoy the privilege of performing the customary religious ceremonies. (5)Protection was given to the private property of the Manchu royal family. (6) Similarly,the private property and hereditary titles of the princes of the royal family were also to beprotected.

Resignation of Sun In Favor of Yuan. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who had no personal ambitionsshowed his selflessness and true greatness by resigning as the Provisional President. Thisgenerous and unique gesture was made to preserve unity and save the republic. TheNational Assembly at Nanking had no other alternative but to elect Yuan Shih-kai as thePresident of the United Republic. The republicans took Yuan's election as a bitter pill, asthey hated and distrusted him.

No Interference from Foreign Powers. The foreign powers fully realized the new moodof the Chinese and wisely refrained from interfering at a crucial stage, when delicatenegotiations were being conducted for ending monarchy and establishing a republic.They were fully aware that the Manchus had totally decayed and were beyondredemption. They closely watched the developments and hoped that President Yuanwould not harm their interests. It was also refreshing to note that the -revolutionariesexercised wholesome restraints and did not incite the wrath of foreign powers, whichcould have created Treat problems putting that republic in serious jeopardy.

Significance of the Revolution, 1911

The Revolution of 1911-12 was of extra-ordinary significance. It surely put an end tothe age of decadent monarchy and meaningless conservatism. The outmoded Confucianideals and traditions, which had brought stagnation, were now brushed aside. The old



social moulds were broken, and modern principles and ideals took their place. AsConfucianism, the old official religion ended, nationalism, the new religion emerged. TheRevolution was anti-imperialist, Anti-Manchu and anti-tradition. It marked the greattriumph of nationalism, republicanism and progress-ideologies. The Following are theimportant results.

A. End to the monarchical form of government

Politically speaking, the 1911 Revolution was a decisive break with the past. For overtwo thousand years, China had been ruled by the monarchical form of government. Now,in 1911, however, she was willing and determined to abandon it. Whereas in the past, thedynasty could claim absolute obedience from its subject people, the Chinese people after1911 began to learn that sovereignty (i.e. national right) belonged finally to them and tono one else.

B. Decreased Confucianism and increased Westernization and modernization

Such a political break with the past had at least two far-reaching effects:

i. Negatively, the importance of Confucianism in Chinese society was greatly decreased.As the emperorship political structure had been an inseparable part of Confucianism, theabolition of the monarchy in 1911 declared Confucianism a useless political belief. Later,during the May Fourth Revolution in 1919, even Confucianism as a way of life and abody of social thought was under attack. In this way, the 1911 political revolution madeway for the 1919 intellectual revolution.

ii. Positively, the creation of a Western-style republic speeded up and extendedWesternization and modernization in all areas of Chinese city life and culture. TheChinese people were therefore psychologically better prepared to accept new, modernthings. Indeed, some intellectuals even accepted Communism later.

C. Practice of republicanism

Over the world at large at that time, republicanism was still not popularly practiced. Forexample, except for China, there was no republic in Asia in 1911.Even in Europe; therewere only two republican governments, one in France, and the other in Switzerland. Seenin this way, therefore, the 1911 Revolution in China was indeed very advanced.

D. Lack of social revolution

Socially speaking, the 1911 revolution was a failure:

i. First, the Revolution did not bring about much change in the composition of theChinese ruling classes. It is true that the emperor and his officials were gone, but theconservative gentry-landlords had not been overthrown, and still ruling in thecountryside. In addition, military men of the Late Ch'ing like Yuan Shih-k'ai remainedinfluential. Revolutionaries and intellectuals, who helped run the Republic, werepowerless in the presence of these conservative forces.



ii. Secondly, the revolution was limited to several cities only and was too quicklyconcluded. Only the political system was revolutionized; the social order remained whatit had been. Consequently, while the city was modernized, the village was as backwardand conservative as ever.

E. Increased provincial decentralization

Once the dynasty had been overthrown, the traditional link between the provinces andPeking was cut. The new Republic was weak and could not establish centralized politicalpower over all China. Consequently, the local-provincial scholar-gentry fell back on localand provincial, not national, affairs. The growth of national consciousness was thereforeslowed down. Seen from this angle, the 1911 Revolution worsened the problem ofpolitical decentralization of the late Ch'ing period.

F. From anti-Manchuism to anti-imperialism

Before 1911, Chinese intellectuals could blame the Manchus for all the national andsocial problems that China suffered. Now that the Manchus no longer ruled, the blamebegan to be directed at foreign imperialism. Modern Chinese nationalism, therefore,gradually changed from anti-Manchuism to anti-imperialism after 1911.

G. Increased foreign influence in China

Because the new Chinese Republic was weak and divided, foreign control of China wasincreased after 1911. For example, the foreign diplomats in Peking had taken over thecomplete direction of China's maritime customs.

H. Loss of Outer Mongolia and Tibet

Territories that traditionally belonged to China were lost, like Outer Mongolia andTibet, which declared independence from China after 1911.

Rise of the Chinese Revolutionary MovementA. Growing social disturbances after the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)i. China's defeat in the war revealed the weakness of the Ch'ing court. Many secretsocieties considered the moment suitable for armed uprisings. Small-scale rebellionsbroke out in many places. There were on average 80 to 100 such revolts every year from1895 to 1911.ii. The soldiers recruited to fight Japan were quickly disbanded after the peace treaty of1895. Discontent grew among them. They became bandits in society.iii. Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895. As a result, many frightened Taiwanese movedinto the neighboring province of Fukien. Social instability in South China spread andgrew.B. Introduction of modern, Western ideas into China

Through missionary efforts and via treaty-ports, modern ideas such as democracy andrepublicanism were introduced to and popularized among Chinese intellectuals. Theseprogressive young people were greatly influenced by examples of great Europeanrevolutions (such as the French Revolution of 1789) and national unifications (such as theGerman Unification of 1871).C. Acceptance of the idea of revolution by an increasing number of Chinese intellectuals



More and more young intellectuals decided that a revolution was necessary to saveChina. The overseas students were particularly won over by the idea of revolution, for thefollowing reasons:i. On coming into contact with modernized, Westernized societies like Japan, theyrealized how backward China was.ii. In a foreign environment, they had the experience of being racially discriminatedagainst and were thus particularly nationalistic.iii. Because of the freedom provided by the foreign environment, they could experimentwith ideas about revolution.iv. The Western education they received had the effect of encouraging radical activities.D. Revolutionary activities in Chinai. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary uprisings in South China.ii. Huang Hsing's revolutionary uprising in Central China - In 1903, Huang Hsing, whowas an overseas student from the province of Hunan, set up a revolutionary organizationthere to work for the overthrow of the Ch'ing dynasty. The organization was called theChina Revival Society (Hua-hsing hui ). An uprising was planned. It was unsuccessful. In1904, Huang Hsing was forced to escape to Japan, where he met Sun Yat-sen.

E. Revolutionary activities in Japan

i. Most of the late Ch'ing overseas students were sent to Japan, and most of them camefrom the wealthy southern provinces of China. Since South China had a stronger anti-Manchu tradition than North China, revolutionary activities spread quickly among theseoverseas students in Japan.

ii. But because the overseas students came from different Chinese provinces, they weredivided into different provincial factions. A united revolutionary organization waslacking.

iii. In the early 1900s, these overseas students became increasingly patriotic and radical.For example, in 1903, they formed a " Resist-Russia-Volunteer Corps" for the purpose ofdefending China against the Russian aggression in Manchuria.

iv. By 1905, Sun Yat-sen, Huang Hsing and the overseas students in Japan realized theimportance of cooperation in revolutionary efforts. They set up the RevolutionaryAlliance (T'ung-meng hui).

SUN YAT-SEN AND HIS REVOLUTIONARY CAREERA. Early life

Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian) was born in a village near Canton in 1866. His familybelonged to the peasant class. At early school age, he had a traditional Chinese classicaleducation. At the age of 13, however, Sun was sent to Hawaii to join his elder brotherwho had started a successful business overseas. There, Sun received a foreign, moderneducation and became a Christian. Later, he returned to his village and after some timewent to Hong Kong to study medicine. He became a doctor in 1892. Then, whenpracticing in Macau, Sun came into contact with friends who were members of anti-



Ch'ing secret societies. Such connections with the secret society proved to be importantfor his later revolutionary career.

B. Intellectual background

Brought up by both traditional Confucian education and modern, Western one, Sun wasnot bound by the limitations of tradition but was somehow influenced by Chinese culture.Consequently, his ideas were a mixture of both Western and Chinese thoughts. Also, asSun was less bound by Confucianism, it was more likely for him to become arevolutionary.

C. Foreign influence

i. Years of observations, both in Hawaii or Hong Kong and in his home village, madeSun realize the backwardness of China and the progress of the West. His dissatisfactionwith the corrupt Ch'ing rule grew.

ii. However, precisely because he had received a Western education and was a Christianand a doctor, Sun had difficulty in making himself acceptable and popular among thetraditional scholar-gentry and reformers like Liang Ch'i-ch'ao (Liang Qichao) and K'angYu-wei (Kang Youwei).

iii. But because Sun was familiar with Western countries and Western culture, he had anadvantage of having the quality of political leadership that traditional Confucian scholarslacked contacts with the West.

D. Chinese influence

i. Because Sun came from a peasant family and had lived among overseas Chinese, hewas in a better position to develop connections with the lower classes of Chinese societyin revolutionary efforts. In this respect, he was unlike the Confucian scholars, most ofwhom kept themselves apart from the common people.

ii. South China, and Kwangtung in particular, had a stronger anti-Manchu tradition thanNorth China. Born in such an environment (South China), Sun was himself deeplyrevolutionary in character.

E. As a reformer, 1890-1894

During this period, Sun Yat-sen was not yet an outright revolutionary. He still thoughtof using the old method to save China - reform. Thus attempts were made by Sun to meetreformist figures of the time, such as K'ang Yu-wei (in 1893) and Li Hung-chang (in1894). After failure to attract Li's attention, however, Sun became a full-timerevolutionary working for the overthrow of the dynasty.

F. As a revolutionary, 1895-1900: dependence on secret societies and overseas Chinese

i. Formation of the Revive China Society (Hsing-chung hui), and the first revolutionaryuprising - The society was founded by Sun in Hawaii and Hong Kong in 1894-95. Itconsisted mainly of overseas Chinese and Christians (such as clerks, workers, farmersand tailors), and was under the leadership of a small group of missionary-educated young



people like Sun himself. There were about 150 members. They took an oath to "expel theManchus, restore the Chinese rule, and establish a republic". It was planned that theoverseas Chinese members would organize revolts in places like Hong Kong, and secret-society members would be hired to do the fighting on the Chinese mainland. In 1895,making use of the disturbances created by China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War(1894-5), the Society planned a revolt in Canton. It was unsuccessful. Sun himself fledoverseas.

ii. Attempts at widening support for the revolutionary movement - After 1895, Suntravelled in foreign countries for the sake of: a. winning sympathy from Westerncountries, and

b. seeking more support from the overseas Chinese communities.

Sun believed that active foreign assistance or friendly foreign neutrality was necessaryfor a successful revolution in China. He therefore tried to convince the foreigners thatboth trade and missionary activities would be better served by a new republic than by thecorrupt Manchu dynasty. He promised that a republic set up by the revolutionaries wouldbring advantages for foreigners. Yet, the results of Sun's travels were disappointing. Noteven Hong Kong, a British colony, permitted Sun to organize his revolution.

iii. Kidnap in London, 1896-97 - When Sun stayed in London, he was kidnapped by someCh'ing officials in the Chinese legation. However, with the help of an English friend, hewas finally rescued. Later, Sun published his story as Kidnapped in London andovernight became the most famous Chinese revolutionary. The effect of the incident wasto strengthen Sun's sense of confidence and mission, making his determination tooverthrow the Manchu dynasty greater than ever.

iv. Support in Japan - Upon arriving in Japan, Sun met and made some good Japanese,friends, who were sympathetic toward his revolutionary efforts.

Much help was given to Sun. For example, these Japanese:a)introduced Sun to many influential people in Japan,b) raised money for Sun's revolutionary movement,c)popularized Sun's reputation in newspapers, andd) (as citizens of Japan, a great power) protected Sun from being arrested or assassinated.

v. Attempted cooperation with reformers - Sun’s Japanese friends worked to get theChinese revolutionaries and reformers to cooperate, since both groups competed forfinancial support from the same overseas Chinese communities. The attempt was,however, a failure, because: a. The two sides worked for different ideological objectives(one to reform the existing dynasty,the other to overthrow it).

b. K’ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, the reformers, considered Sun to be poorlyeducated.



vi. Second revolutionary uprising, 1900 - Making use of the disturbances caused by theBoxer Uprising (1900), Sun and his secret society allies in Kwangtung planned anotheruprising there. The uprising, known as the Waichow Rebellion held out for a few daysand ended in failure. Its effects were as follows:

a. The early success of the uprising further convinced Sun that his revolutionary strategyof stimulating the outbreak of local revolts was correct and workable. Just as Sunexpected, Chinese society was ready for revolution.

b. But the final failure showed the weakness of depending entirely and only on secretsocieties and overseas Chinese in the revolutionary movement. Aiming at a realrevolution, not a traditional rebellion Sun began to understand that wider social supportwas needed.

G. As a revolutionary, 1901-1905: turn to overseas students

Sun's attention began to turn to the overseas Chinese, especially those in Japan, after1901. To win support from these intellectuals and to turn them into active revolutionariesagainst the Manchus, Sun took the following steps:

i. Military training for overseas students - With the help of some Japanese army officers,military training was organized, though unsuccessfully, for Chinese students in Japan.

ii. Ideological programs to save China - An ideology, later known as the Three Principlesof the People , was worked out by Sun so as to attract the attention of the overseasstudents, since the students were fond of experimenting with Western ideas. Moreover,with a modern ideology, Sun would no longer be viewed, as before, as an uneducatedtraditional rebel.

iii. Anti-imperialist propaganda - As the overseas students were mostly anti-imperialist inattitude, Sun wrote many articles to newspapers and journals to discuss the problem ofimperialism in China. Instead of saying good things about foreigners in China, which heused to do previously, Sun now condemned foreign imperialism and praised the Boxersso as to win approval from the students. By drawing attention to the problem ofimperialism, Sun was in fact showing the students that he was able to deal with theforeign threat.

iv. Arguments and mass meetings - Sun took up arguments with reformers like LiangCh'i-ch'ao on the advantages of a revolution. Also, mass meetings were organized, atwhich Sun spoke to hundreds of overseas Chinese. Through these opportunities, Sunshowed to the overseas students that he too was intellectually capable of analyzingChina's problems and proposing solutions to them.

THE REVOLUTIONARY ALLIANCE (T'UNG-MENG HUI)

A. Background to its formation in 1905

i. Growing anti-Manchu attitudes and activities among overseas Chinese students inJapan (see above)



ii. The overseas students' turn to Sun Yat-sen for revolutionary leadership - Before 1903,the overseas students were, generally speaking, distrustful of Sun Yat-sen and paid nogreat attention to him. From 1903 to 1905, however, they began to welcome him, for thefollowing reasons:

a. After the Boxer Uprising (1900-01), more and more overseas students were convincedthat China would be saved by revolution only, not by reform.

b. The overseas students began to recognize the importance of foreign assistance orneutrality (which Sun had the ability to appeal to) in China's revolution.

c. Sun had long years of actual revolutionary experience (which the overseas studentslacked).

d. The anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist arguments made by Sun fitted well with theoverseas students' attitudes.

iii. Sun Yat-sen's turn to the overseas students for support - (See above)

iv.Japanese efforts in working for the unification of the Chinese revolutionary movement- After failure to bring about cooperation between the Chinese reformers andrevolutionaries in 1899-1900, Sun Yat-sen's Japanese friends actively worked to bringdifferent revolutionaries like Sun himself, Huang Hsing and the overseas studentstogether for joint revolutionary action.

B. Leadership

Sun Yat-sen was chosen as the most important leader of the Revolutionary Alliancebecause of:

i. his close contact with secret societies and the overseas Chinese, which otherrevolutionaries lacked,ii. his connections with foreigners, which other revolutionaries did not have,iii. his ability to raise money for the revolutionary movement,iv. his experience in organizing revolutionary activities, andv. the support that Sun's Japanese friends gave him.C. Membership

From 1905-6, there were about 1,000 people who joined the Revolutionary Alliance,90% of whom did so in Japan. Most of the members were students and intellectuals, andnearly all provinces of China were represented in the organization (unlike the ReviveChina Society formed in 1895 which consisted mostly of uneducated people andKwangtung natives).

D. Objectives

The primary and most important objective was the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty.Other aims were included in a six-point program:

i.overthrow of the Manchus,

ii.establishment of a republic,



iii.maintenance of world peace,

iv.nationalization of land,

v.cooperation with Japan, and

vi world support for the revolutionary movement.

E. Weaknesses

i. Lack of unity - Since members of the Revolutionary Alliance came from differentprovinces of China, the organization was divided into many provincial factions. Therewere serious personal and ideological disagreements. Leaders of the provincial factionsoften planned revolutionary actions regardless of central leadership and the need forcooperation.

ii. Financial problem - Despite the funds raised by Sun Yat-sen, the RevolutionaryAlliance was still in need of money for its costly activities.

iii. Unreliable alliance with the secret societies - The secret societies were not good alliesof the Revolutionary Alliance because:

a. In revolting against the Ch'ing dynasty, the secret societies were eager to safeguardtheir self interests.

b. Secret-society members disliked such an unfamiliar and Western-sounding idea asRepublicanism.

c. The secret societies favoured traditional methods of rebellion that the RevolutionaryAlliance did not always approve of.

iv. Small-size and limited influence - Because the Revolutionary Alliance's membershipwas limited mainly to the overseas Chinese and overseas students, the organizationremained small in size when compared to the large size of China's territories andpopulation. By 1910, for example, there were only about 10,000 members. Among them,no more than 3,000 were intellectuals, and no more than a few hundred of these 3,000actually and actively took part in revolutionary activities.

ACTIVITIES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ALLIANCE, 1906-1910

A. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary strategy

Armed uprisings would be organized in China's southern border regions. According toSun, these uprisings would finally result in the seizure of a province or two in SouthChina by the revolutionaries. Then,

i. either similar revolts would occur and succeed in other provinces (thus quicklyoverthrowing the dynasty),

ii. Or, a republic would be established in the south first, win foreign recognition then, andbuild a base to conquer the north afterwards.

B. Huang Hsing's revolutionary strategy



Huang Hsing, however, did not consider Sun's strategy to be a suitable one for China'sconditions. He believed that the Revolutionary Alliance should organize revolts inCentral China along the Yangtze to directly attack the Ch'ing dynasty's heartland.

C. Revolutionary failures, 1907-1910

From 1907 until 1910, Sun and Huang attempted several revolts at the Sino-Vietnameseborder and Kwangtung. Because of insufficient financial support and military supplies,however, all these uprisings were unsuccessful. The Revolutionary Alliance began toconsider Huang Hsing's revolutionary strategy.

D. Weakening of the Revolutionary Alliance

i. With repeated failures, many revolutionaries were in despair of further attempts. WangChing-wei, for example, began turning to terrorist assassinations of Ch'ing officials as asubstitute for armed uprisings. Even the strong-willed Huang Hsing began losingconfidence.

ii. Meanwhile, alarmed at the growing revolutionary activities in Japan, the Ch'inggovernment began limiting the flow of students to the country.

iii. The Japanese government was getting increasingly conservative and unfriendly indealing with the Chinese revolutionaries. Thus Sun's Japanese friends lost muchinfluence and found it difficult to help the Revolutionary Alliance.

iv. When Sun Yat-sen left Japan in 1907, unity within the Revolutionary Alliance wasfurther weakened. Dissatisfaction with Sun's leadership grew among some of themembers. There was even a rumour that Sun put public money into his pocket. By 1908,each of the provincial groups in the Revolutionary Alliance organized revolts in its ownway.

YUAN SHIH-K'AI AND SUN YAT-SENA. The comeback of Yuan Shih-k'ai (Yuan Shikai)

Immediately after the Wuhan Uprising in October, in a last attempt to save itself, theManchu court recalled Yuan Shih-k'ai, who had been forced to retire since 1908.However, Yuan had not been loyal to the dynasty and was only concerned about his ownpower. He delayed coming to the dynasty's help until he was given complete control ofthe Peiyang Army and full powers to deal with the situation as he saw fit.

B. The election of Sun Yat-sen as president

Meanwhile, members of the Revolutionary Alliance like Huang Hsing had returned toChina to rival the gentry-merchant-military leaders for control of the political situation.At the provincial level, the revolutionaries could never challenge the powerful gentry-merchant-militarist alliance. At the national level, however, the Revolutionary Alliancewas recognized as the leading revolutionary group. It sent representatives to a Provisional



Government which met in Nanking in December 1911. Most of the representativesfavoured either Li Yuan-hung or Huang Hsing as candidates for the presidency. Lackingagreement, however, supporters of both sides turned to Sun Yat-sen, who had returnedfrom overseas at this moment. Sun was thus elected as Provisional President of the newlyestablished Chinese Republic.

C. Peace talks between Yuan and the revolutionaries

Yuan Shih-ktai's position was indeed powerful:

i. He controlled the Peiyang Army.

ii. He had supporters in the Provisional Government in Nanking.

iii. He had foreign backing, since the foreign powers regarded him as the only strongman in China who could maintain law and order.iv. He enjoyed full powers given by the Manchu court.

Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries, on the other hand, knew that their strength wasweak and feared that further delay in political unification might encourage foreignimperialist intervention. Thus in the negotiations with Yuan, Sun made it clear that thepresidency of the Republic would be given to Yuan if Yuan forced the Manchus toabdicate.

D. The end of the Ch'ing dynasty, February 1912

For reasons discussed later, Yuan Shih-k'ai was willing to give up the dynasty insupport of the Republic. On February 12, 1912, under Yuan's pressure, the Manchu courtannounced its abdication. The 268-year-old Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1912), together withthe century-long monarchical system of government, was put to an end.

E. Yuan Shih-k'ai as President of the Chinese Republic

On the same day as the Ch'ing dynasty's abdication, Yuan Shih-k'ai promised to supportthe Republic. Then Sun Yat-sen resigned as Provisional President, to be succeeded byYuan after a formal election. Yuan was required by the new Republican Government tocome to Nanking to take up the presidency. Unwilling to release his power base in thenorth, however, Yuan stayed in Peking. He became President of China in March. InApril, Peking was made the national capital. It was renamed Peiping.

F. Reasons for the acceptance of Yuan as the president by the revolutionaries

i. Yuan had strong military power, and the revolutionaries were unprepared to fight withhim in a long civil war, which would only bring more disorder and disunity.

ii. The revolutionaries feared that a long civil war would bring about foreign interventionin the Chinese revolution and foreign partition of China.

iii. The revolutionaries were inexperienced in actually running a government and weredisorganized themselves. Besides, as revolutionaries working outside China most of the



time, they lacked popular Chinese support and did not have the friendship of the powerfullocal-provincial gentry. It was difficult for them to struggle with Yuan.

G. Reasons for Yuan Shih-k'ai's acceptance of the presidency

i. Yuan was himself ambitious and had never been really loyal to the Ch'ing dynasty.

ii. Republicanism seemed to be a necessity after the success of the revolution in October.Yuan would appear to be a reactionary traitor if he did not make peace with therevolutionaries.

iv. Only by supporting a republic could Yuan receive foreign support. iv. Yuan'smilitary position against the revolutionaries was not altogether superior, sincethe loyalty of many of his officers was questionable.

SUN YAT-SEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 1911 REVOLUTION

A. Fund-raising to finance revolutionary activitiesSun had close connections with the overseas Chinese, especially in Southeast Asia and

America. With a strong power of persuasion, Sun was able to win enthusiastic financialsupport from them. Living in a foreign (often unfriendly) environment, the overseasChinese were particularly sensitive to being discriminated against by foreigners. As aresult, these Chinese people were especially patriotic. They contributed much money inSun's fund-raising campaigns. The funds were in the form of "patriotic bonds". Therevolutionaries promised that the money would be repaid to the buyer after the success ofthe future revolution.

B. Connections with foreigners and request for foreign help

It had been Sun's policy to win foreign sympathy for the Chinese revolutionarymovement. He convinced many other fellow revolutionaries of the importance of such apolicy. Sun had the connections and opportunities to turn to foreign governments forhelp. He had many good foreign friends in Britain, America and Japan. Through theseforeign friends, Sun could every now and then explain to both foreign governments andforeign peoples the harmlessness, good intention and (above all) moderation of theChinese revolutionary movement, so that Sun's revolution would not be mistaken foranother anti-foreign uprising like the Boxer Uprising. It is true that the 1911 Revolutionbroke out and developed without the active help of foreign powers. But in respectingforeign privileges in China, the revolutionaries were able to win foreign neutrality,without which the Chinese revolution would never succeed.

C. Willingness to work with lower social classes in revolutionary efforts

Unlike other intellectuals who kept themselves apart from the lower social classes, SunYat-sen was willing to cooperate and work with peasant bandits and secret-societymembers in the revolutionary movement. In fact, he was a member of one of the famoussecret societies, the Triads.



D. Flexible leadership

Sun Yat-sen had not laid down any absolute and unchangeable formula of revolution.Rather, he followed whatever was suitable and necessary, as long as the aim remained theoverthrow of the Manchu dynasty. Thus revolutionary strategies would change inaccordance with the demands of unexpected situations. Because the harmful effects ofpolicy disagreement were cut down, there was better unity within the revolutionarymovement.

E. Strong confidence

With repeated failures of revolutionary attempts in the late 1 900s, morale began todecline among many revolutionaries. Sun, however, continued to view the futureoptimistically. He kept his fellow revolutionaries going. And if to some people heappeared to be childish and unrealistic, he nevertheless provided a quality so veryimportant for the success of a revolution - faith.

F. Comprehensive ideology for the revolutionary movement

Sun's Three Principles of the People provided comprehensive programs to deal with thepolitical, social and economic problems of China. Although such programs necessarilyhad weaknesses and had to be improved later, Sun was nevertheless the first politicalleader of Modern China to work out systematic ways to save the country.

The Scramble for AfricaWe all are aware about what are imperialism and its effects on the countries which

were controlled by the imperialists. Africa, along with many Asian countries wasconquered by various European colonial powers, such as Britain, France, Germany,Holland, Portugal etc. What was remarkable in these conquests was the knee-jerkreaction of the colonial powers to annex territories in Africa. It all started with aconference in Berlin and within months, half of the soldiers of Europe were shipped toAfrica. This hurried response on the part of European powers is referred to as scramblefor Africa.

The scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the rush or hurry forAfrican territories by European powers. These European powers rushed for Africanterritories due to several reasons. These causes can be categorized into economic, social,political and humanitarian/social reasons. Partitioning is simply the division/sharing ofAfrican land among European powers.European Imperialism

Imperialism is a term that refers to the economic and political domination or control ofone country or nation by another one which is technologically and economically moreadvanced. Therefore, European imperialism was the economic and political dominationof other nation’s world over by European powers. For more than three centuries theEuropean nations had extended their influence and imperialism into other continents suchas Asia, Latin America, the West Indies, and Africa. This was possible because these



European nations were relatively economically and militarily stronger than the people ofother continents.The Scramble and Partition of Africa

The scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the rush or hurry forAfrican territories by European powers. These European powers rushed for Africanterritories due to several reasons. These causes can be categorized into economic, social,political and humanitarian/social reasons. Partitioning is simply the division/sharing ofAfrican land among European powers.Reasons for the Scramble for Africa1. Economic Reasons(a) Need for Raw Materials

Due to the Industrial Revolution in Europe, production with the help of machinesincreased. European demand for raw materials such as palm oil, copper, rubber, cocoa,and gold increased. Africa was seen as being capable of supplying the needed rawmaterials. As a result, European powers partitioned Africa in order to secure someterritories in order to provide a constant supply of raw materials to their industries inEurope.(b) Need for Market for their Finished Products

With the help of machines during the Industrial Revolution, more goods wereproduced in the European industries but the local consumption was the same. This meantthat not all the goods produced in Europe were locally sold and used in Europe.Therefore, European powers had to look for other areas where they could go and sell theirsurplus products. Africa was found suitable for this reason. This was because Africa didnot have industries to produce these goods.(c) Need to Invest Abroad

The Industrial Revolution had made many European businessmen very rich by 1880.Many of these had accumulated surplus capital which they wanted to invest abroad forprofit because profit had fallen in their respective countries due to the high cost of labor.Therefore, they believed that Africa could provide them with cheap labor. Thus, theystarted encouraging their home governments to acquire colonies in Africa.(d) Need to Protect their Trading CompaniesBefore 1800, many European countries had allowed the formation of companies to

promote overseas trade. Examples of these companies include the British Royal NigerCompany in West Africa, the British South African company (B.S.A.C.) in South Africa,the Imperial British East Africa and the Germany East African Company in Tanganyika.The second half of the 19th century saw stiff competition among these companies. As aresult, these companies were forced to ask their home governments to take over certainAfrican areas where they could enjoy the trade monopoly.2. Political Reasons(a) Balance of Power

After the Berlin Congress was held and the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 thereafter,European nations realized that there was no power in Europe which was more powerfulthan the others. This meant that no country in Europe could expand its sphere within



Europe without risking a major war. These powers therefore turned to Africa were therewas no resistance.(b) Prestige

Due to the rise of nationalism, many Europeans had developed strong pride andpatriotism and loyalty for their countries. They wanted to promote the status of theircountries’ position in the world. The possession of a large overseas empire became asymbol of braveness. The more colonies a country had, the more powerful it wasconsidered to be, or rather, considered it to be. For example, when France was defeated in1871, she lost her two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. Hence, Franceturned to Africa for colonies were there was no resistance. Other Europeans obtainedcolonies for personal glory. For example, king Leopold of Belgium acquired the CongoFree State and treated it as a personal farm. This encouraged other Europeans to do thesame elsewhere in Africa.(c) Source for Soldiers

Other European nations obtained colonies in Africa so as to provide a source and basefor troops. For example, France obtained Senegal and Britain obtained South Africa andused Africans from these territories to fight on their respective sides during the FirstWorld War.(d) Strategic Purposes

Other parts in Africa were obtained by European powers because of their strategicpositions. Areas like Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, Angola, and the cape were obtainedto control trade in times of peace and war. Britain’s interest in Egypt was the Suez Canal.This provided a faster sea route to India3. Social Reasons(a) Need to Settle Surplus Population

It is important to understand that because of the new machines that were now beingused during the Industrial Revolution; many people lost employment in Europe because itwas the newly invented machines that were doing their work now. Because of theunemployment due to the Industrial Revolution, European countries obtained colonies inAfrica to settle their surplus unemployed population. Nigeria, Rhodesia and Kenya wereobtained for this purpose.(c) Need to Spread Christianity and Combat Diseases

This was another reason that led to the partition of Africa. Some Europeans decided toobtain colonies in Africa so as to convert the Africans into Christianity, introduce modernsociety and ‘civilize’ them. On the other hand, colonies were obtained so that someEuropeans who had certain illnesses could come and live where the climate wasfavourable.(b) Need to end Slave Trade

Britain took the lead in fighting against slave trade by passing a law in 1807. In 1833the British government again passed the Emancipation act by which slavery wasabolished throughout the British Empire. Many European nations had done the same.However, slave trade continued and other methods had failed.4. Missionary Activities



Missionaries and explorers opened up the interior of Africa. Their reports about therichness of Africa encouraged the scramble. It is the reports of the accounts of suchmissionaries and explorers like Dr. David Livingstone that pushed the European countriesto have overseas possessions.

5. The Berlin Colonial Conference of 1884/85The Berlin Colonial Conference was a meeting of European powers in Berlin, Germany

in 1884-85 at the invitation of Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany. The aim of themeeting was to discuss the peaceful division and sharing of African territories amongstthemselves. At the end of this conference, the Berlin Treaty was signed. It laid down theconditions by which the scramble was to be conducted.

The European powers agreed that any power claiming any territory in Africa must notonly notify other powers, but must also effectively occupy that territory. It was this clauseof effective occupation in their agreement that encouraged and pushed European powersto partition the continent and develop colonial rule. It was also agreed that two rivers, theZaire and Niger, were to be free to all for trade transportation. Additionally, slavery wasto be abolished in all the territories that the European countries occupied.

No Africa chief was invited to this meeting or consulted about the whole process ofpartitioning. Soon after this meeting ended agents of many European powers startedcoming to Africa and began to demarcate boundaries for their claims, which becameknown as colonies. The only parts, which survived the scramble, were Liberia andAbyssinia (Ethiopia).

The "Scramble for Africa".

Until the 1870s only Portugal, Britain and France of the European nations had madeany substantial colonization in Africa. And. the French and British advances had beenrather spasmodic, their colonial policies varying with the government or regime in power,and with the enterprise of its representatives in Africa. In the 1870s, however, the outlookof the European nations towards African colonization changed. This was partly due to thegreater knowledge of the continent obtained from exploration, and consequent increasedopportunities for trade and access to valuable raw materials; and partly due to efforts toprotect the explorers and missionaries and to suppress slavery and the remnants of theslave trade. But it was also due to a new spirit of national prestige, stemming largely fromthe unification of both Germany and Italy in the period 1859-1870; and perhaps to someextent due to the rise of a sentiment that it was the duty of the "superior" white man tocivilize, educate and convert the Africans - a sentiment which ignored the fact that thewhite man was not necessarily superior, and that the Africans might well be muchhappier, and certainly preferred, to be left alone.

The result was the “scramble for Africa", in which the European nations competedwith each other for colonies there. One of the earliest targets was Tunisia, where Italy had



greatly extended her commercial interests and hoped to gain control of the country but, asalready mentioned, was forestalled by the French in 1881. The French people were novery ardent colonists; but France’s policy, after her humiliating defeat by Prussia in 1870,had become one of vast colonial expansion, partly to restore her international prestige.Bismarck, the creator of Germany, did not want colonies, but deferred to pressure byGerman commercial interests, and Germany joined in the competition.

There then followed, in 1884-85, a remarkable international conference in Berlin atwhich rules were drawn up for colonization in Africa. There were many provisions in theAct emanating from the conference, the main one being that all signatories had to notifythe others of any intended action to take possession of any part of the African coast or topenetrate into the interior - and in effect to obtain the approval of the other signatories. Inthis way, although there were international disputes and 'incidents', Africa was carved upby the European nations without armed conflict between them.

One of the first agreements arising from the Berlin conference was the recognition ofthe "Congo Free State" as the personal possession of King Leopold II of the Belgians.(Belgium had been an independent country since 1830).The enterprising Leopold, seeingthe possibilities of central Africa opened up by the explorations of Livingstone, Stanleyand others, had called an international conference in 1876 to co-ordinate furtherexploration and suppress the slave trade. (This was the forerunner of the Berlinconference eight years later.) An international association was formed – largely Belgian -and Leopold engaged Stanley to establish trading posts in the Congo area and maketreaties with the African chiefs. Stanley spent 5 years doing this. The international aspectof the operations soon evaporated, and Leopold financed the enterprise from his privatefortune - hence the award of the Congo Free State as his personal property. Early in the1900s mismanagement and ill-treatment of the Africans in the Congo Free State led tointernational concern, particularly in Britain and the United States. The result was that in1908 the Belgian government took over the colony, and the worst of the abuses wereremoved.

In general, the period from 1885 to about 1920 was one of invasion, conquest and/ornegotiations with African rulers by the European powers in their chosen and allottedareas, and the setting up of colonial rule. The only African states to survive asindependent were Ethiopia and Liberia. In some of the more powerful and organizedAfrican countries resistance was fierce and prolonged, but in the end they succumbed tothe superior weapons and equipment of the invaders. Another cause of the defeat of theAfricans was that there was no unity amongst them – either between different states, orwithin each state. Some countries comprised several different African peoples, with oneruling and oppressing the others. The Europeans could often recruit African soldiers fortheir invading armies.



Altogether some 40 colonies or protectorates were formed. Taking in turn theEuropean nations involved:-France was the most active colonial power, and acquired thelargest area of territory. By 1900 her African empire included Algeria and Tunisia in thenorth; Senegal, French Guinea, Ivory Coast and Dahomey in the West Africancoastlands; French West Africa which took in nearly all the Sahara and western Sudan;French Equatorial Africa which comprised Gabon, some of the Congo and central Sudan(modern Chad); French Somaliland (Djibouti), and the island of Madagascar. France didnot achieve this without a number of severe struggles, particularly in Dahomey, and inthe Lake Chad area where they met with resistance from the Senussi. It was well into the20th century before the French had won control in the western and central Sudan. InMadagascar resistance by the Hova dynasty was not finally overcome until 1896. The laststage of French colonization was in Morocco, where France, Spain, Germany, Britain andItaly competed for influence over the Sultan. Eventually, in 1912, the country became aFrench protectorate, except for the Spanish possessions in the north - around Ceuta andMelilla. Resistance by the Riff tribes continued. A prolonged rising by them in the 1920swas suppressed, but guerilla action went on into the 1940s.

Britain completed her occupation of Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Gambia and Sierra Leonein West Africa, and acquired Kenya, Nyasaland*, Uganda, Zanzibar (where the ArabSultan accepted a British protectorate) and British Somaliland in the east. In the GoldCoast there were two more wars with the Ashanti before it became a British colony in1902. In Somaliland a Moslem Somali leader, nicknamed the "Mad Mullah" by theBritish, caused a lot of trouble by raids against the British forces during the first 20 yearsof the 20th century.

In Egypt a British-officered Egyptian army defended the frontier with the Sudan for 10years against the Mahdi’s successor until Britain decided on re-conquest to end thisnuisance and to deliver the Sudanese from tyranny. In 1896-98 the re-conquest wasachieved by a British/Egyptian army under Lord Kitchener. The eastern Sudan cameunder the joint control of Britain and Egypt - and Britain continued to rule Egypt until1922. (By a British unilateral declaration Egypt then became formally independent, butwith certain powers reserved to Britain, including the future of the Sudan. The last Britishtroops left Egypt in 1956, leaving the Sudan a separate state, independent of Egypt.)

In British South Africa the dominant personality in political affairs in the 1880s andearly 1890a was Cecil Rhodes who had visions of British dominion from Cape Colony toCairo. He was alarmed at the threat to the route to the north by German infiltration inSouth West Africa on one side and the Boers of the Transvaal on the other; and when theBechuana tribes in 1885 asked for protection against Boer aggression, Britain proclaimedBechuanaland (modern Botswana) to be a British protectorate.

Rhodes later turned his attention to the land north of the Transvaal – ancient Zimbabwe- then divided between the Shona and the Zulus (with whom Britain had already had a



serious conflict in 1879). The British now intervened in a Shona-Zulu war, defeating theZulus; but some years later, in 1896, they were faced with a formidable rising of bothpeoples, which they suppressed. The whole area was given the name Rhodesia, separatedin 1911 into the two protectorates of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, north and south ofthe Zambezi. Northern Rhodesia is modern Zambia, Southern Rhodesia modernZimbabwe**

Returning to the “scramble" - Germany acquired the Cameroons and Togo, South WestAfrica (Namibia) and Tanganyika. To the latter were joined Rwanda and Burundi, toform German East Africa. In the first decade of the 20th century the Hottentots and theHerero tribes in South West Africa and the African tribes in Tanganyika all rebelled,unsuccessfully, against German rule.

Italy, after being disappointed in Tunisia, was ‘awarded' Eritrea (north of Ethiopia) andItalian Somaliland. Not content with this she embarked in 1887 on an attempt to conquerEthiopia. After establishing a sort of protectorate, with the terms of which the Emperor ofEthiopia did not agree, the Italians invaded the country again in 1896, only to bedisastrously defeated at Adowa. Still in search of a greater African empire, Italy invadedTripolitania in 1911. The Turks, attacked by a league of Balkan countries, withdrew fromTripolitania to meet the menace nearer home - and Italy conquered Tripolitania andCyrenaica; but they had great difficulty with the Senussi, who were not finally subdueduntil the early 1930s. In 1934 Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were united to form the Italiancolony of Libya.

Portugal, as well as being confirmed in her possession of Mozambique and Angola,was awarded “Portuguese" Guinea. Portugal also still possessed the Cape Verde Islandsand Madeira. Spain kept her ancient possessions - in northern Morocco, the CanaryIslands and the island of Fernando Po (which she obtained from Portugal in the 18thcentury). To Fernando Po she added the nearby mainland area of Rio Muni, to formSpanish Guinea; and along the north-west coast she acquired the Spanish Sahara.*Nyasaland was ancient Malawi, Uganda largely the ancient Kingdom ofBuganda.Britain acquired both mainly by peaceful agreement with the Africans.**The history of Rhodesia, while it was Rhodesia, is included in the history of SouthAfrica. (After the Boer War of 1899-1902, the Boer Transvaal and Orange Free Statebecame British colonies, and in 1910 were united with Cape Colony and Natal to formthe British dominion, the Union of South Africa.)

Results of the Scramble for Africa1. During the New Imperialism period, by the end of the 19th century, Europe added

almost 9 million square miles (23,000,000 km) — one-fifth of the land area of the globe— to its overseas colonial possessions.

2. Between 1885 and 1914 Britain took nearly 30% of Africa's population under itscontrol, to 15% for France, 9% for Germany, 7% for Belgium and only 1% for Italy.



Nigeria alone contributed 15 million subjects, more than in the whole of French WestAfrica or the entire German colonial empire.

3. Loss of Independence of African Chiefs. Once the colonialists settled on theAfrican soil, they set up colonial administrative offices in order to rule the Africans. InFrench occupied territories, the indigenous Africans were ruled directly. The British onthe other hand ruled the Africans indirectly through the chiefs. This was called IndirectRule. Most of the powers that the chiefs had were grabbed from them by theimperialists. The British and the French were determined to put things in order andestablish a clear administrative hierarchy with Europeans at the top and Africans below.

4. In the beginning, European countries claimed to be only interested in raw materials.But soon casual commercial dealings were replaced by systematic exploitation andcontrol of Africa’s resources. In their extraction of raw materials like minerals in SouthAfrican and Rhodesian mines, they did not consider the destruction their activities causedto the natural environment.

5. By the end of the century Europeans were covering the continent with railways

and roads. Though the roads that were made mostly followed the already existing slaveroutes, the others went to areas where Europeans wanted to access raw materials. Therailway lines were a completely new phenomenon on the African continent.



MODULE-II

THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND PEACE PROCESSES

FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1918)

The 20th century ushered in a veritable ‘era of conflicts’ in different parts of the world.During 1894-95, the Sino-Japanese War took place, resulting in the victory of Japan overChina. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) soon followed in the Far East leading to thecomplete defeat of Russia. In 1905, the Russian Revolution transformed the ancientTsarist autocracy into a Constitutional Monarchy. The "young Turks" under theleadership of Mustapha Kemal Ataturk Pasha, the father of modern Turkey, carried out arevolution in the Ottoman Empire in 1908-1909.In 1911, Italy seized the Ottomanprovinces of Tripoli and Cyrenaica. This led to the two Balkan Wars which involvedAustria-Hungary, Russia, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and the Ottoman Empire as wellthe Balkan countries like Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Albania, Montenegro, and Bosniaand Herzegovina. Great national and international rivalry was provoked by these Balkanwars which formed one of the important underlying causes of First World War.

Features.First World War, which started in the year 1914, possessed novel features in several

respects. It was one of its kinds in the history of mankind. World War I occurred on aworldwide scale. Many wars had taken place before 1914.However they did not affectpeople all over the world collectively. World War I was the first war to be fought on aworldly scale. It had repercussions on almost every country in the world.

It was also the first international war to make use of modern technology for thepurpose of destruction and defense. This war saw the use of a large variety of guns,cannons, tanks, bombs, aero planes, warships and submarines, causing great destructionto life and property throughout the world.

The First World War could also be called a total war, since it was the first internationalwar to be fought on the land and above the land, on the sea and under the sea, with theuse of tanks, aero planes and submarines. Dr.David Thompson points out that one ofWorld War I’s greatest novelties was "a remarkable disparity between the ends sought,the price paid, and the results obtained."

Causes1. The main cause of the First World War was the ever-rising tide of militarism inEurope. There was a terrible race for armaments after 1870, throughout Europe. Thoughthese armaments were meant for national defense, they created universal suspicion, fearand hatred among nations."Further, in every country there were influential militaryofficers who believed that war was inevitable." They persuaded their governments



towards mobilization of the armed forces. This increased military and naval rivalriesamong nations.

Finally most militarists believed in "preventive" war that is declaring war upon theenemy, while he was weak and crushing him, before he could become strong. ThusGermany wanted to wage war against Russia, before the latter could reorganize its armedforces. Similarly, England desired to crush the growing German navy, before it couldbecome a greater menace to England. Thus, by 1914, all European countries werecompletely armed and ready meet each other in combat.

2. Aggressive nationalism was partly responsible for First World War. The love of one’scountry demanded the hatred of another country. Thus the love of France demanded thehatred of Germany, while the love of Germany demanded the hatred of England and viceversa. The chief principle for every patriot was "my country right or wrong." Thisaggressive nationalism created a favorable atmosphere for war.

3. There were national rivalries between Germany and Britain, between Japan andAmerica and also between Germany and Russia. This led to the First World War. TheGerman Kaiser William II declared that Germany was determined to become a worldpower and this would arouse rivalry with Britain. Owing to the Franco-Prussian War of1870, France lost Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia. It had to recover these provinces. Therewas also a crisis in the Balkans, leading to the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913,because of the rivalry between Germany and Russia.

4. There was great colonial imperialism owing to the need for raw materials, overseasmarkets for surplus manufacturers and for colonies for investing surplus capital. This ledto colonial conflicts and national rivalries.

5. There was a poisoning of public opinion by the press in all the countries. Newspaperswould take up some point of dispute and exaggerate it. They made attacks and counter-attacks, engendering a regular newspaper war. Professor Sidney B. Fay comments thatthey "so offered a fertile soil in which the seeds of real war might easily be germinated."This was especially true in Austria, Serbia, Germany and France, where there weremisrepresentations, suppression of truth and tossing of insults thus creating anatmosphere of mutual hatred and suspicion, which eventually led to the Great War.

6. The system of secret alliances was one of the factors that contributed to the First WorldWar. In 1879, Germany entered into a defensive alliance with Austria-Hungary. It wasknown as the ‘Dual Alliance’ against Russia and France. In 1882, Italy joined the DualAlliance and thus brought into existence the Triple Alliance. Russia entered into adefensive alliance with France in 1890. In 1904, France entered into a defensive alliancewith England known as the ‘Entente Cordiale.’

In 1907, Russia joined the ‘Entente Cordiale’, thus bringing into existence the TripleEntente, which pitted itself against the Triple Alliance. Later Japan joined the TripleEntente, while Romania and Turkey joined the Triple Alliance. Professor Fay rightly



mentions that "the system of secret alliances made it inevitable that if war did come, itwould involve all the great powers of Europe. The members of each group felt bound tosupport each other."

7. The Great War of 1914 was partly caused by the existence of international anarchy.Professors Hayes, Moon and Wayland observe that "Every nation could do what itpleased, or what it dared, because there was no international government to make lawsfor the nations and to compel all nations to respect such laws." No state was ready tosubmit its dispute with another to any arbitration, or to seek any method of peacefulsettlement. Thus the situation was favorable for a war.

8. The murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, on June 28, 1914,by a twenty-four year old fanatical Serbian student in Sarajevo (Bosnia) was the sparkthat set the World War off.

Course of the WarWith the news of the murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife,

Austria decided to crush Serbia with the support of Germany. An ultimatum was servedto Serbia by Austria, which made certain demands on her. When Serbia refused tocomply with these demands, Austria declared war with the defaulting country on July 20,1914. The next day, orders of mobilization were issued by Germany and also by Russia.Germany declared war on France on August 3, 1914. After Germany’s invasion ofBelgium on August 4, 1914, England declared war against Germany.

During the early phase of the war, which included the Battle of Verdun, events movedin favor of the Allies. In early 1915, Italy and Rumania joined the Allies. The year 1917marked a turning point in the course of the war. After being defeated by the Germans, theRussians were highly demoralized. In 1917, they revolted against the Czar andestablished a Republic. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed with Germany, by thenew government in March 1918.

The war at sea was also in favor of the Allies. However Germany’s position grewstronger with the collapse of Russia. Germany began to manufacture ‘U-boats’ on a largescale and began a submarine warfare. The German submarines then began to destroy theBritish battleships as well as the American merchant ships. Hence the U.S.A. declaredwar against Germany on April 6, 1917. U.S.A.’s entry into the war turned the war infavor of the Allies. Finally Germany surrendered in November 1918, on the basis of theFourteen Points, announced by President Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.A. An armisticewas signed on November 11, 1918.

The Paris Peace Conference was held in January 1919 in order to end the war.However only the representatives of the victorious states attended the Peace Conference.The defeated states were not represented. Among the most important members of theConference were the "Big Four" namely Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France(known as the ‘Tiger’ of France), Lloyd George, the Prime Minister of England,Woodrow Wilson, the President of the U.S.A.; and Orlando of Italy. The delegates at the



council were assisted by an army of secretaries, historians, geographers, financiers andother experts. Finally five treaties were drawn up by the delegates, namely,

1. Versailles with Germany,2. St. Germaine with Austria,3. Trianon with Hungary,4. Neville with Bulgaria, and5. Sevres with Turkey.

Since the defeated states were forced to sign these treaties, it was also known as a"dictated peace."Consequences

Revolutionary changes were brought about by the First World War in all forms ofsocial life, as well as in all modes of thinking. The war produced consequences ofworldwide significance. World War I caused a terrible loss of human life and property. Itinvolved practically all the countries of Europe and the U.S.A., as well as most of theAfrican and Asian states. Nine million men were killed, and twenty-nine million menwere wounded or missing. Thirteen million died on account of civilian massacres, diseaseand famine, which overtook the world, as a consequence of the Great War. The financialcost of the Great War was estimated to have been about 400 billion dollars.

The map of Europe was reconstructed by a series of treaties.By the Treaty of Versailles, Germany surrendered

i. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine and the coal mines of the Saar basin toFrance

ii. Eupen and Malmedy to Belgiumiii. Memel to Lithuaniaiv. Northern Schleswig to Denmarkv. Five-sixth of the territory of Posen, most of West Prussia and Upper Silesia and

Danzig (the corridor to the sea) to Poland.The Treaty of St. Germaine was imposed on Austria on September 10, 1919. As a

result of this treaty, the Empire of Austria-Hungary was destroyed. Austria and Hungarywere separated. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were created as two new states.

The Allies imposed a separate treaty, called the Treaty of Trianon, upon Hungary onJune 4, 1920. Hungary lost about 90,000 square miles of territory with a population ofabout 12 million under this treaty.

The Treaty of Neville was forced by the Allies upon Bulgaria on November 27, 1919.

Finally, the Allied powers imposed the Treaty of Sevres upon Turkey on August 10,1920.

Nationalism triumphed to a great extent. The German, the Austrian and Hungarian, theTurkish and the Russian empires were shattered. On their ruins, new national states werebuilt, which were founded on the principle of ‘self-determination’ of the people, asadvocated by President Woodrow Wilson. The Polish territories, which were seized by



Russia, Prussia and Austria, at the congress of Vienna of 1815, were joined to form thesovereign state of Poland. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were formed into two newindependent ideologies and economic systems.

The above Treaties aimed at reducing the armaments of the vanquished and keepingthem militarily weak. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany stand fully unarmedbefore the fully armed Allied powers. All kinds of tanks, armored cars, military aeroplanes, submarines and air force, were forbidden in Germany. The manufacture of armsand ammunition was heavily restricted. The Treaty of St. Germaine reduced the Austrianarmy to 30,000 soldiers and her naval force to only three police boats on the Danube.

The end of the war caused serious problems such as large-scale unemployment and alsoa disruption of normal industrial and economic life. This created a favorable atmospherefor the growth of leftist and other parties, such as Socialist, Communist, Fascist and Naziparties which gained power in Europe. It also led to the birth of communism in Russia,and authoritarian dictatorships in Italy, Germany, Spain and Turkey.

The Allied Powers set up a Reparation Commission to estimate the total amount ofreparation to be made by Germany. The latter was supposed to make financial atonementfor all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies. It was to make an initialpayment of five billion dollars. It was also to devote its economic resources to thephysical restoration of the devastated areas in France. German criminals were to be triedand punished by military tribunals of the Allied Powers.

First World War led to the emergence of Great Powers in Europe, America and the FarEast. Great Britain proved to be the leading maritime and colonial power on earth. Francecame to be regarded as a great military power in Europe. Japan enhanced its power andprestige in the Far East, at the cost of China and Russia. Finally, the U.S.A. emergedfrom the Great War as a great world power.

The Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany; it was fully deprived of hercolonies and was totally disarmed by the treaty. She had to pay a crushing war indemnity.It was natural then, that the Germans grew up on the cult of revenge under the leadershipof Adolph Hitler who was mainly responsible for World War II.

To promote international co-operation and peace, the American President WoodrowWilson decided to create the League of Nations at the Paris Peace Conference. It was tofunction through three organs namely, an Assembly, a Council and a PermanentSecretariat. It was to have two affiliated organizations called the Permanent Court ofInternational Justice and the International Labor Office.

The Balkan WarAccording to the conditions of the Berlin Treaty, different Christian races were forced

to stay in different kingdoms. These races gradually thought of making their own



federation, as they were greatly influenced by European ideologies. But their desire couldnot take the shape of reality.

The Bulgarian Issue (1885) arose as it had captured Rumania which troubled Serbiaimmensely. It led to a war between Bulgaria and Serbia. As a result, the Balkan kingdomswere prevented from forming a federation of their own. Bulgaria had intentions ofannexing Macedonia to her kingdom and establishing a democracy. Besides Bulgaria,Serbia and Grecia also wanted Macedonia included in their kingdom. There were regularfights among themselves. Due to this, the formation of a federation was effected. AsBulgaria opposed it, even the Greek Prime Minister did not succeed in his efforts ofbringing these states closer to the formation of a federation.

However, when the birthday of the ruler of Montenegro was celebrated in 1910, theRuler of Bulgaria, the Serbian and Greek Princes also actively participated in it. After amilitary pact made by Greece, Venizelos, the Greek Prime Minister, made a federationcomprising Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. Later, Montenegro joined it. Thus, the BalkanStates formed the Federation.

The Main Issues leading to the Balkan WarsAs Turkey was weak, the Balkan Kingdoms (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro)

decided to attack her, with the aim of distributing its parts among themselves. They(Balkan Kingdoms) had made a pact among themselves to distribute the spoils ofMacedonia. Accordingly, they waged a war against Turkey and defeated it. Serbia andMontenegro captured Albania and reached Constantinople. The unjust demands of thevictors made Turkey wage another war with the Balkans, but to no avail. She lost itagain. She was now forced to accept the terms of the victors. A Treaty was signed inLondon (1913). According to this London Treaty, nearly all the territories of Turkey werelost to the Balkans.

Balkan War of 1913Now the Balkan Peninsula kingdoms fought among themselves on the question of the

distribution of Macedonia. In this war, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Romania took uparms against Bulgaria. As it was difficult for Bulgaria to face the strong armies of thesekingdoms, she made peace with them.

Effect of the Balkan WarsTurkey suffered immense loss of men and territorial possessions as a result of these

wars. Greece, Romania and Serbia acquired the territorial gains. Bulgaria was humiliatedby its defeat in war. Turkey helped Romania, Serbia and Greece against Bulgaria. It alsoenhanced the hostilities between the two, but the Treaty of Constantinople made peacebetween them.

The Peninsula of Balkan is said to be the Volcano of Europe. As far as Europe wasconcerned, it remained constantly endangered by the conflicts of these kingdoms. The



interests of the European rulers clashed with one another for the Balkan Peninsula. TheGreat War of 1914 was fought as a direct result of the Balkan wars.

War Technology

First World War was one of the defining events of the 20th century. From 1914 to 1918conflict raged in much of the world and involved most of Europe, the United States, andmuch of the Middle East. In terms of technological history, World War I is significantbecause it marked the debut of many new types of weapons and was the first major warto “benefit” from technological advances in radio, electrical power, and othertechnologies.

World War I grew out of a variety of factors that had been building up throughoutEurope in the preceding decades. During the later 1800s many European countriesexperienced a rise in nationalism. Nationalism, combined with growing industrialcapabilities, led to military buildups and an increasingly tense political situationthroughout the continent. Nations were increasingly nervous about what their neighborsmight be planning. In response to this tension, England, France, and Russia (Italy wouldjoin in 1915 after the war was underway) formed the “Triple Entente” and aligned againstGermany and Austria-Hungary. This was one of numerous alliances that divided Europeand made world war virtually impossible to avoid if one nation took action againstanother.

The flashpoint of the war is generally regarded as the 1914 assassination of ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, during a state visit to Sarajevo.Austria-Hungry turned its anger towards Serbia, who, they believed, encouraged andabetted the assassination. In retaliation, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia. On 29 July, indefense of Serbia, Tsar Nicholas II mobilized Russia’s armed forces to pressure Austria-Hungary. Three days later, on 1 August, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany honored itsalliance with Austria-Hungary, and declared war on Russia. That same day, France,following its alliance with Russia, mobilized. Two days later, on 3 August, Germanydeclared war on France. Great Britain, as an ally of France, declared war on Germany on4 August. Less than a month and a half after the assassination of the Archduke and withina week of the first military mobilizations the peoples of Europe were engulfed in war.

From the onset, those involved in the war were aware that technology would make acritical impact on the outcome. In 1915 British Admiral Jacky Fisher wrote, “The war isgoing to be won by inventions.” New weapons, such as tanks, the zeppelin, poison gas,the airplane, the submarine, and the machine gun, increased casualties, and brought thewar to civilian populations. The Germans shelled Paris with long-range (60 miles or 100kilometers) guns; London was bombed from the air for the first time by zeppelins.



World War I was also the first major war that was able to draw upon electricaltechnologies that had been in development at the turn of the century. Radio, for example,became essential for communications. The most important advance in radio was thetransmission of voice rather than code, something the electron tube, as oscillator andamplifier, made possible. Electricity also made a huge impact on the war. Battleships, forexample, might have electric signaling lamps, an electric helm indicator, electric firealarms, remote control—from the bridge—of bulkhead doors, electrically controlledwhistles, and remote reading of water level in the boilers. Electric power turned guns andturrets and raised ammunition from the magazines up to the guns. Searchlights—bothincandescent and carbon-arc—became vital for nighttime navigation, for long-rangedaytime signaling, and for illuminating enemy ships in night engagements.

Submarines also became potent weapons. Although they had been around for years, itwas during First World War that they began fulfilling their potential as a major threat.Unrestricted submarine warfare, in which German submarines torpedoed ships withoutwarning—even civilian ships belonging to non-combatant nations such as the UnitedStates—resulted in the sinking of the Lusitania on 7 May 1915, killing 1,195 people.Outrage over the Lusitania and other sinkings, coupled with other factors brought theUnited States out of its isolationism to declare war on Germany in 6 April 1917. Findingways to outfit ships to detect submarines became a major goal for the allies. Researchersdetermined that allied ships and submarines could be outfitted with sensitivemicrophones that could detect engine noise from enemy submarines. These underwatermicrophones played an important part in combating the submarine threat. The Allies alsodeveloped sonar, but it came too close to the end of the war to offer much help.

The war, especially the brutality of trench warfare, brought death and disease on a scalepeople had never before experienced. During the 10-month-long Battle of Verdun in1916, for example, as many as 1,000,000 people were killed. As the war dragged on,casualties increased, and the war became unpopular with ordinary people. Revolution in1917 led to the end of Russian participation in the war and precipitated the Bolshevikregime. Just over a year later, a worker’s revolution in Germany forced the abdication ofKaiser Wilhelm II on 9 November 1918. With the militaristic Kaiser out of the way,Germany requested an armistice. Two days later, it took effect on the “Eleventh hour ofthe eleventh day of the eleventh month.” On 28 June 1919 German delegates signed theTreaty of Versailles and the war was officially over.

Although the war was over, its ramifications were far reaching. Technologically, greatstrides had been made in just about every area that might come into play during war. Butthe costs had been dear, and the end only temporary. Deaths from “The Great War” havebeen estimated at 10,000,000, and the end of the war itself, the Treaty of Versailles andits humiliating terms for Germany, laid the groundwork for World War II. The war was



called “the war to end all wars,” and at the time that seemed possible. Unfortunately, itwould prove untrue in less than a generation.

Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points were first outlined in a speech Wilson gave to theAmerican Congress in January 1918. Wilson's Fourteen Points became the basis for apeace programme and it was on the back of the Fourteen Points that Germany and herallies agreed to an armistice in November 1918.

1. No more secret agreements ("Open covenants openly arrived at").

2. Free navigation of all seas.

3. An end to all economic barriers between countries.

4. Countries to reduce weapon numbers.

5. All decisions regarding the colonies should be impartial

6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia. Russia should be left to develop herown political set-up.

7. Belgium should be independent like before the war.

8. France should be fully liberated and allowed to recover Alsace-Lorraine

9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy. Italy's borders are to "alongclearly recognizable lines of nationality."

10. Self-determination should be allowed for all those living in Austria-Hungary.

11. Self-determination and guarantees of independence should be allowed for the Balkanstates.

12. The Turkish people should be governed by the Turkish government. Non-Turks in theold Turkish Empire should govern themselves.

13. An independent Poland should be created which should have access to the sea.

14. A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorialindependence of all states.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The First World War caused heavy losses and suffering to the people of the countriesdevastated by war or by blockade. To this were added the 0nancial burdens to remedythose evils. The world now realized that war like gunpowder merely destroys and neverrebuilds and that it is a useless way of settling international disputes. This conviction ledto the founding of the League of Nations. It held out the hope that union of states couldcollectively assure the world better security of life and property than an individual statecould do. League of Nation sought to convert the war mentality of man into a peacementality. This plan might have appeared to some as impracticable but that was the onlyway to human progress.



It included (I) an assembly in which all states big and small had equal representation.(2) The Security Council which; it first included five permanent members—England,USA, France, Japan and Italy- -and four non-permanent members elected from the rest ofthe states. In 1926 Germany was admitted as the permanent member of the SecurityCouncil and non-permanent membership was raised to 9. As the USA senate failed toratify the Treaty of Versailles USA ceased to be a member of the League (3) ASecretariat under a Secretary General (4; A number of other agencies like theInternational Court of Justice consisting of 15 judges, International Labour Organizationto negotiate treaties for protection of working men and women all over the world andbetter their conditions of life. The League set up expert agencies to deal with social work,with the problems of health and social evils, to control international transport, improvethe financial conditions of the worn-torn countries, to rehabilitate: prisoners of war andrefugees etc. The Mandate Committee was in charge of mandated territories and theMinority Committee safeguarded the interests of the minorities in all countries.

Its Aim: The Covenant of the League lays down its main aims. Its first aim was tomaintain international peace and security by banishing war as a means of settlinginternational disputes and to co-operate in promoting social and economic well being ofthe peoples of the world.

Its achievements. It carried out certain treaty obligations. Accordingly the Leaguesupervised plebiscites in Schleswig and East Prussia and Upper Silesia. It administeredthe Free City of Danzig and governed the Saar Basin for 15 years and enforced the rightsof the minorities and administered the mandated territories. It promoted humanitarianwork, secured humane and fair treatment of the natives in colonies, equality ofopportunities in commerce and took adequate steps to control or prevent diseases andestablished voluntary Red Cross Societies.

In 1921 it forced Serbia to withdraw its forces from Albania. In 1923 it settled adispute between Italy and Greece over the Island of Corfu. It saved Austria and Hungaryfrom an economic collapse by advancing them credit In 1925 it averted a clash betweenGreece and Bulgaria. However in disputes, where big powers were involved the Leaguefailed. Thus it could do nothing when Poland seized Vilna belonging to Lithuania,because Poland's claims were supported by France. It compelled Sweden to hand overAland Islands to Finland. When dispute arose between Turkey and Iraq over the Mosulterritory it fixed the boundary. Some 400,000 prisoners of war were repatriated to theirhomes It looked after the refugees turned out by Turkey and took adequate steps to checkthe spread of typhus from Russia and the sale of arms to the native tribes.

Two other outstanding achievements of the League were the Briand-Kellogg Pact andthe European Federal Union. It was sponsored by Briand, French Foreign Minister and by



Kellogg, the USA Foreign Secretary. The members who signed the Pact in 1928 resolvednot to use war as a means to settle international disputes. The European Federal Unionsponsored by Brand aimed at organizing European states into a union and createmachinery to discuss common problems and give up war as a means of settlinginternational disputes. But the lukewarm attitude of some of the European powers did nothold out any hope of its realization. All hopes of lasting peace disappeared with the deathof Briand in 1932 and his place was taken by other.

Decline of the League: The League failed to solve the disarmament question. Thepreamble to the League laid down that reduction of the armaments to the level necessaryto maintain the security of the state was the necessary condition for world peace. BritishPrime Minister said that unless the allied powers reduced their armaments it would bedifficult to make Germany to disarm. Now France that was afraid of Germany refused toreduce its armaments until Britain gave the guarantee of aid. In 1932 at the instance ofUSA a World Conference on Disarmament met at Washington. France suggested theorganization of an international military force and it was to be supplemented by nationalcontingents as the League might decide. It would have been the right step but the planwas shelved. USA then proposed that all the governments should reduce their armamentsby a third. But others put forward proposals of excluding certain types of armaments suchas heavy artillery, bombing craft, chemical warfare etc- and as a result to decision wasreached on the question But Germany's right, to increase its armaments gradually to thelevel of other' nations' was recognized It was a great blunder. The Nazis who came lopower in 1933 withdrew from the League and started arming itself at a rate whichthreatened European peace. Naturally other nations followed the example of Germanyuntil Europe was ready for a second show down.

As time went on the League's authority steadily declined. It suffered a reverse onManchurian issue. In 1931 Japan, a permanent member of the Security Council annexedManchuria, a Chinese province, and converted it into the Kingdom of Man-chuko. TheLeague declared Japan guilty and wanted it to vacate But it retaliated by withdrawingfrom the League and the League could do nothing to make it vacate the aggression. Itsprestige suffered further when Italy conquered Abyssinia in 1936. The dispute began withclashes between the two powers on the Abyssinian frontier. On a complaint made byAbyssinia the League appointed a commission which found that neither of the twopowers was guilty and it suggested that they should withdraw Italy refused even whenfavorable concessions were offered to it. The League then recommended economicsanctions against Italy and about fifty nations responded but in spite of Italy annexedAbyssinia. Rape of Abyssinia was a glaring example of the League's weakness. Italy wasa permanent member of the Security Council and was represented at the PeaceConference at Versailles and had sponsored the entry of Abyssinia in to the League. It



had also signed the Briand-Kellogg Pact and was a member of the proposed EuropeanConcert. The World was stunned when such a state committed aggression and it knewthat Italy was guilty.

Causes of Failure. There were certain underlying causes for the failure of the: League.(1) It did not represent all the nations of the world and to that extent its authorityremained weak. (2) The economic sanctions used against state could not produceimmediate effects. Military sanctions would have been more effective but they werefraught with danger. After the withdrawal of Japan, Germany and Italy, responsibility formilitary sanctions would have fallen only on Britain as others could contribute very little.It was not in the interest of Britain to entangle itself in a war which was against itseconomic interests, Further the European powers were unwilling to fight for a principle.(3) French Foreign Policy was to a large extent responsible for what happened. It hadconcluded a secret treaty of friendship with Italy assuring it the safety of its Alpinefrontier and France adopted a make-belief policy in its dealings. (4) Absence of USAfrom its membership was greatly responsible for its decline. (5) There was an utter lackof give and take policy among the powers which made it difficult to solve the disputesthrough arbitration.

The Russian Revolution, 1917One of the most significant single events in modern world history is undoubtedly the

Russian Revolution of 1917. It cannot be compared to any revolution (preceding orfollowing it) in its scope, its fundamentalism, dynamism and its immediate impact.

Causes.Various factors and forces led to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The economic factors were the main factors contributing to the Revolution, as theyresulted in poverty, misery and exploitation of the masses by the nobility.

Russia was mainly a highly backward agricultural country before the revolution. Theroyal family, the nobility and the clergy owned most of the agricultural land. Onlybetween three and ten acres of land was owned by 70% of the peasants. Many of themhad to earn their livelihood only 2½ acres land or even less. In addition they had to useprimitive tools, implements and methods of cultivation, which were not very productive.

Further, the poor peasants became poorer as they had to pay huge sums of rent andtributes to their landlords every year. This created great discontent among the farmerswho were ready to revolt against the Czarist government, in order to end this economicand social system.

In the industrial sphere too, Russia was backward and depended only on foreign capital.The workers and laborers had to endure miserable working conditions. They receivedextremely low wages and worked for 12 to 14 hours a day. They had to go without any



medical relief in case of an accident while on duty. They did not even have a weeklyholiday. It was considered a crime to form trade unions.

Moreover, the government did not attempt to improve these conditions. Instead, theRussian villages and cities suffered from poverty, dirt and disease caused by theexorbitant land revenue and the unbearably high taxes and levies.

There was an imbalance in the social structure, owing to the above economic factors.As a result 70% of the Russian population was illiterate. The social structure of Russiawas completely devoid of education, medical relief and public health. The masses beingpoor, hungry, diseased and ignorant were highly addicted to vodka, a very powerfulintoxicant. Above all the system of flogging that prevailed in the whole of Russia madeRussian social life, highly miserable, inhuman and wretched.

Political factors also formed an important cause of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Themasses had no legal means of improving the social structure. A strike was considered tobe a mutiny. The people had no press to ventilate their grievances.

The Czarist government was ruthless, absolute and repressive. On January 15, 1905, apeaceful demonstration led by Father Gapon at St. Petersburg was fired upon by theCzarist troops. The Duma (parliament) had limited powers. Franchise was not given towomen, laborers and the common people.

The growing discontent among the masses manifested itself in all aspects of nationallife. The working class became highly receptive to Marxist ideas infiltrating into Russia.In 1893, the Social Democratic Party was founded and in 1903, this party was split intotwo; the Bolsheviks led by Nikolai Lenin and the Mensheviks led by Martov. While theformer was revolutionary and supported by Stalin, the latter was evolutionary and wassupported by Trotsky.

In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, Russia, a giant state, received a crushing defeat atthe hands of Japan, a very small Asian power. The people realized that the Russian defeatwas due to the lack of a well trained and a well-equipped army. Thus it became essentialto end the Czarist regime.

The Revolution of 1905 gave the people a good experience in popular uprisings, strikes,lockouts and violent demonstrations against the Czarist government. Thus thisRevolution could be regarded as the dress rehearsal for the major upheaval that was tofollow in the future. This upheaval would eventually revolutionize the nation in thesocial, economic and political spheres.

Czar Nicholas II of Russia was under the influence of his Czarina AlexandraFyodorovna. She in turn was under the sway of the wicked and notorious monk Rasputin,who claimed to have spiritual powers that could heal the young prince. The latter wassuffering from an incurable disease. In order to please Rasputin, Czarina Alexandra usedto interfere in the day-to-day administration of the state. Thus the ministers and highofficials were appointed and dismissed on the careless advice of Rasputin, causing great



discontent among the people. Though Rasputin was killed by the nobles in December1916, the Czarina nobles in December 1916, the Czarina continued to influence theaffairs of the state till the Revolution of 1917.

The social, economic, political and psychological conditions in Russia had become sovulnerable that it only required a spark to cause the revolution. World War I wasresponsible in setting the ball of revolution rolling in Russia. Acute shortage ofammunition, poor generalship, lack of factories, demoralized soldiers, a corruptgovernment and high treason at all ranks, created a crisis in the state. The entire nationallife of the state was paralyzed. The peasants and workers denounced the war and theCzarist government. They held demonstrations and went on an indefinite strike. Thepeasants attacked and killed the Kulaks (rich peasants) and seized their lands. The heavylosses in battles undermined the morale of the soldiers, who deserted the front and joinedthe peasants, factory workers and sailors in the revolution that began on March 12, 1917.

Course of the Russian Revolution

During the year 1917, two revolutions took place in Russia. The February revolution of1917 led to the defeat of Czarism, and a republic was established in its place. Howeverthe October Revolution of 1917 established the dictatorship of the proletariat (i.e. thelaboring class).

The February revolution of 1917 began with the bread riots on February 23. This wasfollowed by a general industrial strike on February 25, in Petrograd. The entire Petrogradgarrison and the police, joined the revolution by February 27, and by the following day,Petrograd fell into the hands of the revolutionaries.

The February revolution was the spontaneous outbreak of a large number of workersand peasants. By February 27, two organizations came into existence namely theProvisional Committee of the Duma and the Provisional Executive Committee of thePetrograd Soviet of Workers’ Deputies. The latter that represented factory workers, socialrevolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks was to guide the revolution.

The Czarist ministers were arrested on February 28, 1917 and Commissars wereappointed in their place by the Provisional Committee of the Duma. The mutiny of thetroops occurred on March 1, 1917. Though the Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicateon March 2, 1917, all the members of the royal family remained under house arrest, untilthey were shot dead on July 16, 1918. This brought the Czarism in Russia to an end.

A provisional coalition government came into existence by March 3, 1917, under thepremiership of Prince George Lvov. The Allied powers soon recognized the provisionalgovernment; it was considered the ’legal successor’ to the Czarist government.



However, an ever-increasing number of workers and soldiers came to recognize theSoviets of Workers’ and Soldiers. Thus a Dual Power was established by the revolution,namely the Provisional Government and the government of the Soviets of Workers’ andSoldiers’ Deputies. The latter was soon established in all cities, towns and districts. Thefirst All -Russian Congress was announced by the end of March, 1917.

The brilliant leadership and the moving spirit of Lenin was responsible for the OctoberRevolution in Russia. Under his leadership, the Bolsheviks criticized and exposed theshortcomings of the Provisional Government. A huge armed demonstration was heldagainst the Provisional Government in Petrograd, on July 17, 1917. Prime MinisterGeorge Lvov was forced to resign. He was succeeded by Alexander Kerensky as the newPrime Minister.

However Kerensky’s new coalition Government soon grew unpopular. At the sametime, the masses became attracted towards the Bolsheviks, whom they regarded as thetrue champions of the revolution. The Bolsheviks became the majority party in most ofthe Soviets by October 2. They formed the Military Revolutionary Committee under LeonTrotsky. Under this committee, the Red Guards were organized and commissars wereprocured to take charge of the Petrograd army units. Thus the complete allegiance of thePetrograd troops was secured.

On October 25, the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was in sessionunder armed protection, was attacked by the Red Guards. All the ministers were arrestedand killed. Since the October revolution was a deliberately planned coup d’état by Leninand the Bolshevik controlled Petrograd Soviet, Lenin is rightly considered to be theFather of the Bolshevik Revolution.

According to the Constitution published and adopted on July 10, 1918, Russia wasnamed as the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. While the Constitution of1918 guaranteed certain basic rights to the exploited people, it also imposed some basicobligations on them. In 1922, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets created the Union ofSoviet Socialist Republic.

In 1921, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (N.E.P) which was a blend of state

socialism and state capitalism.

After Lenin’s death in 1924, there was a keen struggle between his lieutenants LeonTrotsky and Joseph Stalin, for taking his place. Stalin was successful in establishing hisdictatorship in the party, as well as in the country.

Joseph Stalin then inaugurated an era of five-Year plans in order to convert the weak,agrarian Russian economy into a powerful and stable industrial economy. He also



attempted to get rid of the Kulaks, by mechanization and the collectivization of all thefarms. Thus the First Five-Year Plan in 1928, the Second Five-Year Plan in 1933, and theThird Five-Year Plan in 1938, helped Stalin to realize his objectives completely. Owing tothese Five-Year plans, the Soviet Union became the second most highly industrializedcountry by 1940. The Revolution also enabled the Soviet Union to emerge from WorldWar II as the second super power; the first being the U.S.A. In 1936, Stalin gave a newconstitution to the U.S.S.R, which provided for such features as a secret ballot anduniversal adult franchise.

Consequences of the Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution is regarded as one of the most remarkable events in human

history since it set up a new way of living and thinking. Dr. J.E.Swain has rightlycommented, "Nothing has so completely challenged orthodox theories, since the Frenchrevolutionists overthrew the Bourbons. The Russians, in a few years, have set upstandards for a new way of living and thinking."

The Russian Revolution brought to an end the Czarist regime. In its place a Republicwas established. The Revolution threw a challenge to the values of western culture, thefundamental principles of trade and industry, the well-established systems of government,the social, economic and political institutions and the methods of diplomacy. Thus theworld was forced to re-evaluate the western values of democracy.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was an event of international significance. It struckterror in the minds of the capitalists all over the world as the Revolution made anirresistible appeal to the proletarians. Therefore it was claimed that "The proletarianshave nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of allcountries, unite!" The Russian Revolution thus invited the laboring people all over theworld to unite against the capitalist class. Thus a war was declared between totalitariandictatorship and democratic socialism, between Marxism and capitalism.

The colonial people were awoken form their long slumber of ignorance. A newconsciousness of their political rights against their imperialist masters had been injectedinto them. The revolution deeply affected the minds of millions in Asia and Africa; theywere provided with a fresh weapon in the form of the principle of self-determination ofall peoples.

The success of the Russian Revolution changed the character of the nationalistrevolutions in the colonial world. They were given a new social and economic content.

In the political field, the cult of the ’common man’ was a major result of Sovietdemocracy. The proletariat regarded socialism as absolutely necessary to complete



democracy and make it realistic. Countries like Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Peking, Chinaand Mongolia established proletarian dictatorship.

In the economic field, the conception of economic planning (Five-Year Plans) and theidea of central direction of the national economy with definite goals emerged from theSoviet Union. E.H. Carr declared, “If we are all planners now, this is largely the result,conscious or unconscious, of the impact of Soviet practice and Soviet achievement."

The Soviet economic planning was directed towards the realization of three well-defined social goals. Firstly, the promotion of the material and moral conditions of theproletariat; the realization of the social or the common good of society by and throughsociety and finally the securing of equal social obligations and rights.

The Bolshevik Revolution divided the world into two diametrically opposed powerblocs; one being the communist bloc led by the Soviet Union and the other being the anti-Communist bloc, under the leadership of the U.S. The Revolution of 1917 transformed apoverty-stricken Czarist Russia into a super power, under the guiding spirits of Lenin,Stalin and other leaders.

The Bolshevik Revolution is still going on. It continually demonstrates the values thattransformed a backward and decadent state into a super power of the world, within theshort span of sixty years. It attracts many more millions of Southeast Asia and the MiddleEast.

Establishment of USSRIn post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is

established in December 1922 comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine,and the Transcaucasia Federation (divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, andArmenian republics). Also known as the Soviet Union, the new communist state was thesuccessor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxistsocialism.

During the Russian Revolution of 1917 and subsequent three-year Russian Civil War,the Bolshevik Party under Vladimir Lenin dominated the soviet forces, a coalition ofworkers’ and soldiers’ committees that called for the establishment of a socialist state inthe former Russian Empire. In the USSR, all levels of government were controlled by theCommunist Party, and the party’s politburo, with its increasingly powerful generalsecretary, effectively ruled the country. Soviet industry was owned and managed by thestate, and agricultural land was divided into state-run collective farms.

In the decades after it was established, the Russian-dominated Soviet Union grew intoone of the world’s most powerful and influential states and eventually encompassed 15



republics–Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belorussia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Latvia, Lithuania, andEstonia. In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following the collapse of its communistgovernment.

Lenin (1870–1924) Vladimir Lenin was founder of the Russian Communist Party,leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and architect and first head of the Soviet state. Wideconsidered one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the 20thcentury, Vladimir Lenin engineered the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917 and latertook over as the first leader of the newly formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR).

Early Years

He was born Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov on April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk, Russia, whichwas later renamed Ulyanovsk in his honor. In 1901, he adopted the last name Lenin whiledoing underground party work. His family was well-educated, and Lenin, the third of sixchildren, was close to his parents and siblings. School was a central part of Lenin’schildhood. His parents, both educated and highly cultured, invoked a passion for learningin their children, especially Vladimir. A voracious reader, Lenin went on to finish first inhis high school class, showing a particular gift for Latin and Greek.

But not all of life was easy for Lenin and his family. Two situations in particularshaped his life. The first came when Lenin was a boy and his father, an inspector ofschools, was threatened with early retirement by a suspicious government nervous aboutthe influence public school had on Russian society.

The more significant and more tragic situation came in 1887, when Lenin’s olderbrother, Alexander, a university student at the time, was arrested and executed for being apart of a group planning to assassinate Emperor Alexander III. With his father alreadydead, Lenin now became the man of the family. Alexander’s involvement in oppositionalpolitics was not an isolated incident in Lenin’s family. In fact, all of Lenin’s siblingswould take part to some degree in revolutionary activities.

Young Revolutionary

The year of his brother’s execution, Lenin enrolled at Kazan University to study law.His time there was cut short, however, when, during his first term, he was expelled fortaking part in a student demonstration. Exiled to his grandfather’s estate in the village ofKokushkino, Lenin took up residence with his sister Anna, whom police had ordered tolive there as a result of her own suspicious activities.

There, Lenin immersed himself in a host of radical literature, including thenovel ‘What Is To Be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky, which tells the tale of acharacter named Rakhmetov, who carries a single-minded devotion to revolutionarypolitics. Lenin also soaked up the writing of Karl Marx, the German philosopher whosefamous book ‘Das Capital’ would have a huge impact on Lenin’s thinking. In January1889, Lenin declared himself a Marxist.



Eventually, Lenin received his law degree, finishing his schoolwork in 1892. Hemoved to the city of Samara, where his client base was largely composed of Russianpeasants. Their struggles against what Lenin saw as a class-biased legal system onlyreinforced his Marxist beliefs.In time, Lenin focused more of his energy on revolutionarypolitics. He left Samara in the mid-1890s for a new life in St. Petersburg, the Russiancapital at the time. There, Lenin connected with other like-minded Marxists and began totake an increasingly active role in their activities.

The work did not go unnoticed, and in December 1895 Lenin and several other Marxistleaders were arrested. Lenin was exiled to Siberia for three years. His fiancée and futurewife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, joined him.

Following his release from exile and then a stint in Munich, where Lenin and othersco-founded a newspaper, Iskra, to unify Russian and European Marxists, he returned toSt. Petersburg and stepped up his leadership role in the revolutionary movement. At theSecond Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903, a forceful Leninargued for a streamlined party leadership community, one that would lead a network oflower party organizations and their workers. “Give us an organization of revolutionaries,”Lenin said, “and we will overturn Russia!”The Revolution of 1905 &First World War

Lenin’s call was soon supported by events on the ground. In 1904 Russia went to warwith Japan. The conflict had a profound impact on Russian society. After a number ofdefeats put a strain on the country’s domestic budget, citizens from all walks of life beganto vocalize their discontent over the country’s political structure and called for reform.

The situation was heightened on January 9, 1905, when a group of unarmed workers inSt. Petersburg took their concerns directly to the city’s palace to submit a petition toEmperor Nicholas II. They were met by security forces, who fired on the group, killingand wounding hundreds. The crisis set the stage for what would be called the RussianRevolution of 1905.

Hoping to placate his citizens, the emperor issued his October Manifesto, offering upseveral political concessions, most notably the creation of an elected legislative assemblyknown as the Duma.But Lenin was far from satisfied. His frustrations extended to hisfellow Marxists, in particular the group calling itself the Mensheviks, led by JuliusMartov. The issues centered on party structure and the driving forces of a revolution tofully seize control of Russia. While his comrades believed that the power must residewith the bourgeoisie, Lenin passionately distrusted that segment of the population.Instead, he argued, a real and complete revolution, one that could lead to SocialistRevolution that could spread outside of Russia, must be led by the workers, the country’sproletariat.

From the Mensheviks’ point of view, however, Lenin’s ideas really paved the way fora one-man dictatorship over the people he claimed he wanted to empower. The twogroups had sparred since party’s Second Congress, which had handed Lenin’s group,known as the Bolsheviks, a slim majority. The fighting would continue until a 1912 partyconference in Prague, when Lenin formally split to create a new, separate entity.



During World War I Lenin went into exile again, this time taking up residence inSwitzerland. As always, his mind stayed focus on revolutionary politics. During thisperiod he wrote and published ‘Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism’ (1916), adefining work for the future leader, in which he argued that war was the natural result ofinternational capitalism.

Russian Leader

In 1917, a tired, hungry and war-weary Russia deposed the tsars. Lenin quicklyreturned home and, perhaps sensing his own path to power, quickly denounced thecountry’s newly formed Provisional Government, which had been assembled by a groupof leaders of the bourgeois liberal parties. Lenin instead called for a Soviet government,one that would be ruled directly by soldiers, peasants and workers.

In late 1917 Lenin led what was soon to be known as the October Revolution, but wasessentially a coup d’état. Three years of civil war followed. The Lenin-led Sovietgovernment faced incredible odds. The anti-Soviet forces, or Whites, headed mainly byformer tsarist generals and admirals, fought desperately to overthrow Lenin’s Redregime. They were aided by World War I Allies, who supplied the group with money andtroops.

Determined to win at any cost, Lenin showed himself to be ruthless in his push tosecure power. He launched what came to be known as the Red Terror, a viciouscampaign Lenin used to eliminate the opposition within the civilian population.

In August 1918 Lenin narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, when he wasseverely wounded with a pair of bullets from a political opponent. His recovery onlyreinforced his larger-than-life presence among his countrymen, though his health wasnever truly the same.

Despite the breadth of the opposition, Lenin came out victorious. But the kind ofcountry he hoped to lead never came to fruition. His defeat of an opposition that wishedto keep Russia tethered to Europe’s capitalist system, ushered in an era of internationalretreat for the Lenin-led government. Russia, as he saw it, would be void of class conflictand the international wars it fostered.

But the Russia he presided over was reeling from the bloody civil war he’d helpedinstigate. Famine and poverty shaped much of society. In 1921, Lenin now faced thesame kind of peasant uprising he’d ridden to power. Widespread strikes in cities and inrural sections of the country broke out, threatening the stability of Lenin’s government.To ease the tension, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy, which allowed workersto sell their grain on the open market.

Later Years Lenin suffered a stroke in May 1922, and then a second one in Decemberof that year. With his health in obvious decline, Lenin turned his thoughts to how thenewly formed USSR would be governed after he was gone.

Increasingly, he saw a party and government that had strayed far from its revolutionarygoals. In early 1923 he issued what came to be called as his Testament, in which aregretful Lenin expressed remorse over the dictatorial power that dominated Soviet



government. He was particularly disappointed with Joseph Stalin, the general secretary ofthe Communist Party, who had begun to amass great power.

On March 10, 1923, Lenin’s health was dealt another severe blow when he suffered anadditional stroke, this one taking away his ability to speak and concluding his politicalwork. Nearly 10 months later, on January 21, 1924 he passed away in the village nowknown as Gorki Leninskiye. In a testament to his standing in Russian society, his corpsewas embalmed and placed in a mausoleum on Moscow’s Red Square.

War Communism

War Communism, in the history of the Soviet Union, economic policy applied by theBolsheviks during the period of the Russian Civil War (1918–20).More exactly, thepolicy of War Communism lasted from June 1918 to March 1921.The policy’s chieffeatures were the expropriation of private business and the nationalization of industrythroughout Soviet Russia, and the forced requisition of surplus grain andother food products from the peasantry by the state.

These measures negatively affected both agricultural and industrial production. Withno incentives to grow surplus grain (since it would just be confiscated), the peasants’production of it and other crops plummeted, with the result that starvation came tothreaten many city dwellers. In the cities, a large and untrained bureaucracy was hastilycreated to supervise the newly centralized, state-owned economy, with the result thatlabour productivity and industrial output plummeted. By 1921 industrial production haddropped to one-fifth of its prewar levels (i.e., in 1913), and the real wages of urbanworkers had declined by an estimated two-thirds in just three years. Uncontrolledinflation rendered paper currency worthless, and so the government had to resort to theexchange and distribution of goods and services without the use of money.

By early 1921 public discontent with the state of the economy had spread from thecountryside to the cities, resulting in numerous strikes and protests that culminated inMarch of that year in the Kronshtadt Rebellion. In response, the Bolsheviks had to adoptthe New Economic Policy and thus temporarily abandon their attempts to achieve asocialist economic system by government decree.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Lenin realized that the Russian people desired peace. In December 1917, an armisticewas signed with Germany. After some haggling, Trotsky finally made the peace treatywith the victorious Germans in March 1918.

Soviet Russia ceded to the Germans vast territories, including Terms Russian Poland,Lithuania, Kurland, Latvia, and Estonia. To Turkey she gave Ardahan, Kars and Batumin the Caucasus region. The surrender of Bessarabia to the Rumanians was added later.Soviet Russia had to give recognition to the independence of Finland, Georgia and theUkraine. Reparations of 6 billion marks were exacted in installments.

The peace treaty was a humiliation for Russia. It deprived Russia of nearly 1/3 of heragricultural land and population, more than 3/5 of her iron-ore and coal production and



1/2 of her industrial plants. By a single treaty, Russian territorial gains over the pastcenturies, dating back to Peter the Great, were wiped out. Russia was pushed back andvirtually cut off from the Baltic.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk gained some support from the Russians who desired peace;but it hurt the pride of those Russians who had never agreed to peace at any price and felthumiliated by the harsh terms of the Treaty. The most discontented group was the SocialRevolutionaries. The Social Revolutionaries had great influence over the peasantry in theterritories lost. They even made an attempt to kill Lenin. They also stirred up peasantuprisings. The former members of the Provisional Government which had advocated thecontinuation of the war were also infuriated.

To sum up, in its early years, the Bolsheviks were able to make peace and givesatisfaction to the peasants and the workers but the non-Bolshevik political groups weredissatisfied with the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and the humiliating Brest-Litovsk peace treaty.

The Civil War (1918-1920)The Participants

The non-Bolshevik politica1 groups attempted to oust the Bolsheviks from power.Between 1918 and 1920, there was a civil war between the 'Red' Russians and the 'White'Russians. The 'Red' Russians were the Bolsheviks. The 'White' Russians were the SocialRevolutionaries, the Czarist supporters (e.g. the army officers and Cossacks), the Cadetsand members of other 'bourgeois' political parties. The Mensheviks occupied anambiguous position in the Civil War. Some sided with the 'White' Russians but most ofthem were in sympathy with the 'Red' Russians.

Ex-allied countries, at one time reaching fourteen in number, joined in the Civil War tofight on the side of the 'White' Russians. These countries included the U.S.A., Britain,Japan, France and Poland. Their motives were mixed:(i) Some disliked Communism and had a fear of revolution;(ii) some hated the Bolsheviks for repudiating the foreign debts, nationalizing foreigninvestments and publishing the secret treaties between the powers;(iii) some wanted to take revenge on the Bolsheviks who withdrew from the war;(iv) Some wanted to protect their oil, coal and iron interests in South Russia;(v) Some of the neighbouring countries of Russia had agreed for Russia's territories.

Course of the Civil WarThe Civil War took place in five main areas on the periphery of the Russian state: in

the Caucasus and Southern Russia, in the Ukraine, in the Baltic, in Northern Russia(Murmansk and Archangel) and in Siberia. The White governments were proclaimed inthese areas, rivaling the Bolshevik government. The greatest crisis for the Bolshevikgovernment came in the summer of 1919. Admiral Kolchak advanced from Siberia.General Denikin advanced from Southern Russia. General Yudenich advanced from theUkraine to the outskirts of Petrograd. But these three movements were not wellcoordinated and were defeated by the Red Army organized by Trotsky.



By the end of 1920, the White governments in these five regions were defeated by theRed Army. The Civil War petered out. But in May 1920, Poland suddenly launched anattack on Kiev. The Red Army fought back but was finally defeated by the Polish troopsaided by the French government. By the Treaty of Riga, Russia surrendered extensiveparts of White Russia (including Kiev) and part of Ukraine to Poland. In these areas,there were about 4 million Russian and Ukrainians. (Stalin recovered these areas througha deal with Hitler on the eve of the Second World War).

Reasons for the Bolshevik Victory

The Bolsheviks' victory was chiefly attributed to their superior understanding ofmodern warfare. They made a total war (a war which combined military operations witheconomic, psychological and other activities):

(i) Trotsky, the Commissar of War, was chiefly responsible for the successful militaryoperations. He exercised a central command over the whole army, emphasizing disciplineand obedience. The recruitment of the Red Army was based upon conscription. Thecommanders of the Red Army were staffed with former Czarist officers who were willingto co-operate. These ex-Czarist officers were watched over by the Political Commissars,who had also the duty to teach the army revolutionary theories, and explain to them theimportance of fighting the Civil War against the counter-revolutionaries. Officers wouldbe punished to death if they were defeated in any single battle. Fear of death compelledthe Red Army to fight bravely.

(ii) Lenin also ordered an economic reorganization to co-ordinate with the war effort.This was called 'War Communism'. This meant that all the economic resources andproducts of the country were to be nationalized by the government. In practice, thegovernment sent army detachments and committees of poor peasants to confiscate foodcrops from the peasants. The industrial plants of the country were taken over by thegovernment. All private banks were closed and their resources were taken over by theState Bank. Internal and foreign commerce became a state monopoly. Railroads andshipping lines were also put in the hands of the State. Compulsory labour for everyonewas introduced. No strikes were allowed. Overnight the regime had at its disposal theentire national resources to carry on a war against its enemy.

(iii) In contrast, the White Army had poor discipline. They were uncoordinated in theirwar efforts. The White General often acted independently. They fought at vast distancesfrom one another. Moreover, the White Army took food from the peasants and so did nothave much economic support from the peasants. The White ill-treated the peasants undertheir rule. They shot their prisoners indiscriminately.

(iv) Psychological fear was exploited to the full by Lenin. Many members of the oldCzarist secret police, the Okrana, were used to establish a new secret police, renamedCheka. It came to employ a staff of 30,000 and its own army. By 1922, the secret policewas believed to have put to death about 50,000 persons. The Czar and his family wereshot dead. So the Russians dared not oppose Lenin.



(v) The workers rallied under the Bolsheviks. The peasants did the same because theyfeared that once the Whites were in power, they would repudiate the Bolsheviks' decreeof giving land to the peasants.

(vi) The 'White' Russians obtained aids from the Allies. Foreign intervention broughtnational danger to Russia. A sense of nationalism brought Russians to support Bolshevikgovernment. Except in munitions, allied help to the Whites was too small and unreliable.(e.g. The total British casualties in Northern Russia were less than a thousand men.) Thepeople of the allied countries were too tired of war. Once the war ended, both the LabourParty and the Trade Unions in Britain were objected to British intervention in the RussianCivil War. There were serious mutinies in the French fleet in the Black Sea. The allieswithdrew their troops before the end of 1919.

The New Economic Policy (1921-1928)New Economic Policy (NEP), the economic policy of the government of the Soviet

Union from 1921 to 1928, representing a temporary retreat from its previous policy ofextreme centralization and doctrinaire socialism. The policy of War Communism, ineffect since 1918, had by 1921 brought the national economy to the point of totalbreakdown. The Kronshtadt Rebellion of March 1921 convinced the Communist Partyand its leader, Vladimir Lenin, of the need to retreat from socialist policies in order tomaintain the party’s hold on power. Accordingly, the 10th Party Congress in March 1921introduced the measures of the New Economic Policy. These measures included thereturn of most agriculture, retail trade, and small-scale light industry to private ownershipand management while the state retained control of heavy industry, transport, banking,and foreign trade. Money was reintroduced into the economy in 1922 (it had beenabolished under War Communism).The peasantry were allowed to own and cultivatetheir own land, while paying taxes to the state. The New Economic Policy reintroduced ameasure of stability to the economy and allowed the Soviet people to recover from yearsof war, civil war, and governmental mismanagement. The small businessmen andmanagers who flourished in this period became known as NEP men.

But the NEP was viewed by the Soviet government as merely a temporary expedient toallow the economy to recover while the Communists solidified their hold on power. By1925 Nikolay Bukharin had become the foremost supporter of the NEP, while LeonTrotsky was opposed to it and Joseph Stalin was noncommittal. The NEP was dogged bythe government’s chronic inability to procure enough grain supplies from the peasantry tofeed its urban work force. In 1928–29 these grain shortages prompted Joseph Stalin, bythen the country’s paramount leader, to forcibly eliminate the private ownership offarmland and to collectivize agriculture under the state’s control, thus ensuring theprocurement of adequate food supplies for the cities in the future. This abrupt policychange, which was accompanied by the destruction of several million of the country’smost prosperous private farmers, marked the end of the NEP. It was followed by thereimposition of state control over all industry and commerce in the country by 1931.



The Comintern

In March 1919, Lenin founded the Third International (or Comintern) in Moscow withZinoviev as its President. Its avowed object was to replace World Capitalism by WorldCommunism. Its methods were to set up communist parties in all countries of Europe. Allthese newly-established communist parties would accept instructions from theComintern. They would break away from the existing Social Democratic parties whichworked for immediate social reforms through parliamentary legislation. These newcommunist parties would preach the workers to seize power through a revolution.Zinoviev was the President of the Comintern from 1920 to1926. (In 1926, he wasbranded as a supporter of Trotsky and lost his position. During the great purges of 1934-1936, he was tried and finally executed in 1936). The Third International lasted until1943.

Joseph Stalin (1878–1953)

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign ofterror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism.

Early Life

On December 18, 1879, in the Russian peasant village of Gori, Georgia, IosifVissarionovich Dzhugashvili (later known as Joseph Stalin) was born. The son ofBesarion Jughashvili, a cobbler, and Ketevan Geladze, a washerwoman, Joseph was afrail child. At age 7, he contracted smallpox, leaving his face scarred and his left armslightly deformed. The other village children treated him cruelly, instilling in him a senseof inferiority. Because of this, Joseph began a quest for greatness and respect. He alsodeveloped a cruel streak for those who crossed him.

Joseph's mother, a devout Russian Orthodox Christian, wanted him to become a priest.In 1888, she managed to enroll him in church school in Gori. Joseph did well in school,and his efforts gained him a scholarship to Tiflis Theological Seminary in 1894. A yearlater, Joseph came in contact with Messame Dassy, a secret organization that supportedGeorgian independence from Russia. Some of the members were socialists whointroduced him to the writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Joseph joined the groupin 1898.

Though he excelled in seminary school, Joseph left in 1899. Accounts differ as to thereason; official school records state he was unable to pay the tuition and withdrew. It'salso speculated he was asked to leave due to his political views challenging the tsaristregime of Nicholas II. Joseph chose not to return home, but stayed in Tiflis, devoting histime to the revolutionary movement. For a time, he found work as a tutor and later as aclerk at the Tiflis Observatory. In 1901, he joined the Social Democratic Labor Party andworked full-time for the revolutionary movement. In 1902, he was arrested forcoordinating a labor strike and exiled to Siberia, the first of his many arrests and exiles inthe fledgling years of the Russian Revolution. It was during this time that Joseph adoptedthe name "Stalin," meaning steel in Russian.



Though never a strong orator like Vladimir Lenin or an intellectual like Leon Trotsky,Joseph Stalin excelled in the mundane operations of the revolution, calling meetings,publishing leaflets and organizing strikes and demonstrations. After escaping from exile,he was marked by the Okhranka, (the tsar's secret police) as an outlaw and continued hiswork in hiding, raising money through robberies, kidnappings and extortion. Stalingained infamy being associated with the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery, which resulted inseveral deaths and 250,000 rubles stolen (approximately $3.4 million in U.S. dollars).

In February 1917, the Russian Revolution began. By March, the tsar had abdicated thethrone and was placed under house arrest. For a time, the revolutionaries supported aprovisional government, believing a smooth transition of power was possible. In April1917, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin denounced the provisional government, arguingthat the people should rise up and take control by seizing land from the rich and factoriesfrom the industrialists. By October, the revolution was complete and the Bolsheviks werein control.

Communist Party Leader

The fledgling Soviet government went through a violent period after the revolution asvarious individuals vied for position and control. In 1922, Stalin was appointed to thenewly created office of general secretary of the Communist Party. Though not asignificant post at the time, it gave Stalin control over all party member appointments,which allowed him to build his base. He made shrewd appointments and consolidated hispower so that eventually nearly all members of the central command owed their positionto him. By the time anyone realized what he had done, it was too late. Even Lenin, whowas gravely ill, was helpless to regain control from Stalin.

After Lenin's death, in 1924, Stalin set out to destroy the old party leadership and taketotal control. At first, he had people removed from power through bureaucratic shufflingand denunciations. Many were exiled abroad to Europe and the Americas, includingpresumed Lenin successor Leon Trotsky. However, further paranoia set in and Stalinsoon conducted a vast reign of terror, having people arrested in the night and put beforespectacular show trials. Potential rivals were accused of aligning with capitalist nations,convicted of being "enemies of the people" and summarily executed. The purgeseventually extended beyond the party elite to local officials suspected ofcounterrevolutionary activities.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin reversed the Bolshevik agrarian policy byseizing land given earlier to the peasants and organizing collective farms. This essentiallyreduced the peasants back to serfs, as they had been during the monarchy. Stalin believedthat collectivism would accelerate food production, but the peasants resented losing theirland and working for the state. Millions were killed in forced labor or starved during theensuing famine. Stalin also set in motion rapid industrialization that initially achievedhuge successes, but over time cost millions of lives and vast damage to the environment.Any resistance was met with swift and lethal response; millions of people were exiled tothe labor camps of the Gulag or were executed.

As war clouds rose over Europe in 1939, Stalin made a seemingly brilliant move,signing a nonaggression pact with Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. Stalin was



convinced of Hitler's integrity and ignored warnings from his military commanders thatGermany was mobilizing armies on its eastern front. When the Nazi blitzkrieg struck inJune 1941, the Soviet Army was completely unprepared and immediately sufferedmassive losses. Stalin was so distraught at Hitler's treachery that he hid in his office forseveral days. By the time Stalin regained his resolve, German armies occupied all of theUkraine and Belarus, and its artillery surrounded Leningrad.

To make matters worse, the purges of the 1930s had depleted the Soviet Army andgovernment leadership to the point where both were nearly dysfunctional. After heroicefforts on the part of the Soviet Army and the Russian people, the Germans were turnedback at Stalingrad in 1943. By the next year, the Soviet Army was liberating countries inEastern Europe, even before the Allies had mounted a serious challenge against Hitler atD-Day.

Stalin had been suspicious of the West since the inception of the Soviet Union. Eversince the Soviet Union had entered the war, Stalin had demanded the Allies open up asecond front against Germany. Both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill andAmerican President Franklin D. Roosevelt argued that such an action would result inheavy casualties. This only deepened Stalin's suspicion of the West, as millions ofRussians died.

As the tide of war slowly turned in the Allies' favor, President Roosevelt and PrimeMinister Churchill met with Joseph Stalin to discuss postwar arrangements. At the first ofthese meetings, in Teheran, Iran, in late 1943, the recent victory in Stalingrad put Stalinin a solid bargaining position. He demanded the Allies open a second front againstGermany, which they agreed to in the spring of 1944. In February 1945, the three leadersmet again at Yalta in the Crimea. With Soviet troops liberating countries in EasternEurope, Stalin was again in a strong position and negotiated virtually a free hand inreorganizing their governments. He also agreed to enter the war against Japan onceGermany was defeated.

The situation changed at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. Roosevelt died thatApril and was replaced by President Harry S. Truman. British parliamentary electionshad replaced Prime Minister Churchill with Clement Attlee as Britain's chief negotiator.By now, the British and Americans were suspicious of Stalin's intentions and wanted toavoid Soviet involvement in a postwar Japan. The dropping of two atomic bombs inAugust 1945 forced Japan's surrender before the Soviets could mobilize.

Convinced of the Allies' hostility toward the Soviet Union, Stalin became obsessedwith the threat of an invasion from the West. Between 1945 and 1948, he establishedCommunist regimes in many Eastern European countries, creating a vast "buffer zone"between Western Europe and "Mother Russia." Western powers interpreted these actionsas proof of Stalin's desire to place Europe under Communist control, thus formed theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization to counter Soviet influence. In 1948, Stalin orderedan economic blockade on the German city of Berlin, in hopes of gaining full control ofthe city. The Allies mounted a massive airlift, supplying the city and eventually forcingStalin to back down.



Stalin suffered another foreign policy defeat after he encouraged North KoreanCommunist leader Kim Il Sung to invade South Korea, believing the United States wouldnot interfere. Earlier, he had ordered the Soviet representative to the United Nations toboycott the Security Council because it refused to accept the newly formed CommunistPeople's Republic of China into the United Nations. When the resolution to support SouthKorea came to a vote in the Security Council, the Soviet Union was unable to use itsveto.

Death and Legacy

Though his popularity from his successes during World War II was strong, Stalin'shealth began to deteriorate in the early 1950s. After an assassination plot was uncovered,he ordered the head of the secret police to instigate a new purge of the Communist Party.Before it could be executed, however, Stalin died on March 5, 1953. He left a legacy ofdeath and terror as he turned a backward Russia into a world superpower.

Stalin was eventually denounced by his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, in 1956.However, he has found a rekindled popularity among many of Russia's young people.



MODULE-III

THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND PEACE PROCESSES

THE RISE AND FALL OF DICTATORSHIPS IN EUROPE

First World War brought almost all the monarchies in Europe to an end. Thereemerged a popular demand for representative assemblies, democratic electorates,universal suffrage and responsible governments. Republics began to be established allover Europe. The decade from 1919-1929 also witnessed the efforts of the League ofNations and of the world powers, to maintain world peace. Attempts were made towardscollective security, through the Washington Conference in 1921-1922, the Dawes Plan in1924, and the Locarno Treaty of 1925.

Though peace spread throughout the world during the decade after World War I, it wasfollowed in the next decade (1929-1959), by the rise of dictatorships in different forms inEuropean countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal. The life of the citizenwas totally controlled by the dictators; they were the ones who decided how a citizenshould vote and even what he should read and do. Dictatorships even threatened theirneighboring countries by refusing to work with the League of Nations except on theirown terms. The dictators adhered to the supreme motto: ’everything for the stateeverything within the state, and nothing outside the state.’Causes for the Growth of Dictatorships in Europe

Italy was thrown into a state of poverty, discontent and disorder after the First WorldWar. Though the Italians had won the war, their claims were not accepted at the ParisPeace Conference in 1919. They were thus seeking a leader who would fulfill theirambitions. They found him in Benito Mussolini.

Thanks to the Treaty of Versailles (1919), Germany was physically mutilated,economically suffocated, emotionally humiliated and territorially encircled. Thus theGerman youth was filled with a sense of intense hatred and revenge against the AlliedPowers. These popular sentiments were well exploited by Adolf Hitler.

At the Washington Conference of 1921-22, Japan was forced to sign three treaties. Shewas thus looking for an opportunity penetrates into China. The Soviet Union also soughtto fulfill its mission of a world communist revolution, after First World War, thusthreatening the whole world.

Democratic governments were not able to solve the social, political and economicproblems of the post-war period. This exposed the evils in their functioning. Thevictorious powers such as Great Britain, the U.S.A. and France failed to enforce theTreaty of Versailles vigorously. This also encouraged the growth of dictatorships.

The League of Nations was unsuccessful in its aim to preserve peace. Thus the pathwas paved for the growth of totalitarian dictatorships. The world economic crisis in 1929,caused frustration, despondency and despair all over the world. Forces of international



anarchy were released in 1931, when Japan invaded Manchuria. This convinced theworld dictators, that the road to aggression was not difficult.

Fascism in ItalyItalian dictatorship assumed the name of Fascism. It was initiated by Benito Mussolini.

Various causes led to the rise of Fascism in Italy. Italy was a disappointed victor ofWorld War I, for it gained much less than it expected, at the Paris Peace Conference of1919. War had proved costly to Italy, draining it of its finances and forcing up the cost ofliving.

Various post-war problems arose in Italy. She faced bankruptcy, starvation, inflationand unemployment. Strikes and lockouts were posed by industrial workers. The middleclass became impoverished. The democratic Italian government failed miserably to solvethese diverse problems. Italy was tormented with disorder and confusion.

Italy was left crippled economically. The Russian Revolution of 1917 greatlyinfluenced the Italian socialists. They planned a revolution to transplant the Soviet systeminto Italy. Therefore strikes, lockouts and riots became more frequent.

The Fascists denounced Liberalism, Communism and also Democracy. They alsoguaranteed the following benefits to the masses:

a. Maximum hours of work and minimum wages for workersb. Immediate relief to industrialists from strikesc. Social security and patriotismd. Maintenance of law and order in the countrye. National glory abroad

In March 1919, Benito Mussolini formed a political party. He named it the ’Fascisti’after the Roman rods or fasces that were carried by the officers attending upon theancient Roman Consuls before the chief magistrate of the state. They were emblems ofauthority at that time. The party consisted of ex-soldiers, industrialists, landlords,professional men, middle-class people and the intelligentsia.

A civil war in Italy lasted from 1920-21. This was between the Fascists and theradicals; the latter were finally eliminated by the Fascists. In October 1922, Mussoliniissued an ultimatum in the Congress of Fascists that either the reigns of governmentshould be handed to them, or they would seize it by marching on Rome. King VictorEmmanuel III then invited Mussolini to form a government at Rome. He did so onOctober 30, 1922. Thus Mussolini came to power by constitutional means, through hisFascist party.

After becoming the Prime Minister, Mussolini demanded and obtained dictatorialpowers from the National Parliament. This happened in 1923.Mussolini’s Domestic Policy

After coming to power, Mussolini restored order and stability in the state. Heeliminated any kind of opposition that appeared in every form.

Industrialists began to feel secure, since Mussolini banned industrial strikes. At thesame time, workers were benefited by a ’Charter of Labor’ which guaranteed some basicrights to them. These included such rights as

a. an eight-hour day,



b. a weekly holiday,c. a compulsory employer’s contribution towards insurance against sickness,

accidents and old-age benefits andd. no dismissal of workers, on grounds of illness.

Mussolini developed the concept of the ’Corporate State.’ He established sixcorporations of employers, six of workers and one of professionals. In 1934, a NationalCouncil of Corporations was formed to replace the Parliament itself.

Mussolini controlled all educational institutions by appointing only fascist teachers inschools, colleges and universities. He revived and encouraged trade, commerce andindustry. The greatest priority was given to the construction of railways and theshipbuilding industry. Banking and currency were regulated.

Finally, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaties with the Pope of Rome, in 1929. Thesecreated the new state of the Vatican in Rome. The Roman Pope was recognized as itssovereign ruler.Mussolini’s Foreign Policy

Mussolini had promised national glory abroad. To achieve this, he ordered universalconscription, and better arms and ammunition for the armed forces. These measures madethe Italian army, navy and air force more efficient.

In 1923, Mussolini secured the island of Corfu (that was in Greece). He then acquiredthe port of Fiume on the Adriatic Sea. On October 2, 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia(Abyssinia) in Africa, and annexed it on May 9, 1936. In October 1936, Italy andGermany formed a close alliance known as the Berlin-Rome Axis. In 1937, Italy joinedthe Anti-Comintern Pact against Russia.

Mussolini entered World War II on June 10, 1940. The Italian force suffered a severedefeat at the hands of the Allies. Italy surrendered officially, on September 3, 1943. Thiswas the end of the Fascist dictatorship in Italy. Benito Mussolini was captured and shotdead by anti-Fascist Italians.

Nazism in GermanyThere were several factors that contributed to the growth of Nazi dictatorship in

Germany after 1930.After the First World War Germany was filled with a sense of discontent, hatred and

revenge, as the Treaty of Versailles crippled her physically, exhausted her economicallyand weakened her emotionally. The Treaty of Versailles was not enforced strictly by theAllied Powers like Britain, U.S.A. and France.

Currency inflation created serious problems in the country. Before the war, the value ofa dollar was 4.2 German marks. By November 1923, it became absolutely worthless at2.52 trillion to one dollar. To remedy this problem, the government issued a newcurrency at the old rate, namely 4.2 marks to one dollar. The government fixed the ratioat one new mark to one trillion old marks. Thus the life savings, in the form of bankdeposits, insurance, provident funds, pensions and cash, were all wiped out.

The result of the currency inflation was that all industries, factories, workshops andmills were paralyzed. There was widespread unemployment, starvation, and desperation.



The introduction of the Dawes Plan in 1924 was followed by an unprecedented prosperityin Germany, up to 1929. However, when the world economic depression came in 1929-1930, Germany faced economic chaos.

After World War I, the atmosphere in Germany was filled with militant nationalism;this was the result of feelings of German superiority and of the utter national humiliationcaused by the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The Germans had no love for democraticinstitutions. They preferred prestige and glory to liberty and freedom.

After World War I, communist ideas were spreading throughout Germany. During theeconomic depression of 1929-1930, millions of jobless workers flocked towards theCommunist Party. The middle classes therefore looked forward to the Nazis, to save theircountry, from a communist revolution.

Finally, the magnetic personality of Adolf Hitler was greatly responsible for the growthof the Nazi dictatorship in Germany. Hitler was chiefly responsible for making his fellowcountrymen burn in the fire of revenge, for the national humiliation they had suffered.

Adolf Hitler, an Austrian by birth, joined the German army during the First World War.He won an Iron Cross for his bravery. In February 1925, he rebuilt and revitalized hispolitical party, the Nazi party. Its strength increased gradually. In 1932, Hitler acquiredGerman citizenship.

Fresh elections to the Reichstag (German Parliament) took place on March 5, 1933, inwhich 44% of the total seats were won by the Nazi Party. Thus Hitler formed a coalitiongovernment with the nationalists who won 8% of the total seats.

After becoming chancellor, Adolf Hitler crushed all opposition and began a campaignof repression against Jews and Communists. On June 30, 1934 he massacred thousands ofsocialists for treason, for which the day came to be known as ’Bloody Saturday.’ Hecentralized all the powers of the central and local governments, coordinated all the laborand youth organizations and controlled all the aspects of national life, including the Press,educational institutions, the stage and the cinema.

When President Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934, he was succeeded by Hitler.

The Nazi Party adopted three goals in its foreign policy:

i. Union of all the people of the German race by the right of self-determination, inone great Germany

ii. The cancellation of the Peace Treaties of Versailles and St. Germain and

iii. The acquisitions of further territory for the support of the peopleHitler then took a series of measures to repudiate the Treaty of Versailles. On October

14, 1933, Germany gave notice of withdrawal from the League of Nations and theDisarmament Conference. On March 19, 1935, Germany violated Part V of the Treaty ofVersailles by re-introducing military conscription. On March 7, 1936, Hitler dispatchedtroops to remilitarize the Rhineland.



To expand German territory and power, Hitler followed a policy of naked aggression.Germany entered into a pact with Japan against Russia. It was known as the Anti-Comintern Pact and was signed in November 1937.

With the help of Italy, Hitler annexed Austria on March 11, 1938. On March 15, 1939,Hitler invaded and annexed Czechoslovakia. Germany then signed the Non-aggressionPact with the Soviets, on August 23, 1939. Hitler launched an armed attack on Poland, onSeptember 1, 1939. This was followed by the declaration of war upon Germany byBritain and France on September 3, 1939.

This initiated World War II (1939-1945). However, the Germans surrendered on May7, 1945 and Hitler committed suicide. This brought Nazi dictatorship in Germany to anend.

Significance and Impact of Dictatorships in EuropeThe Fascist and Nazi dictatorships were anti-humanist because the dictators had no

regard for consideration for fellow feelings. As dictatorship is founded on fear and force,it employs the most violent and coercive measures for suppressing and eliminating allopposition. In Germany as well as in Italy, freedom of speech, expression, belief,worship, communication, press and other freedoms, under which the human personalityflourishes, were abolished.

The dictatorships that emerged in Italy and Germany, during the post World War Iperiod were highly anti-internationalist. Both the Fascists and the Nazis were fullyintoxicated with the doctrines of militarism. Hence the patriotic and nationalistic spirit inthese nations intensified and sanctified these ideas, which proved to be a great source ofdanger to internationalism. Both Mussolini and Hitler glorified and worshipped war as anoble activity. They condemned the international reign of law and peace, as acts ofcowardice and hypocrisy. Hence Mussolini and Hitler inaugurated an era of naked, brutaland ruthless aggression. Thus they proved to be the most dangerous enemies ofinternationalism.

SECOND WORLD WAR (1939-1945)First World War had made the world ’safe for democracy’. Since Germany had been

humbled, there was hardly any chance of war-mongering nations rising again. Howeverwhat was desired did not turn out to be true. Germany and her defeated partners werefilled with thoughts of revenge. The victorious powers of World War I, as Italy andJapan, did not secure enough. General discontent spread everywhere. While greatdemocratic states were being shattered on one side, other nations like Germany werearming themselves rapidly. The statesmen of the big nations failed to nip aggressiveGermany, Italy and Japan in the bud. Thus Germany, Italy and Japan not only ruinedthemselves, but also brought the whole world to the brink of ruin.

Causes for the Second World War

The Second World War can be traced to the Treaty of Versailles, which had beenimposed on Germany. This treaty was a kind of dictated peace. It deprived Germany ofevery scrap of its colonial empire. Danzig was cut off from Germany and the country wasforced to stand totally disarmed. Allied troops were stationed in Germany, in order to



enforce the provisions of the Treaty. Germany was burdened with reparations. It alone washeld guilty of the war. Thus it caused hatred in the minds of the Germans who were bornand brought up in the cult of revenge.

The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 greatly disappointed victorious Italy. This resultedin the rise of Fascist dictatorship in Italy under Mussolini and the Nazi dictatorship inGermany after 1932, under Hitler. Both the dictators embarked upon a career of openaggression.

After the First World War, victorious Japan followed the policy of imperialism, in theFar East. In 1931, Japan grabbed Manchuria from China. The League of Nations could donothing, to prevent this aggression. Japan was party to the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis,which severely threatened world peace.

The Allied Powers were committed to the Wilsonian principle of ‘self-determination.’However, at the Paris Peace Conference, its application was conditioned by economicnecessity, military defense, as well as religious and political traditions. These factorskindled the fire of nationalism and political liberty among national minorities. Germanyspread the news that its nationality was being oppressed under the foreign rule in Austria,Sudetenland and Poland. For this reason, Hitler invaded and annexed these territories,thus sparking off World War II.

While disarming Germany, under the Treaty of Versailles, the Allied Powers hadpledged to apply the same measures to themselves. And Britain did disarm itself to agreat extent; However France and the other European powers always upheld the slogan,"Security first, disarmament afterwards."This convinced Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy andJapan that rearmament was the only road to power and national achievement. Thus effortsat disarmament of the world failed miserably. In fact by 1930 most European nations hadspent the maximum of their budget on rearmament. This practice eventually led to WorldWar II.

The League of Nations had been formed to promote national security and internationalpeace. However, owing to its weakness, the League failed to achieve its objectives.Britain used the League as an alternative to Bolshevism. France used it as an instrumentfor perpetuating the peace settlement. Germany condemned it as "a grouping of the victorimperialist powers." Russia regarded it as ’a forum of the imperialists.’ When the Leaguefailed, the only alternative left was that the parties could settle their disputes by resortingto war.

After the First World War, there was a conflict of ideologies, created by totalitarianstates like Italy, Germany, Japan and Russia on the one hand and democratic states likeBritain, France and the U.S.A. on the other. Since co-existence soon grew impossiblebetween these two opposite camps, war was inevitable.

Great Britain and France developed contrasting attitudes towards internationalproblems in the post-war years. France made every effort to prevent German revival. Thisled her to search for security in and outside the League. On the other hand, Great Britainfollowed a policy of appeasement that is of satisfying Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy andmilitarist Japan, by making various concessions to them. Thus England ignored Hitler’srepudiation of Germany’s international covenants, Japan’s seizing of Manchuria, Italy’s



conquest of Ethiopia and Germany’s seizure of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Once Hitlerwas allowed to grab his small neighbor, he began to aim at devouring the whole ofEurope.

Course of the Second World WarSecond World War began with Hitler’s attack on Poland on September 1, 1939. As

both Britain and France had entered into an alliance with Poland in April 1939, theydeclared war upon Germany. The Germans occupied Western Poland. The Soviet Unionannexed Eastern Poland. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and a part of Rumania, were invadedand annexed by Russia, soon after.

In April 1940, Denmark and Norway were attacked and annexed by Germany. In May1940, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland were raided by German bombers. All thesethree states surrendered within a week. Following this, the Germans invaded France inJune 1940. Paris fell to the Nazis on June 14, 1940. Germany soon occupied the whole ofnorthern and western France, while Italy seized Nice and other French districts that wereadjacent to Italy.

After the fall of Poland and France, Britain alone was at war with the Axis Powers fromJune 1940 to June 1941. However, the British forces were victorious over the Axispowers in Africa.

On June 22, 1941, Russia was attacked by Germany. The Anglo-Russian Alliance wasformed on July 22, 1941, for mutual military aid in the war against Germany. The UnitedStates also gave the Soviet Union assurances of military help.

The American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was bombed by the Japanese on December7, 1941. Hence the U.S.A. declared war on Japan, on December 8, 1941. Germany andItaly then declared war against the U.S.A. Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain,President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the U.S.A. and Premier Joseph Stalin of the SovietUnion mobilized their forces to destroy the Axis powers namely, Germany, Italy, andJapan.

The Nazi and Fascist forces were successful in their conquest of Europe, up to the endof October 1942. However on November 8, 1942, the Allied forces succeeded against theAxis powers in North Africa. On September 3, 1943, Italy surrendered unconditionallyand signed an armistice with the Allies on September 3, 1943.

Forging across the Rhine in March 1945, the Allied forces defeated the German forces.As a result, Hitler lost all hope and committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Hence, theGermans surrendered unconditionally, on May 7, 1945. Japan continued to battle untilatom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945respectively, by the United States. Japan finally surrendered unconditionally on August14, 1945, signing a document of surrender on September 2, 1945.

Consequences of the Second World WarSecond World War produced disastrous consequences that were unparalleled in the

history of mankind. The war caused unprecedented destruction of life and property. Therewas a complete destruction of fields and factories, mills and workshops and the houses ofthe civilians. Number of people died and many more were permanently disabled. In theopinion of Chester Bowles, World War II "killed twenty-five million people, permanently



disabled twice that number and devastated much of Germany, Italy, Poland and theBalkans, Russia, China and Japan."

During the war, the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler initiated a movement that aimed atwiping out the whole race of Jews. This was called the holocaust. This movement waspart of his plan to conquer the world. Millions of Jews were imprisoned intoconcentration camps and were subjected to inhuman tortures. The captives were evenstarved to death. Cruel experiments were performed on these helpless victims. The aged,the sick and the disabled were poisoned with gas.

The war also created an acute scarcity of foodstuff, essential commodities and cloth.This led to unprecedented inflation. The standard of living fell drastically. Since theprices shot up, life of millions became made miserable.

The war proved the moral degradation of man, for he killed his own species in anunparalleled scale. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and militarist Japan inflictedunimaginable cruelties upon the combatants, non-combatants, as well as on innocentmen, women and children. The dropping of the two atom bombs by the U.S. upon Japanin August 1945 demonstrated how man was competent enough to wipe out the entirehuman race, within a split second. Both the victors and the vanquished were guilty ofbehaving like barbarians.

The three great Axis Powers namely Italy, Germany and Japan were leveled to dust.(i) Germany, the chief architect of the war was utterly humiliated and punished. At thePotsdam Conference, Germany was divided into four zones. Each zone was placed undera major allied victor.(ii) The Italian empire disappeared from the map of the world. The spoils of war, in termsof territory and reparation, were shared and enjoyed by the major Allied victors.(iii) After the war, Japan was placed under the control of the Far Eastern Commissionwith General Mac Arthur as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. However,only in 1951, did Japan regain its lost sovereignty, under the San Francisco Peace Treaty.

Great Britain emerged from the war as a second-rate world power. The British Empiresuffered heavy losses during the war. After the war, within a short span of time, manynew nations were born on the ruins of the British Empire.

The strain of the war on France was beyond her power of endurance. Though itemerged victorious from the war, its status sank considerably in the international fieldand it became a second-rate power. Undoubtedly, it also suffered heavy losses.

The United States of America played a vital role in winning the war. The U.S.manufacturers made fantastic profits. World War II enabled the U.S.A. to play animportant role in financial, political and diplomatic domains all over the world. Theunderdeveloped, developing and war-torn states turned their eyes towards the U.S.A. forher aid both physical and financial.

In Russia, Stalin left no stone unturned to extract as many concessions as possible fromthe Allies. This enhanced the power and position of the former USSR. The Soviet Unionemerged from the war as another super power.

Second World War enhanced the prestige of the communist dictatorship of Russia, andenabled it to spread its control all over east and central Europe as well as Asia. Howeverdemocracy held its sway over Western Europe.



The World thus came to be divided into two power blocs (a) the Capitalist bloc of Great Britain, the U.S. and their allies, and (b) the Communist bloc of the Soviet Union and her satellites. The British, Dutch, French and Italian Empires were left in a disintegrated state.

New nations like India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon were born on their ruins.Israel, Iran, Syria and Lebanon won political freedom from their imperialistmasters.

United Nations Organization (U.N.O)The Second World War resulted in widespread concern for world peace. Hence the

United Nations Organization was established after the war in October 24, 1945. It wasformed to ensure permanent peace in the world as well as to enhance the economic andcultural development of mankind.

The UN is an international organization, not a world government. The United Nationsis an organization of sovereign States. These States voluntarily join the UN to work forworld peace, promote friendship among all nations and support economic and socialprogress. It formally came into being on 24 October 1945. At that time, it had 51countries as Members. As of March 2007, 192 countries were UN members.

The UN is a forum, a meeting-place, for virtually all nations of the world. It providesthem with the mechanism to help find solutions to disputes or problems, and to act onvirtually any matter of concern to humanity.

Though sometimes described as a “parliament of nations”, the UN is neither a supra-State nor a government of governments. It does not have an army and it imposes no taxes.It depends on the political will of its Members to have its decisions implemented andrelies on the contributions of its Members to carry out its activities.

The United Nations plays a central role in reducing international tensions, preventingconflicts and putting an end to fighting already under way. It deals with our environment,outer space and the sea-bed. It has helped wipe out many diseases and expand foodproduction. It cares for and protects refugees, expands literacy and responds quickly tonatural disasters. It also protects and promotes rights of individuals by setting a globalstandard for human rights.

Reasons for the establishment of the U.N.O.Various reasons were responsible for the establishment of the U.N.O:

1. The Second World War: Undoubtedly, the Second World War proved moredestructive that the first. It left millions dead and disabled. The fact that anotherwar of the greater scale would possibly bring in the destruction of the world and ofhuman civilization altogether, became a matter of concern the world over.

2. Need for Permanent Peace in the World: The disastrous results of the SecondWorld War gave rise to the need of an organization which could establish andmaintain permanent peace in the world. Since the Second World War had



originated from the First, all the countries feared that the Second World War couldbe the cause of a Third. Hence such an organization was even more desirable.

3. Elimination of Mutual Suspicions: One of the results of the Second World Warwas the division of some of the major countries into two diametrically opposedideological blocs: the Communist and the Western bloc. Both had no faith in eachother. Hence there was an urgent need to reduce the confrontation between themand bring them together through a particular institution.

4. Invention of destructive weapons: With the invention of sophisticated atomicweapons (that were successfully tested during World War II), the threat to thesurvival of modern civilization had intensified more than ever. Therefore anorganization was required where all the nations of the world could come togetherand consider ways to save themselves and mankind from the destruction caused bysuch deadly weapons.

5. (ii) Formation6. It will be recalled that the League of Nations had been established after the First

World War primarily with the similar objective establishing permanent worldpeace and preventing the occurrence of another world war. However, theorganization failed to miserably on these counts and the Second World War didoccur. Therefore, this time the nations of the world decided that the nextorganization should be empowered with more authority, so that the aim ofestablishing permanent peace could be efficiently enforced.

7. In August 1941 the Atlantic Charter was issued by the U.S. President Rooseveltand the British Prime Minister Churchill. This was an important document thatunderlined the aims of the organization:

1. The maintenance of international peace and security.2. The encouragement of international cooperation in the sphere of social,

economic and cultural development of the world.3. The development of friendly relations among nations on the principle of equal

rights and self-determination of people.4. The recognition of the fundamental rights and status of all people.

8. In October 1944, a scheme for the establishment of an international securityorganization was discussed at Dumbarton Oaks Conference held in Washington.The next step in this direction was the Yalta Conference held in 1945 in which theU.S. President Roosevelt, the British Prime Minister Churchill and the SovietPrime Minister Stalin met to resolve to call for a session of the United Nations.The nature of the organization was also determined at this conference. Followingthis, a conference of about 51 countries was held in June of 1945 at San Franciscoand a charter was drawn up. The representatives of these countries signed thecharter on June 26, 1945. The U.N.O. started functioning from 24th October, 1945.This day is therefore celebrated as the United Nations Day. Its headquarters wasbased at New York.

9. The membership of the U.N.O is open to all peace-loving nations, which acceptthe objectives of the U.N.O. and are prepared to observe its principles. A total of184 nations were members of the U.N.O. by 1994.



Objectives:The objectives of the U.N.O. are as follows:1. To maintain international peace and security.2. To develop friendly relations among nations.3. To achieve international cooperation in solving international economic, social,

cultural and humanitarian problems.4. To promote respect for human rights, dignity and freedom.5. To promote respect among the member nations for fundamental rights and

freedoms of mankind by ending the differences of caste and creed.6. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of the nations in attaining these

common ends.Principles:

The principles of the U.N.O. are as follows:1. The U.N.O. is based on the sovereign equality of all its members.2. Each member nation should perform her duty earnestly according to the Charter.3. Each member nation should settle the disputes by peaceful means so that peace,

security, and justice in the world are not disturbed.4. All member nations will not make use of threat and violence in their international

relations.5. All member nations will help doing those functions, which the U.N.O. intends to

perform according to the Charter, and none will help a country against which theU.N.O. is taking any action.

6. The U.N.O will not intervene in the internal affairs of a country.7. The U.N.O will also see that all the member nations work to maintain international

peace and security.Functions of the Principal Organs:

The U.N.O. has six main organs- (1) General Assembly, (2) Security Council, (3)Economic and Social Council, (4) Trusteeship Council, (5) International Court of Justice,and (6) Secretariat. The important organs are explained below:1. The General Assembly

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations andincludes all its Members. It may discuss any matter arising under the UN Charter andmake recommendations to UN Members (except on disputes or situations which arebeing considered by the Security Council). In the Assembly, each nation, large or small,has one vote and important decisions are taken by a two-thirds majority vote.

The Assembly meets every year from September to December. Special sessions maybe summoned by the Assembly, at the request of the Security Council, or at the request ofa majority of UN Members. The work of the General Assembly is also carried out by itssix main committees, the Human Rights Council, other subsidiary bodies and the UNSecretariat.



2. The Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility under the Charter for maintainingpeace and security. It can be convened at any time, whenever peace is threatened.Member States are obligated to carry out its decisions. When a threat to peace is broughtbefore the Council, it usually first asks the parties to reach agreement by peaceful means.If fighting breaks out, the Council tries to secure a ceasefire. It may then sendpeacekeeping missions to troubled areas or call for economic sanctions and embargoes torestore peace.

The Council has 15 members, including five permanent members: China, France, theRussian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The other 10are elected by the General Assembly on the basis of geographical representation for two-year terms. Decisions require nine votes; except on procedural questions, a decisioncannot be taken if there is a negative vote by a permanent member (known as the “veto”).The Council also makes recommendations to the General Assembly on the appointmentof a new Secretary-General and on the admission of new members to the UN. Manycountries want to expand the membership of the Council to include new permanent andnon-permanent members.

3. The Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central body for coordinating theeconomic and social work of the United Nations and the UN family of organizations. Ithas 54 member nations elected from all regions. As much as 70 per cent of the work ofthe UN system is devoted to promoting higher standards of living, full employment, andconditions of economic and social progress and development. The Council recommendsand directs activities aimed at promoting economic growth of developing countries,supporting human rights and fostering world cooperation to fight poverty and under-development.

To meet specific needs, the General Assembly has set up a number of specializedagencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) and programmes such as the UN Development Programme(UNDP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The work of these agencies and programmes iscoordinated by ECOSOC.



4. The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was assigned under the UN Charter to supervise theadministration of Trust Territories — former colonies or dependent territories — whichwere placed under the International Trusteeship System. The system was created at theend of the Second World War to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of thosedependent Territories and their progressive development towards self-government orindependence.

Since the creation of the Trusteeship Council, more than 70 colonial Territories,including all of the original 11 Trust Territories, have attained independence with thehelp of the United Nations. As a result, in 1994, the Council decided formally to suspendits operation and to meet as and when occasion might require.

5. The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the UN’s main judicial organ. Presiding overthe ICJ, or “World Court”, are 15 judges, each from a different nation, elected by theGeneral Assembly and Security Council. The Court settles legal disputes between nationsonly and not between individuals, in accordance with international law. If a country doesnot wish to take part in a proceeding it does not have to do so, unless required by specialtreaty provisions. Once a country accepts the Court's jurisdiction, it must comply with itsdecision.

The seat of the International Court of Justice is at The Hague in the Netherlands. Theoffices of the Court occupy the “Peace Palace”, which was constructed by the CarnegieFoundation, a private non-profit organization, to serve as the headquarters of thePermanent Court of International Justice, the predecessor of the present Court. The UNmakes an annual contribution to the Foundation for the use of the building.

6. The Secretariat

The Secretariat is made up of an international staff working at UN Headquarters inNew York, as well as UN offices in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi and other locations. Itconsists of departments and offices with a total staff of around 16,000, drawn from some175 countries. Including civil staff in peacekeeping missions the total number comprisesapproximately 30,000 staff. Staff members carry out the substantive and administrativework of the United Nations as directed by the General Assembly, the Security Counciland the other organs.

The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General. He is appointed by the GeneralAssembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year term. As thechief administrative officer of the Organization, the Secretary-General directs its work.



He is also responsible for implementing decisions taken by the various organs of theUnited Nations.

The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matterwhich, in his opinion, may threaten international peace and security. He may use his“good offices” to prevent conflicts or promote peaceful settlement of disputes betweencountries. The Secretary-General may also act on his own initiative to deal withhumanitarian or other problems of special importance.

Achievements of UNO:

The First and foremost it has prevented the occurrence of any further world wars.Instrumental in the maintenance of international balance of power.

It played a Significant role in disarming the world and making it nuclear free.Various treaty negotiations like 'Partial Test Ban Treaty' and 'nuclear non-proliferation treaty' have been signed under UN.

Demise of colonialism and imperialism on one hand and apartheid on the otherhad UN sanctions behind them.

UN Acted as vanguard for the protection of human rights of the people of theworld, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

Despite crippled by Bretton Woods Institutions, UN has played limited buteffective role on economic matters. Supported the North-South dialogue and aspiredfor emergence of new international economic order.

Agencies of United Nations like WHO, UNICFF, UNESCO have keenlyparticipated in the transformation of the international social sector.

Peace keeping operations, peaceful resolution of disputes and refugee concernshad always been on the list of core issues.

Since 1945, the UN has been credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlementsthat have ended regional conflicts.

The world body was also instrumental in institutionalization of international lawsand world legal frame work.

Passage of various conventions and declarations on child, women, climate, etc,highlights the extra-political affairs of the otherwise political world body.

It has successfully controlled the situation in Serbia, Yugoslavia and Balkan areas.

A number of peace missions in Africa have done reasonably well to control thesituation.

Failures of the UNO:

UN opinion on Hungary and Czechoslovakia were ignored by the erstwhile SovietUnion in 1950s.



Israel had been taking unilateral action through decades in its geographicalvicinity and nothing substantial has come out even by September 2010.

No emphatic role in crisis of worst kinds like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnamcrisis etc.

UN was nowhere in the picture when the NATO rained bombs over formerYugoslavia.

Uni-polarity and unilateralism has shaken the relevance of the world body.Unilateral action in Iraq was bereft of UN sanction.

Failed to generate a universal consensus to protect the deteriorating world climate,even at Copenhagen in 2009.

Number of nuclear powers in the world has kept on increasing. UN Could notcontrol the horizontal expansion and proliferation of weapons and arms.

Financial dependence on the industrialized nations has at times deviated UN fromneutrality and impartiality.

The world body has failed to reflect the democratic aspiration of the world.Without being democratic itself, it talks of democratization of the world.

Aids are crossing regions and boundaries both in spread and intensity.

Domestic situation of near anarchy in Iraq and many regions of Afghanistan,despite on active UN. The US President scheme of withdrawal has not able to bringany specific solutions in the region. In fact, the situation has been further aggravated.

The UN totally exposed in the case of US invasion on Iraq in name for the searchweapon of mass destruction. US have withdrawn its combat forces but the law andorder and mutual distrust has worsened and at this juncture UN seems to be clueless.

Specialized Agencies:The effects of the Second World War saw not only the need for an organization to

establish permanent world peace but also the formation of certain agencies that wouldhelp in the rebuilding of the damaged social and economic structure of nations the worldover. The Special Agencies of the U.N.O work together in economic, social, cultural,scientific spheres to ensure substantial development in developed and especiallydeveloping countries.

1. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

It is an agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where allnations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source ofknowledge and information, and helps developing countries and countries in transitionmodernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuringgood nutrition and food security for all.

2. World Health Organization (WHO)



It was founded in April 1948 with its headquarters at Geneva. There is an ExecutiveBoard that implements its programs. Its primary concern is to improve the health of allthe peoples of the world. "Health for all by the 2000" is the main aim of this agency. TheWHO provides medical aid. It arranges for medicines to prevent various diseases. It takesmeasures to check the spread of infectious diseases. This agency also sends specialists tovarious nations to provide advice for the promotion of human health. It encouragesresearch related to all aspects of health including nutrition, maternity and child care,environmental safety, mental health, control of specific diseases, etc.

3. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

This agency was founded in 1946 with its headquarters at Paris. Its main purpose is topromote peace and security through education, science and culture and communication. Ithelps in the spread of knowledge, culture, and international understanding among themember nations. It makes arrangements to expand and direct education in differentcountries to eliminate illiteracy. It starts schools and trains teachers, planners andadministrators. It fosters social sciences as instruments for the realization of humanrights, justice and peace. It promotes national and cultural values and encourages thestudy and development of cultures.

4. United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

Most of the work of the United Nations, in terms of finance and personnel, is devotedto programs aimed at achieving economic and social development in the developingcountries. The U.N.O. extends aid for national development plans in an attempt to ensurebalanced economic and social growth of the world economy. It aims at making the bestuse of available financial, physical and human resources.

Its programs are related to various development activities in almost every economicand social sector, including farming, fishing, forestry, mining, manufacturing, health andenvironmental sanitation. It carries out surveys to economic worth of a nation’s naturalresources, improving education systems and upgrading the economic and social structurein order to accommodate sophisticated technology. It is funded by the governments of themember nations.

5. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

This was established in 1946. Its headquarters are at New York. It attempts to arrestthe spread of diseases among children. It organizes nutritious food for the benefit ofundernourished children in the poor countries. It takes steps to spread information of howto prevent serious diseases. This agency is again financed by the governments of themember nations as well as certain private agencies.6. International Labor Organization (ILO)

It was founded in 1919 and was also an organ of the League of Nations. It beganoperating as a special agency of the U.N.O in 1945 and its headquarters at Geneva. Thisagency aims at improving the working conditions of the laborers all over the world, forthe purpose of raising their standard of living, improving their economic and social



condition and providing a more just environment for working people. It checksunemployment among the labor, determines their wage hours and conditions of work andorganizes social insurance, paid vacations, industrial safety, education of their childrenand labor inspection.

It will be observed that U.N.O.’s role towards maintaining world peace in order tomake human life safe and worthwhile can never be overemphasized.

Documents

MODERN WORLD HISTORY FROM AD 1500: IMPERIALIST …14.139.185.6/website/SDE/ex4233.pdf · 2019. 4. 9. · The First Carnatic War. In 1742 the Austrian succession war broke out in Europe