The Postwar Surge of Nationalism

The aftermath of World War I saw a dramatic shift in the political landscape of colonized regions. As Sun Yat-sen observed in 1924, Japan’s victory over Russia in 1905 had already ignited hopes among Asian nations to break free from European domination. However, it was the devastation of the Great War that accelerated revolutionary fervor across the Middle East, South Asia, and beyond. The war weakened European empires economically and morally, exposing the fragility of colonial rule. While outcomes varied—Turkey achieved sweeping independence, while others secured only modest reforms—these movements laid the groundwork for the eventual dismantling of European imperialism after World War II.

Turkey’s Defiant Triumph

### From the Ashes of the Ottoman Empire

No anti-colonial struggle was more dramatic or successful than Turkey’s. Defeated in World War I, the Ottoman Empire was carved up by the Allies through secret treaties like the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, which promised territories to Britain, France, and Russia. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres reduced Turkey to a rump state, sparking outrage.

### Mustafa Kemal and the War of Independence

Leading the resistance was Mustafa Kemal, a military hero who rejected the treaty. Rallying popular support, he established a rival government in Ankara, abolished the Sultanate, and defeated Greek forces occupying Smyrna (Izmir) by 1922. His victories forced the Allies to renegotiate, resulting in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which recognized Turkey’s sovereignty.

### Revolution from Above

Kemal, later called Atatürk (“Father of the Turks”), launched radical reforms: relocating the capital to Ankara, secularizing legal codes, granting women suffrage, and replacing Arabic script with Latin. By his death in 1938, Turkey had transformed into a modern, assertive nation-state—a beacon for other colonized peoples.

The Arab World’s Fractured Struggle

### Broken Promises and Revolt

Arab disillusionment ran deep. Despite British assurances of independence (e.g., the 1915 Hussein-McMahon Correspondence), the postwar mandate system placed Syria-Lebanon under French control and Iraq-Palestine under Britain. Revolts erupted: Iraq’s 1920 uprising, Syria’s resistance to French rule, and Egypt’s 1919 revolution, which forced Britain to grant nominal independence in 1922.

### Palestine: The Tinderbox

The Balfour Declaration (1917), pledging support for a Jewish “national home” in Palestine, collided with Arab aspirations. Jewish immigration, spurred by European antisemitism, tripled Palestine’s Jewish population by 1939. Arab riots and British crackdowns followed, with commissions like the 1939 White Paper failing to reconcile competing claims. The stage was set for future conflict.

India’s Nonviolent Rebellion

### The Dual Impact of World War I

India’s wartime support—1.2 million soldiers, vast resources—was met with postwar repression (e.g., the 1919 Amritsar Massacre). Returning soldiers, exposed to ideas of self-determination, fueled unrest. Economic distress—famine, influenza—deepened grievances.

### Gandhi’s Quiet Revolution

Mohandas Gandhi transformed the Indian National Congress from an elite group into a mass movement. His philosophy of satyagraha (nonviolent resistance) inspired boycotts of British goods, notably through homespun khadi cloth. The 1930 Salt March, defying British salt taxes, became a global symbol of defiance.

### The Muslim Question

Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League, fearing Hindu dominance, championed a separate Muslim state—later Pakistan. This divide, alongside British “divide and rule” tactics, complicated the independence struggle.

China’s Turbulent Path

### The Republic’s Frail Foundations

Sun Yat-sen’s 1911 revolution ousted the Qing dynasty but left China fragmented under warlords. The Kuomintang (KMT), led by Chiang Kai-shek after 1925, modernized infrastructure but failed at land reform, alienating peasants.

### Communism’s Rural Rise

Mao Zedong, breaking from Marxist orthodoxy, mobilized peasants with land redistribution. After the Long March (1934–35), his Communists gained strength while Chiang focused on fighting Japan. By 1949, Mao’s victory reshaped Asia’s Cold War alignment.

Legacy: The End of Empire

These interwar movements, though uneven in success, shattered the myth of European invincibility. Turkey’s defiance, India’s mass mobilization, and China’s revolution inspired postwar decolonization. Yet unresolved tensions—Arab-Israeli conflicts, India-Pakistan partition—echo today, reminding us how deeply colonialism’s collapse shaped the modern world.

The era proved Sun Yat-sen’s prescience: for colonized peoples, reclaiming rights often required not just hope, but struggle.