When World War I broke out in August 1914, Germany found itself unable to defend it's scattered colonies. Grasping the opportunity,
Japan declared war on Germany. The Japanese navy seized the MARIANAS, CAROLINAS and MARSHALL ISLANDS without
encountering resistance. The garrison at TSINGTAO resisted; the colony surrendered on Nov. 7th 1914. GERMAN NEW GUINEA was
occupied by Australian forces, WESTERN SAMOA by New Zealanders. German warships were chased across the world's oceans.
As far as fighting was concerned, World War I in the Pacific was over after about 3 months. Australia and New Zealand dispatched
their fighting force, the ANZAC, to the Near East, where it participated in the GALLIPOLI and Palestine campaigns.
B.) THE SITUATION IN CHINA, MONGOLIA, SIAM AND THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST
In 1911 the Chinese Revolution ended the rule of the MANCHU DYNASTY. In December, SUN YAT SEN was elected president. He
resigned in favour of YUAN SHIH K'AI, who ruled from 1912 until 1916. Sun yat Sen in 1913 fled to Japan, where he founded the
KUOMINTANG party. After Yuan's death, Sun Yat Sen returned to CHINA and established a Kuomintang government in Canton.
Although it controlled only a part of the country - other regions were controlled by the WARLORDS - the Kuomintang government
assumed the international representation of China. In 1917 it declared war on Germany, and it was represented at the Paris Peace
Conference. SIAM also declared war on Germany in 1917. Meanwhile, in 1911/1912 MONGOLIA and TIBET had broken away from
China, established independent governments. In 1917 the Russian Revolution broke out. Japanese troops occupied NORTHERN
SAKHALIN and the Amur provinces. The latter formed the FAR EASTERN REPUBLIC in 1920; with the withdrawal of Japanese troops in
1922 it was annexed by the RSFSR. Japan withdrew from Northern Sakhalin in 1925. In 1924, TANNU TUVA officially broke away from
Mongolia. Mongolia was proclaimed a People's Republic.
C.) NATIONAL AWAKENING IN THE COLONIES
Among the Mid and Eastern Asian countries, the national movement was probably most developed in India. It's leaders, among them
MOHANDAS K. GANDHI, supported Britain during the War, expecting to be rewarded after the war. Instead, in 1919 the
AMRITSAR MASSACRE took place, where an estimated 1.000 peacefully assembled men, women and children were shot. Gandhi
launched the first SATYAGRAHA CAMPAIGN, non-violent non-cooperation.
The PHILIPPINES were a colony of the United States since 1898. When the Democrates formed the government in 1913, they pursued
the policy The Philippines to the Filipinos. The islands were given an improved representation - an upper house (1916), and
were promised independence, without a date being specified.
In Indochina no changes toward participation of the local population in government were visible. Vietnamese residents of Canton in
1912, led by PHAN BOI CHAU, established the VIETNAM RESTORATION SOCIETY. They organized bombings and assassinations back
in Vietnam. The French reacted harshly. At French request, Phan and the other leaders were arrested in China.
Shortly after the death of KOREA's last independent king, KOJONG, on March 1st 1919 massive anti-Japanese demonstrations broke
out. Korean patriots, referring to US president Wilson's 14 points, demanded independence. The Japanese reacted brutally. A number
of patriots managed to flee the country. They met in SHANGHAI's international concession, where they established the
PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF KOREA on April 19th 1919. With very little funds, not recognized by any government, it was very limited
in its actions. KIM KU became it's president in 1926; he organized, among others, bombing blasts directed against Japanese installations.
YANBIAN, a region located in Eastern Manchuria, with a Korean population majority, developed into a center for Korean resistance
against the Japanese.
In multiethnic countries like Indochina and the DUTCH EAST INDIES, political movements were limited to regions and/or ethnical groups.
The Dutch administration introduced the Volksraad, a parliament with limited authority, in 1918.
D.) THE 1920ES IN CHINA AND THE USSR
The USSR had stabilized, and by 1925 all foreign troops had withdrawn from it's soil (the Japanese withdrawing from NORTHERN SAKHALIN
in 1925 being the last). In 1920, the Mongolian Communist Party had been founded in Irkutsk, TANNU TUVA was turned into a people's
republic in 1921, MONGOLIA in 1924. Both were Soviet satellites.
Sun Yat Sen had accepted Soviet aid in 1922. The USSR's most valuable contribution was MICHAIL BORODIN, who reorganized the
Kuomintang, establishing an efficient administration. After Sun Yat Sen's death in 1925, CHIANG KAI SHEK ousted Boronin and split with the
communists. In 1926 he launched the NORTHERN EXPEDITION, reuniting (most of) China under Kuomintang rule.
This page is part of World History at KMLA First posted on October 24th 1999, last revised on November 16th 2004
