The Colonies






Legacy of World War I



1.) The Principle that Nations have a right to political self-determination
..... although President Wilson's 14 POINTS were aimed explicitly only at the oppr4essed nations living under Austro-Hungarian and German rule, thus legitimizing the reestablishment of states such as POLAND, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, YUGOSLAVIA, they were quickly applied to the disintegrating Russian Empire as well (FINLAND, ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, UKRAINE, GEORGIA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN).
However, the political problem of nations ruled by other nations did not apply exclusively to the defeated central forces; IRELAND continued to be under British Rule; the IRA had to fight a terrorist campaign to gain the Irish Free State.
The 14 points were definitely not aimed at the colonial peoples of Africa and Asia, but here they found considerable resonance, as they gave additional legitimation for India's movement for self-government. In Korea they inspired students to organise the massive demonstrations of March 1st 1919, in which the demonstrators demanded an end to Japanese rule. The 14 points could be, and were used to argue against colonial rule.

2.) The REPUBLIC replaced the (constitutional) monarchy as the standard type of government. When the central powers asked for an armistice in 1918, the Entente made it clear that they would not negotiate with imperial administrations. Thus, the Emperors had to abdicate.
The new states of Eastern central Europe - Finland, the Baltic republics, Poland, Czechoslovakia, all were republics; Austria, Hungary and Germany became republics (a part of the population in Germany, Austria, Hungary regarded the republic as a constitution enforced on them and rejected it).
The democratic constitution in these countries was a new experience. The political landscape often was fragmented, a multitude of political parties only within limits prepared to compromise; animosities among political parties were high.

3.) The social fabric had changed. Women were granted the right to vote in the countries of northern and central Europe; the Social Democratic parties had matured, in some countries they were able to form or join the government.
In many countries the daily working hours were reduced (8 hour workday), Labour day introduced as a public holiday.

4.) Peace conditions the defeated powers had to agree to were maximalist. In addition to considerable territories they had to cede, REPARATIONS were to be paid which indebted the defeated nations for generations to come, preventing an economic recovery.
The newly independent countries of Eastern Central Europe, in order to safeguard their independence, engaged in an Alliance with France (the LITTLE ENTENTE).
The harsh peace conditions enforced at Versailles, St. Germain-en'Laye, Neuilly and Trianon caused rejection in the defeated countries and enforced the hatred between nations, such as between the Germans and the French.

5.) The war had, for all belligerents, been extremely costly; Britain, France, Belgium, Italy were heavily indebted to American banks. This debt would involve Europe in the GREAT DEPRESSION in 1929 and after.

6.) In world economy, Europe lost the leading position to the United States.

7.) Russia - the USSR - isolated itself from the rest of the world. Under tremendous human costs, it successfully established a socialist state-planned economy, industrialised.

8.) Warfare had changed. Military strategists learned from the experience of World War I - some better than others; tanks and airplanes would play a more important role in future wars. Highways (AUTOBAHNs) would be built to facilitate faster movement of tank columns.

9.) Science had changed, especially the chemical industry had been given a big boost by ERSATZSTOFFFORSCHUNG, the research for synthetical replacements of natural products scarce under war conditions (rubber, fertilizer, gunpowder).

10.) The world's dependency on critical natural resources, such as OIL, had become apparent, and would only increase in the future, the ERSATZSTOFFFORSCHUNG notwithstanding.

11.) Political life, in many countries, brutalized. Failed revolutions and political factionalism contributed to the emergence of party militias which were to stay even after the revolution was terminated. In many states of Europe, the rule of law and order was threatened by politically motivated violence, state authorities could not or did not want to stop. These militias largelt consisted of World War I veterans; for many of them war, violence, had become a part of their identity, of their lifestyle.



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 16th 2004

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