WAW: Lesson - Anti-Imperialism Between World Wars

Anti-Imperialism Between World Wars

World War I: Reviving Anti-Imperial Sentiments

As you may have noticed, during World War I, European powers forced the people they controlled in Africa and Asia to continue the war on their behalf. This understandably made people under imperial control resentful. Following World War I, Great Britain gave Canada, Australia, and New Zealand their independence. But these were colonies that had a majority of British-ancestry settlers (and few natives). Great Britain made no such concession for its other colonies (who were also loyal to and fought alongside Great Britain during the war.) Therefore, the other colonies saw an increase in nationalist and anti-colonial movements following World War I.

Image note: The photograph shows a group of Green Shirts from the Young Egypt party. The one in the center with the X is future leader Gamal Nasser.

Revived Anti-Imperialism in Africa

Mekatilili wa Menza of East Kenya rallied hundreds of local people by leading funeral dances to protest British Imperialism. The dances came to a head when the British tried to force Kenyan men to fight in World War I. People were shot, their houses were burned, and their temples were bombed but they didn’t surrender. In 1915, the British gave up and Mekatilili’s tribe regained their sovereignty. 

During the Treaty of Versailles, Sa'd Zaghlul, a moderate Egyptian nationalist, led a push for Egypt’s independence. Instead of granting the delegation's request, British officials arrested and exiled Zaghlul. Without a moderate leader, rural rebels declared their local independence and destroyed symbols of British authority (rail lines, telegraph wires, etc.). In 1922, the British announced Egypt’s independence but that it would continue to be the home for British soldiers. During the Great Depression, the fascist group "Young Egypt" won the hearts of many, including future Egyptian leaders Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat (who we will learn more about in Module 8).

In Igboland, which is Southeastern Nigeria, women were silenced and politically powerless under British imperialism. In 1929, Nwanyeruwa united 10,000 women wearing traditional clothes and warpaint, chanting war songs and dancing in front of British administrators. They called it the “Igbo Women’s War”. The British took this as a precipice for actual war and fired into the crowd. 100 women were shot, which led to even more women pressuring the British-appointed local leaders to step down. When they did, the British relented and granted local self-governance (though not outright independence).

Revived Anti-Imperialism in China

China was never formally colonized by Great Britain (or anyone else, for that matter) but foreigners within China had a great deal of power at the expense of Chinese sovereignty. After WWI, China learned that Japan would take over the previously German concession areas of China that included the region of Shandong (the birthplace of Confucius.) In response, thousands of student demonstrators marched in Beijing on May 4, 1919 in protest. The May Fourth Movement sprung out of this protest and marked a huge upswing in Chinese nationalism. However, nationalists split politically on the issue of an alliance with the USSR and acceptance of Communism in China. Chiang Kai-shek led the nationalists, while Mao Zedong led the communists in the Chinese Civil War that lasted from 1927 to 1945. 8 million people died and China became Communist.

Image note (above): Commemorative stamp depicting Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong shaking hands in a Communist alliance).

Revived Anti-Imperialism in India

The British Raj had limited political rights and economic opportunities for Indians since the Sepoy Mutiny. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led India’s satyagraha (non-violent resistance) movement. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Gandhi encouraged his fellow Indians, no matter their religion or caste, to boycott British goods and schools, and withhold taxes from a government that did not allow them representation.

Most famously, in 1930, Gandhi made a 240-mile trek to the coastal city of Dandi to retrieve his own free salt from the Indian Ocean rather than pay the British monopoly price (which was illegal under British law). This became known as the “Salt March”. Millions joined him in similar strikes and boycotts, all while wearing indigenous cloth. The British Raj passed the Government of India Act of 1935, which allowed more local political independence and slightly more Indian suffrage. But it included wording that allowed the British government to revoke any legislation. So, India was still not independent but moved in that direction.

Image note (right): Indian commemorative stamps depicting Gandhi’s Salt March or the Salt Satyagraha).

Practice Activity

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