Middle East:

Imperialism and
Nationalism
 #17 Similarity between Atatürk,
Muhammad Ali and Reza Khan

 Nationalist Leaders
 they all tried to create modern industrialized
nations and end foreign influence
 Imperialism & Nationalism
 Imperialism: control of one country of the political,
economic and cultural life of another country

 Mandate: region ruled by outside power: any territory that was

placed by the League of Nations under the administration of one of
its European member states after World War I

 Nationalism: desire for political independence: 

 especially by a country under foreign control or
 by a people with a separate identity and culture but no state of
their own

 Relationship?
 Cause and effect
 “The Sick Man of Europe”
 In the 18th and 19th centuries, Ottoman Empire
faces major challenges from the following
nations/people:
1. Austria-Hungary – rival power in Europe

2. Russia – rival power in Europe and Asia

 BOTH want territory from the Ottomans

3. Greeks, Serbs, Romanians, and Bulgarians

living within Ottoman Empire
 These people wanted INDEPENDENCE from
Ottomans
 “The Sick Man of Europe”
 France and England
alarmed by Ottoman
decline; believe it
will give Russia too
much power in
Europe and Middle
East
 They call Ottomans
“The Sick Man of
Europe”
 Ottoman Empire
#1 Challenges to the Ottoman Empire:
 Imperialism: external
 Russia and Austria-Hungary wanted Ottoman
provinces in Europe –encouraged revolts
 Nationalism: internal
 National groups within the empire sought
independence
 Serbs, Romanians, Bulgarians
 #2 Sultans try to
Reforms of the Ottoman Empire
 Reforms to modernize the government & the army
 Like west
 Set up secular schools to teach students western
ideas in science and technology
 SECULAR: nonreligious

WERE REFORMS SUCCESSFUL?

 Reforms didn’t go smoothly

 Many Sultans refused demands

 # 3 YOUNG TURKS
 Young army officers who wanted to Reform/strengthen the
Ottoman Government – against the Sultans and put their
own Sultan in place
 were nationalists: #4
1. Revolted against the absolute rule of the Sultan
1. Restore the constitution – strengthen failing empire
2. Ended Ottoman tolerance of different cultures and religions
1. Turkification of ethnic minorities
3. Promoted modernization
4. Joined WWI on side of Germans
 # 4 Young Turks support Turkish
Nationalism
 Wanted to end western imperialism
 Wanted to abandon diversity of culture and
religions
 Followed a brutal policy of genocide that
cause the death of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians.
Resting after battle during Turkish revolution

Link to Understanding Armenian Genocide

 The forgotten Holocaust: The Armenian Genocide 1915 -1918

 Ottomans (Turkey) and Russia fight for control of Armenia in 1916-1917

 After Russians withdraw, Turks seize territory and punish Armenians for their
support of Russia
 Turks institute policy of massacre and famine, known as The Armenian
Genocide
 As many as 1.5 million Armenians are killed
 Armenian Genocide Video
 60 Minutes Armenian Genocide 2010 video : 10 min
 Armenian Genocide ABC World news tonight with Peter Jennings video 5:02
 Mehmed VI

The Last Ottoman Sultan!

 #5 What happened to the Ottoman
Empire after WWI?
 The Ottoman empire sided with Germany against
Russia, Britain and France.
 Defeat brought disaster to the Empire.
 1919 the Versailles peace conference stripped the
Ottoman Empire of its Arab provinces.

MANDATE: TERRITORY THAT WAS

ADMINISTERED BUT NOT OWNED BY A
MEMBER OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
(FRANCE & GREAT BRITAIN)
 WWI Effects on Arabs
 Angered by Treaty/agreement: Why?
 Promises were made and broken to Arabs about setting
up independent Arab Kingdoms for revolting against
Ottoman rule
 Arab land was divided up between the British and French

 Sykes-Picot Agreement

 Mandates:
 A territory administered but not owned by a member of the League of
Nations.
 Mandates
 A territory administered but not owned
by a member of the League of Nations.
 Republic of Turkey
1923
 Ottoman Empire sides with Germany and
Austria-Hungary during World War I.
 Turkey loses World War I. ALL of its
remaining territories outside Anatolia are lost
 Mustafa Kemal, a Turkish general and war
hero, abolishes the Ottoman Empire and sets
up a modern, secular state
 #6 Who was Kemal Atatürk?
 Atatürk = Father of the Turk
 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – military hero
 Declared the Republic of Turkey (1923)
 #7 What did Kemal want to do?
 Determined to make Turkey a modern
secular state – Program of Westernization
Reforms of Atatürk
 #7 What did Kemal want to do?
 He used government funds to build industry
 Insisted on separation of religion and

government
 Women won the right to vote & hold public

office - rights
 Adopted many features of western culture
 Replaced Arabic script with the western
alphabet, western calendar, metric system
 He encouraged western-style clothing
 A woman judge holding court in
Turkey

 A woman judge holding court in Turkey, exemplifying the reforms in the rights of
women instituted by Mustapha Kemal between 1924 and 1938.
 Turkey Adopting a New Alphabet

 Atatürk turned Turkey toward the west in several ways, changing the calendar, methods of
time-keeping, and systems of weights and measures. He replaced the Arabic script with the
Roman alphabet. Here a teacher is explaining the new alphabet to students. Within the next
few months, teachers were retrained, printing presses were equipped and courses were
established to teach the masses the new alphabet. A three-year plan was enacted. The literacy
rates during this time increased from around 10% to 75% for men and 45% for women.
 #8 Who opposed Atatürk?
 Some Muslims opposed Atatürk’s policies
 Concerned that the western ways would
destroy their traditions and values
 Opposed Westernization:
 the diffusion and adoption of European and
American cultures
 Quick Check
The peace settlements after World War I angered the
Arabs because
1. the Ottoman Empire was restored to power
2. Arab nationalism was outlawed
3. European nations acquired mandates over various
Arab lands
4. Theodore Herzl was made ruler of Palestine
 Quick Check
Atatürk is best remembered for
1. ending European imperialism in Egypt.
2. modernizing Turkey.
3. overthrowing the Safavid Empire.
4. forcing the crusaders to leave Jerusalem.
 Rise of Modern Egypt
 Ottomans lose control of Egypt in the
late 18th century
 England and France fight for control
over Egypt - trade
 Rise of Modern Egypt
 Rivalry between Britain and France (#9)
 Both countries wanted to dominate Egypt

and build a canal across the Isthmus of Suez

 Rise of Modern Egypt
 (#10) Muhammad Ali (not the boxer) becomes
governor of Egypt
-he was a soldier who fought against the French
 He introduced reforms to modernize Egypt

 Brought in French experts to train Egyptians in

latest military & science techniques

 Introduced new farming techniques &

promoted growing cash crops like cotton, sugar

& tobacco
 textile mills

Muhammad Ali (1769 – 1849)

 #11 Developments encouraging
Nationalism in Egypt
 Financial problems allowed imperialists to
intervene
 Had to borrow money from European banks to
continue policies (debt)
 Lost control of the Suez Canal
 Lost control of own economy
 Muhammad Ali (1769 – 1849)

 Map of the Suez Canal

 The Suez Canal
 Egypt borrows large sums of money from England and
France to pay for Ali’s policies
 England and France interfere in Egyptian economy and
politics
 French win the right to build Suez Canal; is completed in
1869
 British Occupation
 Egyptians attempt to take back control of their
country from Britain and France
 Britain takes control of Egypt in 1882
 Egypt finally gains independence in 1922, but
Suez Canal remains under British control until
1956
 Suez Canal
 #12
 Britain takes control of Egypt in 1882
 Egypt declared their independence from Britain
in 1922

 Egypt gained control of

the Suez Canal in 1956
 Quick Check
A similarity between Muhammad Ali and
Atatürk was that both
1. wanted to build the Suez Canal
2. encouraged Islamic fundamentalism.
3. introduced western technology to their
countries.
4. fought against the Allies in World War I.
 #13 Challenges Iran faced
 European imperialism
 Russia and Britain both compete for influence in Iran
(ancient Persia)
 Both want access to the Persian Gulf (sound familiar?)

 spheres of influence - oil controlled by Britain

 Shahs (king) were weak
 Government lacked power to resist European
expansion
 #14 Pahlavi Dynasty
 By early 1900’s, nationalists demand reform
 Reza Khan declared Iran’s independence & set up
Pahlavi Dynasty
 Military leader
 He made himself shah
 In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the
last Shah of the Qajar dynasty, and founded the Pahlavi
dynasty. He established a system of government that
revitalized the goals of the Constitutional Revolution of
Iran
Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878-1944)
 #15 Reza Khan’s Goals
 He set out to end foreign control and create a
modern industrial state
 Reduce Muslim clergy power
 He pursued these goals by modernizing and
westernizing
 Improved infrastructure
 Rights for women, western education, government
and laws
 Arab Nationalism
 Ottomans lose Arab lands after World War I
 Britain and France gain control of most of these

territories, angering the Arabs

 Britain: receives Iraq, Transjordan, & Palestine

 France: gets Syria and Lebanon

Mandate – arrangement granting control, but not

ownership, of these territories to Britain
and France
Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935), the
legendary and enigmatic "Lawrence of Arabia."

 British encouraged the Arabs to revolt against Turkish rule in 1916.

 T. E. Lawrence, a British officer, leads them. Is known as Lawrence of Arabia
 Is angered when British do not grant Arabs independence
#16 Causes of Arab Nationalism
 WWI
 Felt betrayed because provinces now became
mandates
 Britain and France unwilling to withdrawl
because of oil
 Some independence for Arabs
 #17 Similarity between Atatürk,
Muhammad Ali and Reza Khan

 Nationalist Leaders
 they all tried to create modern industrialized
nations and end foreign influence