Chapter 22: The End of Empire

In 1900, the Europeans colonial empires in Africa and Asia appeared as the permanent features of the world's political landscape. There was the first major breakthroughs that occurred in Asia and the Middle East in the late 1940's when the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Burma, Indonesia, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Israel achieved independence. The 20th century it witnessed the demise of many empires. For example, the Austrian and Ottoman empires collapsed from the World War I. The Russian empire also unraveled, although it was soon reassembled under the auspices of the Soviet Union. World War II ended the German and Japanese empires. African and Asia movements from independence shared these other end of empire stories the ideal of national self-determination. Empires without territory, such as the powerful influence that the United States exercised in Latin America, likewise came under attack from highly nationalist governments. One of the outcomes of that upheaval was the nationalization in 1937 of Mexico's oil industry.

The most important political expression of an all-Indian identity took shape in the Indian National Congress which was often called the Congress party, it established in 1885. This was an association of English educated Indians, lawyers, journalists, teachers, businessman that were regionally prominent high case Hindu families. The INC had difficulty in gaining a mass among the India's vast peasant population. It began to change in World War I. Gandhi was born in the province of Gujarat in western India. Gandhi personally experience overt racism for the first time. Gandhi also embraced efforts to mobilize women for the struggle against Britain and to elevate their standing in marriage and society. Gandhi and the INC leadership had to contend with a wide range of movements, parties, and approaches who very diversity tore at the national unity. As the movement of independence gained the ground, the muslims league and its leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, argued that those parts of India that had a Muslims majority should have separate political status.