Nationalism in Western Asia - World History for Teens!
Nationalism in Western Asia - World History for Teens!
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Content
0.6 -> Imagine - you're living in Western Asia after
World War One. It's a diverse population with
7.2 -> differing ideas, but you're all used to being
under the tight control of massive empires - and
13.14 -> now, all of a sudden, you're on your own and have
to figure out what type of government you're going
18.84 -> to have, how your nation is going to be organized,
and what the future is going to look like.
24.9 -> Today, we will look at the nationalist movements
of Western Asia, or what is sometimes known as the
31.2 -> Middle East. By the end of the lesson, you should
be able to answer the following questions. How did
37.26 -> Turkey and Iran organize their new nations? What
is the structure of the Saudi Arabian government?
44.7 -> How do the experiences of the Kurds
differ from other nationalist movements?
51.96 -> You should also be able to
discuss our big-picture question.
55.68 -> How does the principle of self-determination
lead to nationalist movements?
83.1 -> During the Treaty of Versailles negotiations,
85.5 -> American President Woodrow Wilson advocated for
self-determination by formally colonized people.
92.88 -> Self-determination is the way a country determines
its own government, policies, and structures.
100.5 -> For many of the different ethnic groups
who comprise the region, this push for
104.58 -> self-determination led to the rise of nationalist
movements that pushed for the creation of new
110.34 -> countries. In 1919, the Ottoman Empire, which
at one point spanned thousands of miles,
117.12 -> was reduced to its territory in Anatolia.
Sensing an opportunity, Greek forces aided
123.66 -> by the British invaded. While resistance to
the Greek invasion didn't go well at first,
129.3 -> a Turkish officer, Mustafa Kemal, took command
of the Ottoman forces. Remember Kemal from our
136.5 -> lesson on Gallipoli, the massive Ottoman
victory in World War One? Well, by 1922,
143.76 -> he had led the Ottomans to a victory over
the combined Greek and British forces. But
150.18 -> this successful defense stirred strong
nationalist feelings among the Turkish people,
155.94 -> and in November 1922, they dissolved the
Ottoman Empire and overthrew the last sultan.
162.96 -> Because of his heroics defending against the
invaders, Mustafa Kemal became the president of
168.12 -> Turkey in 1923. A popular leader, he was given the
honorific title "Atatürk" - Father of the Turks.
178.14 -> Atatürk launched a reform program designed to help
Turkey modernize and democratize. This program
184.5 -> secularized the nation and separated the country's
laws from Islamic law, introduced a European-style
191.46 -> legal system, allowed women to vote and hold
office, launched a program of industrialization,
199.38 -> encouraged the adoption of Western culture,
banned certain traditional items such as the fez,
205.92 -> a Turkish hat, required government
officials to wear European suits.
214.92 -> Further to the east, national sentiment
began surfacing in Persia, the traditional
219.54 -> name for Iran. Before World War One, Russia and
Britain were in direct competition for influence
225.12 -> in Persia. However, the Russian Revolution and
rise of the Bolsheviks reduced Russia's ability
230.7 -> to influence events in the region. Sensing
an opportunity, Great Britain attempted to
235.8 -> move in and seize control of Persia, leading to a
nationalist uprising. By 1925, an officer in the
242.7 -> Persian army, Reza Shah Pahlavi, seized control of
the nation's government and made himself dictator.
250.68 -> During his rule, Pahlavi launched a series of
programs designed to modernize the nation by
256.14 -> establishing public schools,
promoting industrialization,
259.68 -> granting women the right to vote. In 1935,
Pahlavi changed the nation's name to Iran.
269.46 -> Take a moment to consider our
first guiding question. How
272.94 -> did Turkey and Iran organize their new nations?
288.84 -> While Turkey and Iran turned to former
military leaders to create new modern nations,
294.9 -> the Bedouin tribes of the Arabian peninsula
turned to an older organizing principle.
301.8 -> During World War One, these tribes aligned
themselves with the Allied Powers against the
307.8 -> Ottoman Empire with the hopes of securing
an independent nation after the war.
313.08 -> In 1932, after years of consolidating power and
building alliances, the tribes of the Arabian
320.64 -> peninsula were united by Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud
into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While Turkey
328.8 -> and Iran looked to create modern states influenced
by Western and European values, Saudi Arabia was
336.3 -> organized around the principles and practices
of Wahhabism, a fundamentalist sect of Islam.
343.98 -> Fundamentalism refers to beliefs that adhere
to strict, traditional interpretations of
349.26 -> religious texts. The Saudi kingdom was an
absolute monarchy with democratic elements
356.52 -> strictly prohibited. Women living in Saudi
Arabia did not have the same rights as men.
362.94 -> To this day, Saudi Arabia remains an absolute
monarchy with strict restrictions on democracy.
369.6 -> And while Turkish and Iranian leaders
sought to modernize their nations to
375 -> more closely resemble Western nations, Saudi
leadership used religious fundamentalism to
381.06 -> prohibit the use of technology like radio
and television, except in certain areas.
387.9 -> A few short years after gaining nationhood
in 1938, oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia,
394.32 -> ensuring the new nation would play a
prominent role in the 20th century.
399.18 -> Make sure to check out the PDF to learn
more about the role of oil in Western Asia.
405.18 -> Pause for a second to consider our second guiding
407.82 -> question. What is the structure
of the Saudi Arabian government?
423.72 -> While the principle of self-determination led to
the formation of new countries like Turkey, Iran,
428.94 -> and Saudi Arabia, not every group in the region
was able to form their own nation. The Kurds are
435.72 -> an ethnic group of between 30 and 45 million
people living in the modern nations of Turkey,
441.42 -> Syria, and Iraq. After the fall of the Ottoman
Empire, they hoped the push for self-determination
448.08 -> would lead to an independent Kurdish nation.
However, the Kurds would experience the
454.8 -> painful reality of what happens when ideas about
self-determination conflict with the interests of
460.44 -> other powers. An independent Kurdish nation would
have interfered with British ambitions in what is
467.16 -> now Iraq and would have required the new nation
of Turkey to give up massive amounts of land.
474.84 -> For the next 80 years or so, Kurds in the region
tried a variety of strategies to gain autonomy,
481.08 -> including holding political office in 1950s
Turkey and engaging in revolts against an
487.62 -> oppressive Iraqi government from the 1960s
through the 1990s. While the Kurds still
495 -> have no fixed nation, they do have a degree of
autonomy in what is referred to as Kurdistan.
502.2 -> However, that autonomy is always at risk as
governments and policies in the region change.
509.76 -> Take a second to answer our last guiding question.
513.12 -> How did the experiences of the Kurds differ
from other nationalist movements in the region?
531.96 -> All right, time for a quick recap. As World War
One came to an end, different ethnic groups in
538.74 -> Western Asia began to push for self-determination,
resulting in nationalist movements throughout the
544.86 -> region. In Turkey and Iran, these nationalist
movements were led by military officers who
552.3 -> sought to modernize and democratize their
new nations. On the Arabian peninsula,
558.6 -> Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud united various Bedouin tribes
into a nation centered on the fundamentalist
566.1 -> Islamic values of Wahhabism. And, while this
wave of nationalism led to self-determination
573.78 -> for many groups in the region, other groups
like the Kurds were left out. The quest for
580.8 -> self-determination becomes one of the defining
patterns of the 20th century. And we see many
587.52 -> of the same trends discussed in this lesson play
out again and again because history is everywhere.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iuGlS1kysM