Failed Peace in Paris

• Guilty Germany– Cripple Germany at all costs so they cannot

rebuild and cannot be a threat-NO NEGOTIATING

• Blank Check• De-militarization• Make Germany smaller• Funnel money into France• Germany embarrassed

Failed Peace in Paris

• Austro-Hungarian empire chopped up and new nations formed

• War time promises not made to Arab nations

• Did not consider the concerns from the colonies

• League of Nations

Challenging White Power

• Colonists of color for the first time were ordered to kill other Europeans and witnessed the disorganization and carnage caused at the hands of the supposedly “civilized” Europeans

Nationalist Stirrings

• War alone did not bring on the tension in the colonies but helped to fan the flame

• Unmet promises

• Financial strain

• Loss of life

Patterns Develop

• India and colonies in Africa provide a model for nationalist movements– Charismatic leaders– Leadership of western-educated colonists– Use of non-violence

Indian Nationalism

• Racism, shared grievances, and education brought the Indians together in a way that had never happened- sense of identity in a nation more diverse than all of Europe

• Issues– Economic and social disruptions

• British businessmen favored• Income generated in India was spent on British troops in WWI• Indians unable to sell what they wanted during the war• Famine- made worse by the war• Rowlat Act: severe restrictions on Indian civil rights

Middle East Tensions

• Broken promises- – Arab independence– Palestine

• Promised to Arabs and Jews

• Balfour Declaration

• Zionists– Most Europeans Jews were against them because they

enjoyed citizenship and their life in Europe

– Dreyfus Affair

Liberation Struggles Begin in Africa

• Hardships brought on by the war• Colonies suffered greatly- famine, shortages in

economy• Broken promises• Pan-African movement:

– Difficult because there wasn’t really a common enemy

• Negritude literature- combat racial stereotyping that kept Africans in psychological bondage

Conclusions

• Stalemate in the war added great strain in the colonies and undermined the European power

• Europe’s economy disrupted and the rise of other economies

• Re-ignited class tensions• Challenges to the gender roles• Hardships in the war and broken promises were a catalyst

for change• Ideas of racial and psychological superiority decreased as

people of color realized they too had power and became educated

Questions to Consider

• What were the results of the Paris peace conference?

• Why was it considered a failed peace?• What were the intended purposes of the League of

Nations? Strengths/Weaknesses?• What factors stirred up the nationalist movements

in India and Africa?• How did Europe contribute to growing tensions in

the Middle East?