Nationalism Essay

Nationalism Nationalism is the devotion and loyalty to one's own nation instead of a king or empire. This desire for self-rule and unity was the most powerful force in Asia during the 1900s. Asia's desire for independence was a direct reaction to imperialism, or the taking over of another country for political, social, and/or economic gain. Many Asian countries, including China, India, and Turkey, experienced long periods of foreign control. Eventually, nationalistic movements in these countries rose up in an attempt to get rid of foreign influence and gain independence. China was considered to be within the sphere of British influence. Britain never completely controlled the Chinese government, but did influence political and economic affairs greatly. British control began to withdraw from China at the end of the 19th century, and many nationalistic movements began to arise. In 1911, the Revolutionary Alliance, led by Sun Yixian, overthrew the last Qing emperor. Yixian later established the Kuomintang and was elected as president of the new Republic of China in 1912. His principles were nationalism, people's rights and people' s livelihood. His successor was Jiang Jieshi, who would lead the Kuomintang using these same principles. Jieshi's government soon became corrupt, which caused the peasants to give their support to a rival group called the Communist Party. The leader of the Communist Party was Mao Zedong, a Marxist, who opposed democratic principles and capitalism. Mao won the favor of the Chinese people during the Communist Revolution against Jieshi. In 1930, Communists and Nationalists were fighting for control. After the Communists were almost wiped out, Zedong took his revolution to the countryside. After Jieshi surrounded Zedong's mountain stronghold, Zedong led his troops on an event, known as the Long March (1934-1935), where 100,000 communists walked nearly 6,000 miles while under constant fire from the Kuomintang. It became Mao's symbol of perseverance and helped him rise to power after the Japanese invasion of China. After defeating Jieshi, Mao assumed power in 1949 as the communist leader of the People's Republic of China. In India, Great Britain had colonized the country during the 1700's. Indian nationalistic movements, had made attempts at self-rule but had never been completely successful. The great advocate to free India was Mohandas K. Gandhi. Known as the Mahatma, or the Great Soul, Gandhi caused change and an end to British imperialism through a strict policy of non-violence using civil disobedience. Examples of his civil disobedience included boycotts such as the Salt March, and hunger strikes. Violent events, such as the Amritsar Massacre, plagued India's movement to be come free. In 1935, The Brtish Parliament passed the Government of India Act which provided local self-government and limited democratic elections, but not total independence, Great Britain, weakened by World War II, finally gave into Indian nationalist demands in 1948. Just as the people of India and China fought to have their own nation, Turkey launched an independence movement to rid themselves of imperial rule. After World War 1, the Ottoman empire, forced to give up much land, except Turkey. In 1919, Greek soldiers along with British troops invaded Turkey and threatened to conquer it. The sultan was powerless to stop the Greeks. But, in 1922, a Turkish general named Mustafa Kemal successfully resisted Allied attempts at take Turkey. After winning peace, the nationalists overthrew the sultan. In 1923, Kemal became the president of the new Republic of Turkey. To modernize Turkey, traditional practices were abandoned, factories and infrastructure were built, and women's rights were established.

Nationalistic movements in Asia are similar and also different. The goals of autonomy and desire for self-rule are the same. But, the circumstances that led to the unification or the division in these countries were different. In China, before independence could come, a civil was was fought between two nationalistic groups that wanted to establish China based on their policies and beliefs. In India, a non-violent approach was used to free India from British rule. In Turkey, a Turkish general had to fight foreigners trying to gain control of Turkey, and then overthrow the ruling sultan to establish the Republic of Turkey.