Unit 7: 1900 to the Present - Shifts in State Power

Introduction

• Focus on the period from 1900 to the present.
• Examination of shifts in state power, world wars, depressions, and decolonization.
• Key theme: decline of empires and rise of new states.

Decline of Major Empires

Ottoman Empire

• Nicknamed "the sick man of Europe."
• Attempted industrialization through Tanzimat Reforms failed.
• Emergence of the Young Ottomans advocating for political change.
• Sultans initially agreed to some demands but reverted to authoritarianism.
• The Young Turks pushed for modernization and nationalism.
• Their policies alienated ethnic minorities, leading to further nationalistic movements.
• Post-World War I: Empire dissolved into independent states.

Russian Empire

• Early industrialization under Alexander II and Nicholas II.
• Growing middle and working classes resented autocratic rule.
• 1905 Russian Revolution: initial reforms granted but largely ignored.
• World War I intensified grievances, leading to the 1917 Russian Revolution.
• Led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, establishing a communist state (Soviet Union).

Qing China

• Suffered internal strife (Taiping Rebellion) and external defeats (Opium Wars, Sino-Japanese War).
• Boxer Rebellion against Qing seen as foreign rulers.
• Intervention by Western powers further weakened China.
• Sun Yat-sen led a movement that ended 2000 years of imperial rule.
• Short-lived provisional government followed by communist rule under Mao Zedong.

Mexican Revolution

• Dictatorship under Porfirio Diaz angered various social classes.
• Overthrown by Francisco Madero (assassinated in 1912).
• A decade of civil war with leaders like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.
• 1917: Constitution established Mexico as a republic with reforms addressing grievances.

Conclusion and Further Study

• The discussed revolutions varied in their international impact.
• For further review, resources are available such as the AP World History Heimler Review Guide.