World History
General Knowledge

Turkish Revolution



Turkish Revolution

» Turkey was called 'Sickman of Europe’.
» The disintegration of Ottoman empire began in the 19th century and was completed after Turkey's defeat in the First World War.
» The Allies wanted to establish their domination over Turkey itself and to give away parts of Turkey to Greece and Italy.
» The treatment meted out to Turkey by the Allies had led to a mass upsurge in India directed against Britain. This upsurge is known as the Khilafat Movement
» The nationalist movement in Turkey was organized to prevent the domination of the country by the Allied Powers and the annexation of parts of Turkey agreed to the terms dictated by the Allied Powers.
» However, even before the treaty was signed by the Sultan anational government had been established under the leadership of Mustafa Kcmal Pasha with its headquarter in Ankara.
» Following the treaty with the Sultan, Turkey had been invaded by Greece.
» The turks under Kemal's leadership were able to repel the invasion and the Allies were forced to repudiate the earlier treaty. The Allied troops were withdrawn from Turkish territory and the areas which were to be annexed by European countries remained in Turkey. Thus, Turkey was able to win her complete independence.
» The success of the Turks in winning the complete independence of their country was followed by a programme to modernize Turkey and to end the influence of backward-looking feudal elements.
» Turkey was proclaimed a republic in Oct. 29,1923 and Kemal became the first President of Turkey. He ruled the new republic for 15 years (1923-38). The Turkish Sultan had carried the title of Caliph (Khalifa); the new government abolished the institution of Caliph (Khalifa) in 1924. Education was taken out of the hands of the religious leaders. Religion was separated from the State.
» Mustafa Kemal Pasha is known as the' founder of modern Turkey' and' Ataturk' (the father of the Turks).

Economic Depression of the World ( 1929 - 34 )

» In Economic terms, a decline in trade and general prosperity is called Depression.
» The Great Depression of 1929-34 was worldwide, starting with an agricultural recession followed by financial panic and collapse, known as the Wall Street Crash (Oct., 1929), in the USA.
» The effects on the USA were catastrophic : by 1933 almost 14 million people were out of work and American President Hoover's efforts failed to make any impression on crisis.
» Nobody was surprised when the Republicans lost the presidential election of Nov., 1932. The new Democrat President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, introduced policies known as the New Deal to try and put the country on the road to recovery.
» The Great Depression is turn affected financial institutions and money markets in other parts of the world and caused a run on the pound in the UK. The result was a decline in internal consumption and exports in industrialized countries, factory closures and massive unemployment.