Note about this update - Africa is not my strong suit, nor the Mideast for that matter, so if anyone has suggestions or comments, I am all ears. But about Africa...honestly, it's just colonial stuff.
Middle East and Africa
Middle East
Much like Africa, the Middle East remained under the domination of European countries. Unlike the Middle East, European nations did not exercise direct control but rather directed local rulers by its own interests. Three major independent countries dominated the Middle East. The first was the Ottoman Empire, which still retained a strong presence in Arab regions of the area despite weakening control in Europe. Propped up by France, the Ottoman Empire was a stabilizing and unifying presence. It brought millions of Arabs under its control.
The other two countries of the Middle East were the Kingdom of Arabia and the Persia Empire. Although independent, both nations were under the influence of some European power. The House of Saud had dominated Arabia since the eighteenth century, though in the early 1820s they were brought out of power by a joint Ottoman-Egyptian venture. The French conquest of Egypt in 1840 and subsequent alliance with the Ottoman Empire, coupled with the return of the Sauds to power in Arabia, sparked French interest in the area. A joint French-Ottoman venture in 1844 drew official boundaries between the then-neutral Saud state and the Ottoman Empire, which put Mecca and Medina under Ottoman control. In 1845, the French launched a military force from Egypt aimed at subduing the Saud state into an alliance with France. It was a brief, though harsh campaign and the Saud state, now the Kingdom of Arabia, allied itself to the Ottoman and French Empires. To Emperor Napoleon II, it seemed an excellent step toward the invasion of India.
France never invaded India and the domination of the Arabian Peninsula was the eastern extent of its direct influence. Arabia plodded through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a backwards land, ruled by an authoritarian government and lacking any abundance of any natural resource save sand. This changed on September 3rd, 1926 when oil was discovered in large quantities by the French oil company, Compagnie française des pétroles (CFP). This roughly coincided with the discovery of oil by the British in Persia. The double discoveries greatly increased Western interest in the Middle East. After 1926, the revenues of Arabia swelled rapidly. The country moved closer toward secularism and away from its Islamist roots it has always embraced. It began to move on a path toward modernization.
Persia too was beginning to move toward modernization. French influence in the Shah’s court was minimal, however, and Russian and British factions dominated the ancient country throughout the nineteenth century. During the Russian Civil War, Britain took advantage of significant Russian distractions to put an anglophile member of the Qajar family onto the Persian throne. Shah Mohammad Ali Qajar became Shah in 1907 in Britain’s first major foreign policy victory in the postwar world. Though condemned by the French, the Shah proved himself to be a capable leader, despite the signing of a lopsided Anglo-Persian Treaty. This treaty gave Britain favorable trading rights and a virtual monopoly on the oil discovered in Persia in 1910. Persia became a virtual British ally, a rarity in a world dominated by virtual French allies (i.e. most of Europe, Siam, Ethiopia, and Arabia). In 1922, the Ottoman Empire signed a treaty of friendship with Persia, a remarkable step considering centuries of rivalry and animosity. In the late 1910s and 1920s, Zavtra Russia began to look at Persia once again with interest. Anton Morchenko knew Persia was an alternative to the much-coveted warm water port of Constantinople. However, British influence of Persia remained strong in the 1920s and 1930s despite growing Russia activity.
Strengthening of Colonial Power in Africa
Africa remained an entire continent under European domination, save for the Empire of Ethiopia. Although isolated and neutral, it was friendly to France, a country that supported its ancient monarchy. After the Great War, British and Prussian colonies in West Africa were handed over to minor victorious powers: Prussia West Africa became Polish West Africa and British West Africa became Southern Lusitanian West Africa. Spain was given Nigeria as compensation for the failed British invasion of Spain. Except for Spain, these countries had little experience in colonial affairs and control over the colonies quickly became a difficult affair. By 1908, Poland and Southern Lusitania essentially allowed the police forces to run the colonies and the levels of brutality in governing dramatically increased. Sensing that the Polish and Southern Lusitanian methods of governing were out of control, Napoleon IV called the first Africa Congress in 1913. Representatives from French, Portuguese, Spanish, Neapolitan, Greek, Polish and Southern Lusitanian colonies and colonial offices attended (British and Brazilian officials declined the offer).
The first Africa Council was a success for the colonial powers. France decided that its large colonies needed to be divided into more administrative units and immediately set about doing this. Also, Polish and Southern Lusitanian officials were taught less violent ways of governing. In each country, colonial offices expanded and linguists from across Africa and Europe were trained to be able to communicate more effectively with the local people. However, the Council did little for the people of Africa. It merely was a meeting between imperial powers discussing how to better govern their colonies. Ironically, the Council coincided with the meeting of top business leaders involved in colonial economies, Africa included. European control of Africa increased after 1913. More soldiers were sent to Africa and more Africans were armed for colonial control. Unfortunately, government-sponsored human rights advocacy organizations were still in their infancy during this period and the people of Africa were more or less forced to fend for themselves. Africa continued to be an exploited continent.
In the Dominion of South Africa, the British and Boer populations lived in peaceful coexistence. The Boers were mainly situated in the autonomous Afrikaner Republic and Orange Free State, two Boer states that were a part of the Dominion but under local Boer control.
Middle East and Africa
Middle East
Much like Africa, the Middle East remained under the domination of European countries. Unlike the Middle East, European nations did not exercise direct control but rather directed local rulers by its own interests. Three major independent countries dominated the Middle East. The first was the Ottoman Empire, which still retained a strong presence in Arab regions of the area despite weakening control in Europe. Propped up by France, the Ottoman Empire was a stabilizing and unifying presence. It brought millions of Arabs under its control.
The other two countries of the Middle East were the Kingdom of Arabia and the Persia Empire. Although independent, both nations were under the influence of some European power. The House of Saud had dominated Arabia since the eighteenth century, though in the early 1820s they were brought out of power by a joint Ottoman-Egyptian venture. The French conquest of Egypt in 1840 and subsequent alliance with the Ottoman Empire, coupled with the return of the Sauds to power in Arabia, sparked French interest in the area. A joint French-Ottoman venture in 1844 drew official boundaries between the then-neutral Saud state and the Ottoman Empire, which put Mecca and Medina under Ottoman control. In 1845, the French launched a military force from Egypt aimed at subduing the Saud state into an alliance with France. It was a brief, though harsh campaign and the Saud state, now the Kingdom of Arabia, allied itself to the Ottoman and French Empires. To Emperor Napoleon II, it seemed an excellent step toward the invasion of India.
France never invaded India and the domination of the Arabian Peninsula was the eastern extent of its direct influence. Arabia plodded through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a backwards land, ruled by an authoritarian government and lacking any abundance of any natural resource save sand. This changed on September 3rd, 1926 when oil was discovered in large quantities by the French oil company, Compagnie française des pétroles (CFP). This roughly coincided with the discovery of oil by the British in Persia. The double discoveries greatly increased Western interest in the Middle East. After 1926, the revenues of Arabia swelled rapidly. The country moved closer toward secularism and away from its Islamist roots it has always embraced. It began to move on a path toward modernization.
Persia too was beginning to move toward modernization. French influence in the Shah’s court was minimal, however, and Russian and British factions dominated the ancient country throughout the nineteenth century. During the Russian Civil War, Britain took advantage of significant Russian distractions to put an anglophile member of the Qajar family onto the Persian throne. Shah Mohammad Ali Qajar became Shah in 1907 in Britain’s first major foreign policy victory in the postwar world. Though condemned by the French, the Shah proved himself to be a capable leader, despite the signing of a lopsided Anglo-Persian Treaty. This treaty gave Britain favorable trading rights and a virtual monopoly on the oil discovered in Persia in 1910. Persia became a virtual British ally, a rarity in a world dominated by virtual French allies (i.e. most of Europe, Siam, Ethiopia, and Arabia). In 1922, the Ottoman Empire signed a treaty of friendship with Persia, a remarkable step considering centuries of rivalry and animosity. In the late 1910s and 1920s, Zavtra Russia began to look at Persia once again with interest. Anton Morchenko knew Persia was an alternative to the much-coveted warm water port of Constantinople. However, British influence of Persia remained strong in the 1920s and 1930s despite growing Russia activity.
Strengthening of Colonial Power in Africa
Africa remained an entire continent under European domination, save for the Empire of Ethiopia. Although isolated and neutral, it was friendly to France, a country that supported its ancient monarchy. After the Great War, British and Prussian colonies in West Africa were handed over to minor victorious powers: Prussia West Africa became Polish West Africa and British West Africa became Southern Lusitanian West Africa. Spain was given Nigeria as compensation for the failed British invasion of Spain. Except for Spain, these countries had little experience in colonial affairs and control over the colonies quickly became a difficult affair. By 1908, Poland and Southern Lusitania essentially allowed the police forces to run the colonies and the levels of brutality in governing dramatically increased. Sensing that the Polish and Southern Lusitanian methods of governing were out of control, Napoleon IV called the first Africa Congress in 1913. Representatives from French, Portuguese, Spanish, Neapolitan, Greek, Polish and Southern Lusitanian colonies and colonial offices attended (British and Brazilian officials declined the offer).
The first Africa Council was a success for the colonial powers. France decided that its large colonies needed to be divided into more administrative units and immediately set about doing this. Also, Polish and Southern Lusitanian officials were taught less violent ways of governing. In each country, colonial offices expanded and linguists from across Africa and Europe were trained to be able to communicate more effectively with the local people. However, the Council did little for the people of Africa. It merely was a meeting between imperial powers discussing how to better govern their colonies. Ironically, the Council coincided with the meeting of top business leaders involved in colonial economies, Africa included. European control of Africa increased after 1913. More soldiers were sent to Africa and more Africans were armed for colonial control. Unfortunately, government-sponsored human rights advocacy organizations were still in their infancy during this period and the people of Africa were more or less forced to fend for themselves. Africa continued to be an exploited continent.
In the Dominion of South Africa, the British and Boer populations lived in peaceful coexistence. The Boers were mainly situated in the autonomous Afrikaner Republic and Orange Free State, two Boer states that were a part of the Dominion but under local Boer control.
