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Chinese Nationalists oust the last Qing emperor, Puyi
For years, China had been humiliated by its inability to keep foreign nations from gaining control of the nation. In 1911, the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), led by Sun Yixian, overthrew the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Sun established the new Republic of China. -
World War I begins as Austria declares war over Serbia
On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian and member of the Black Hand. Austria used these murders as an excuse to present Serbia with an ultimatum - Serbia agreed to most of the demands, knowing that refusal would end in war between the two countries. However, Austria did not wish to negotiate - The nation rejected Serbia's offer and declared war on the country in 1914. -
U.S. enters the war
In January 1917, Germany announced that their submarines would sink any ship in enemy waters without warning. After this, Germany sank three American ships, angering the U.S. greatly. In addition, a telegram was intercepted, stating that Germany would help Mexico reconquer the land that it lost to the United States in exchange for their alliance with Germany in World War I. This action was the last straw, finally resulting in the U.S. declaring war against Germany. -
Armistice signed as Allies defeat Central Powers
In March 1918, the Germans attempted one final attack on the Allies in France - this was the Second Battle of the Marne. However, the German troops were greatly weakened, and the Allies launched a counterattack. Finally, the Germans surrendered - in a railway car near Paris, a representative of Germany and French Commander Marshal Foch met to sign an armistice, or agreement to stop fighting, which ended World War I. -
Gandhi leads Indian campaign of civil disobedience
After the Amritsar Massacre, Mohandas K. Gandhi emerged as the leader of the Indian independece movement. When the British refused to punish the officers responsible for the shooting at Amritsar, Gandhi encouraged the practice of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to weaken the British government's authority over India. This involved boycotts on British goods and strikes and demonstrations (such as the Salt March). -
Mustafa Kemal transforms Turkey into Republic
In 1919, commander Mustafa Kemal led Turkish nationalists in overthrowing the last Ottoman sultan. In 1923, Kemal became the president of the new Republic of Turkey, establishing a series of reforms in order to modernize the country. for example, he separated Islamic laws from the laws of the nation, abolished religious courts while creating a new legal system, granted women the right to vote and hold public office, and launched progrmas to industrialize Turkey. -
Mao Zedong heads Long March
In 1933, Jiang Jieshi and his Nationalist army of 700,000 men or more surrounded the Communists' mountain stronghold. In order to escape, 100,000 Communists began a 6,000-mile journey with the Nationalists close behind. After about a year, the Communists who had survived the Long March settled in caves in northwestern China.
