976 Ch. 24 • The Elusive Search for Stability in the 1920s

Houses set ablaze in Ireland by the Black and Tans of the Royal Irish Constabulary,

about 1920, during the fight for Ireland’s independence from Great Britain.

retaliated by massacring 400 Indian civilians. Like the Sepoy Mutiny ol

1857 (see Chapter 21), the incident exacerbated the mutual suspicion and

mistrust that had existed between the Indians and British for decades. Ben­

gali groups undertook terrorist attacks against British residents.

France also confronted and repressed revolutionary nationalist move­

ments in its colonies of Indochina, Tunisia, Morocco, and the African islanc

of Madagascar, as it did moderate groups asking only for the extension ol

political rights. During and following World War I (until the 1930s)

most of the nationalist movements in the French colonies sought reforrr

from within the colonial framework, not outright independence through

revolution.

Japan strengthened its position as the only Asian great power and grow

ing empire. Japanese armies were already taking advantage of the turmoi

that followed the Russian Revolution to grab land from the old Russiar

Empire in Asia. Furthermore, Great Britain, France, and Italy had secretb

agreed in 1917, in exchange for active Japanese support against the Genjiar

navy, to back Japanese demands for concessions China had been forced t<

grant Germany in 1898 and 1899 (see Chapter 21). The members of th<

Chinese delegation to Versailles in 1919 had not been aware of the 191'

agreement; nor did the Chinese delegates know that their warlord premie