Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/883

 Europe after the World War 66 1 Armenia gained her independence, while certain islands were trans- ferred to Italy. Palestine and Mesopotamia came under British protection and Syria under French administration, while the Arab kingdom of Hejaz, with the holy city of Mecca, long under Turk- ish rule, was recognized as an independent state. 1195. Disorders in the Near East. The Turkish Nationalists refused to submit to these conditions. They made war on Armenia and forced it to accept a soviet form of government. At the same time the Syrians proclaimed themselves an independent kingdom and resisted French dominion. The result was an armed conflict in which the French were easily victorious. In Mesopo- tamia likewise the natives were restive, and Great Britain was compelled to maintain a large military force to "help the people of the country to work out their own salvation as a self-governing state." With the collapse of Russian power all of Persia passed into the British sphere of influence ( 1097). In the spring of 1921 Greece began a war on Turkey with the hope of extending Greek influence in Asia Minor. 1196. Disturbances within the British Empire; Egypt. One of the "points" in President Wilson's famous program of fourteen was the right of each nationality to determine its own destiny. Acting on this principle, representatives of the Egyptian Nation- alists appeared at the Peace Conference in Paris and sought to place on record their demand for independence from the British protectorate that had long been imposed on them. While the Peace Conference took no official notice of this demand, the British government in 1920 announced that a project for granting independence to Egypt would be considered. Late in the year Egyptian delegates appeared in London to confer with an English commission on the terms of the new order, but they could not agree on details, so Egypt for the time being remained in the status of a protectorate. 1197. Discontent in India. During the World War Indian princes and troops came to the aid of Great Britain, but at the same time there were strong movements for the independence of India, or at least for self-government. Many Indian agitators