Anti-colonial movements across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East challenge European imperial rule, planting seeds that will flower into independence after World War II.
India's first national political organization begins the long campaign for self-governance that will culminate in independence.
Delegates from Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States meet to challenge colonialism and racism — planting seeds for Pan-Africanism.
Sun Yat-sen's revolution ends 2,000 years of imperial rule, establishing the Republic of China — though decades of turmoil lie ahead.
Britain and France secretly agree to divide the Ottoman Empire's Arab territories between them — creating borders that still define the Middle East.
Chinese students protest the Versailles settlement's transfer of German concessions in China to Japan, fueling nationalist and communist movements.
Gandhi transforms the Indian National Congress from an elite organization into a mass movement through nonviolent resistance.
Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and others articulate a philosophy celebrating Black identity and challenging colonial cultural domination.
Gandhi demands immediate British withdrawal from India — 'Do or Die' — the most militant phase of the independence struggle.
The congress that launches African independence movements — attended by future leaders Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta.