Southern Asia 1911: Chinese Revolution

The British Residency of the Persian Gulf maintained British India’s influence in a number of Gulf states from the 19th Century until 1947. These states were nominally independent - and shown as such in most atlases from the period - but all signed treaties guaranteeing British control over their foreign affairs.

The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman was the only one of these states with significant international relations, having obtained trade agreements with the US and France before it signed its treaty with Britain. Maps of the time often show Trucial Oman and even Qatar as regions of Oman.

Trucial Oman was the region to the west of Oman which collectively signed treaties with Britain. The sheikhdoms of this region were often called the Trucial States, and later became the United Arab Emirates. However at this time they had little unity, with no regional council until 1952.

Indian Empire

The British Indian Empire, also known as the British Raj, was comprised of a complex of presidencies, provinces, protectorates, and agencies. Only the top level subdivisions are shown here.

The area under direct British rule was known as British India and made up of presidencies and provinces - a presidency simply being the name for an older province.

Outside British India, but often included within the sphere of the presidencies/provinces, were the hundreds of protectorates or ‘princely states’. These were indirectly ruled states, the largest being Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Mysore. The others were either collected into agencies - which might in turn contain other smaller agencies - or fell under the sway of the provinces.

Main Events

12 Feb 1910 China occupation of Lhasa ▲

A Chinese expedition launched by the Qing dynasty occupied Lhasa, Tibet, officially deposing the 13th Dalai Lama on February 25. This act established direct Chinese rule in Tibet (albeit only until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911-1912). in wikipedia

12 May 1911 Morgan Shuster in Persia ▲

American lawyer William Morgan Shuster arrives in Tehran with his associates. He is appointed treasurer-general of Persia and sets about reorganizing the tax office. He also creates a 11,000 strong gendarmerie to establish order, collect taxes, and form the core of a reformed Persian military. in wikipedia

9 Jul–8 Oct 1911 Ex-Shah’s Invasion ▲

Prince Salar od-Dowleh, brother of the deposed Mohammed Ali Shah, invades Persia from Baghdad with Kurdish tribal support. Nine days later, the former Shah, having left Russia, lands in the northeast near Astarabad and begins gathering a force of Turcoman tribesmen. Both brothers then advance on Tehran, but are separately defeated in central Persia and forced to flee. in wikipedia

Oct 1911 British intervention in Shiraz ▲

The United Kingdom notifies the Persian Government that it will send troops to Shiraz, Persia, in response to an outbreak of inter-tribal rivalry triggered by the ex-Shah’s revolt. Two squadrons of Indian sawars are landed at Bushehr, from whence they proceed to Shiraz as ‘consular guards’.

10 Oct 1911–12 Feb 1912 Xinhai Revolution ▲

Unrest across the Chinese Empire reaches a turning point with the Wuchang Uprising, leading to full-scale revolution against the declining Qing dynasty. The revolution ends with the abdication of the six-year-old Emperor, Puyi, on February 12, 1912, and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. in wikipedia