Peeling Back History: California Moments & More

Ever really thought about the wild ride of California historical events? Not just the beach stuff. A place’s vibe? It doesn’t just happen. Forged in fire. Through battles, politics, big global muscle. Yeah, we love our sunny coast and all those gold rushes. But poke into any country’s past. You’ll find tough struggles, outside forces, in-fighting. Big stuff that changes everything afterward. Like, check out this bonkers chapter from someplace else in the world: early 20th-century big-country plans slammed right into local folks, a real mess. Not chill at all. A fightin’ zone. Right for trouble.

Global Games & Homegrown Fights: New Maps

World War I hit the Ottoman Turks HARD. They were reeling. So, 1918 ended, armistice talks happening. But the British? Nope, no waitin’. Their secret Anatolia schemes, cooked up even before the war finished? Already out there. They pictured an American-run Armenian state in East Anatolia, and a British-run Kurdish state, a bit south.

Making a Kurdish state? Top priority for London. Fit right in with what Britain wanted. Right after the Mondros Armistice, British spies swarmed areas where Kurds lived. Major Edward William Charles Noel led the pack. He thought he was like a prophet for the Kurds. Trying to pull a T.E. Lawrence type thing with them, like Lawrence did with the Arabs.

Noel checked out the land, wrote up reports, chatted with tribal chiefs. Looking for one guy to get all the Kurds pumped up. The “Kurdish question” even popped up at the Paris Peace Conference. Kurds and Armenians both yelling they had rights to the same land. Wilson’s rules, see? The British, realists, figured they could make peace happen between them.

This tricky negotiation had guys like Sherif Pasha, ex-Ottoman ambassador in Stockholm, talkin’ for the Kurds. And Boghos Nubar Pasha for the Armenians. They put out a joint paper. Said they wanted total freedom from Turkish control.

New Bigshots & New Plans

British influence spread to Istanbul. They used Seyit Abdülkadir. Important guy, worked for the state. But he jumped on the empire’s weak moment. He and other Kurdish educated folks started the Kurdish Nationalist Society in 1918. Admiral Calthorpe’s report? Said Abdülkadir was no issue if “bought.” Abdülkadir then named himself head of the Kurds. Super open with the British occupiers.

Istanbul’s government felt squirmy about all this Kurdish nationalist stuff. But British pressure? Eventually got Damat Ferit Pasha to agree to a deal: freedom for Kurds. The British government even talked straight to Damat Ferit, got that promise. And another thing: lots of questions gnawed at British bigwigs like PM David Lloyd George and Foreign Minister Lord Curzon. Could Kurdistan even work?

The San Remo conference in April 1920? Supposed to sort things out. Lloyd George straight-up said, “It is very difficult to decide about Kurdistan.” No kidding. The truth? None of the guys – Sherif Pasha, Seyit Abdülkadir, or Major Noel’s little group – really spoke for all Kurds. This whole tribal setup, no real national feeling beyond family loyalties? Seen as super vulnerable. They’d lived next to Turks for centuries. Splitting them up? A huge job. Only a few tribes bought into what the British wanted. A weak Kurdistan, face it, wouldn’t last without British cash and backing. Was this a total bust?

Outside Players & What They Wanted

Even with all the questions, the British stuck with their Kurdistan plan. But why? Simple. They wanted that sweet Mosul oil and everything else from Mesopotamia. They were already squatting there, really craving it. Kurdistan? It was meant as a shield. Against the Turks and Russians.

The Treaty of Sèvres, given to the Turks at San Remo, had a bit about a self-governing Kurdish state in Southeast Anatolia. If Britain felt like it, or things got wild, they could make it fully independent in a year.

Meanwhile, a new Turkish Republic, led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha, was fighting for its own freedom. The fresh government quickly stomped out British-backed Kurdish revolts, like the Koçgiri mess. After the Turks won, the Lausanne Conference tried for long-term peace. But it totally ignored the big deal about Mosul.

In May 1924, over in Istanbul, the Haliç talks between British and Turkish reps? Bombed. The British flat-out refused to give up Mosul. So they used Nestorian Christians as an excuse to want Hakkari. Talks died. The Mosul fight quickly turned into maybe-a-war. The British called up the League of Nations. Just one day later, the Nasturis in Hakkari started a rebellion. And the British crossed the Turkish border, guns blazing. Ankara yelled at them to cut it out. Super tense. Both sides brought in more soldiers around Mosul. War seemed about to kick off.

The Papers & The World Stage

Things got real. Like, terrifying. In May 1923, Muşlu Hacı, the boss of the Mutki tribe, put together the “Kurdish Independence Society.” Big names like Colonel Cibran Halit Bey and Yusuf Ziya Bey signed up. Soon enough, Sheikh Said of Hınıs would join in too. Mostly, these guys hoped for a Kurdish state. Sèvres Treaty promised it, right? So now they needed other excuses.

Seyit Abdülkadir, some prominent dude from Istanbul, suggested dressing up the uprising as a religious thing. Using religious feelings? Super easy. Faith claims? Always click with people. Both Abdülkadir and Sheikh Said were Nakşibendi sheikhs. Major influence, you know? After the Republic kicked off and the Caliphate got abolished, Kurdish groups pushing for separation really upped their game. Played on those religious feelings. Yusuf Ziya and Cibran Halit went everywhere. Arming and convincing Kurdish tribes to rebel. Sheikh Said? Preached holy war against the Turks.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha kinda knew about the plots brewing. But Ankara was slammed. Dealing with internal drama after the Caliphate stopped and fighting among the War of Independence generals. PM İsmet Pasha quit ’cause everyone was criticizing him; Ali Fethi Bey stepped in. More chilled out. While the Turkish government fumbled to shut down the British-backed Nasturi revolt? Officers bailed. Went to the Kurdish Independence Society. Took their weapons. Joined the rebels.

Yusuf Ziya and Cibran Halit, the commanders, got busted. That pushed Sheikh Said to speed things up. He formally called Kurdish lords to fight. Signed it “Emir el-Mücahidin el-Seyyit Muhammed Said al-Nakşibendi.” February 13, 1925, he rounded up 300 horsemen at his brother Abdurrahim’s village, Piran. Six army deserters were hiding out with Abdurrahim. Soldiers came for them. Abdurrahim’s guys shot first. Took an officer hostage. Boom! Rebellion started. Months early.

Sheikh Said quickly grabbed Darahini. The main spot of Genç province. Made it his HQ. Neighboring tribes? Joined fast. Uprising blew up. Sheikh Said’s forces split. Hit Çapakçur, Muş, Diyarbakır, and Maden. He went for Lice.

The government? Slammed martial law on the eastern provinces, February 23. Parliament changed the Treason Law. Said anyone making groups to use religion for politics was a traitor. They won a small one against Keramet Bey’s forces. Rebels were happy. Not for long.

Reis-i Cumhur Mustafa Kemal Pasha was livid. Absolutely furious. He demanded harsh action. Ali Fethi Bey resigned. İsmet Pasha came back as Prime Minister on March 4. Same day, they passed the Law for the Maintenance of Order (Takrir-i Sükun Kanunu). Setup Independence Tribunals. Troops moved out.

Diyarbakır, surrounded by 10,000 rebels, somehow held. City governor and corps commander handled the defense. Kept them out. Sheikh Said tried to rally his dudes for another attack. Failed. His forces splattered. Reached Varto, Bulanık, Malazgirt, and Pütürge. Widest it got.

Mustafa Kemal, Fevzi, and İsmet Pasha drew up a big counter-attack. Turkish forces systematically grabbed back key spots: Varto, Piran, Maden, Lice, Silvan, Hani, Palu, Bulanık, and Malazgirt. Sheikh Said? Cornered.

March 15, Sheikh Said got caught by Major Kasım. His brother-in-law. Get this: Kasım had been secretly working for the Turks the whole time. Feeding government intel. Even Mustafa Kemal Pasha got the scoop about the coming uprising.

Sheikh Said and other rebel bosses? Tried by the Independence Tribunal. Sentenced to death. Sheikh Said was publicly strung up in Diyarbakır on June 29, 1925.

The fallout? Heavy. British Ambassador Lindsey reported that all those provocations put His Majesty’s government in a good spot. The Nastorian and Sheikh Said rebellions happened right when the League of Nations was looking into Mosul. Swung global opinion Britain’s way. So, June 5, 1926, Turkey had to sign the Ankara Treaty. Gave up its claim to Mosul. These homegrown uprisings, messed with by outside powers? A brutal cost for the brand-new Republic.

Quick Questions

Why did Britain even bother with Anatolia after WWI?

The British wanted to set up cushion states, you know, an Armenian state and a Kurdish one, totally under their thumb. All for their own big plans and to grab sweet stuff like Mosul’s oil.

So, who was Major Edward William Charles Noel? What did he do?

Major Noel was a British spy. He worked hard to get Kurdish tribes together, thought he was like a leader for them. His goal? A state loyal to Britain.

What happened with the Sheikh Said Rebellion and Turkey’s claim to Mosul?

That rebellion popped right up when everyone was arguing about who owned Mosul. All that chaos and instability? It made Turkey look weak, lost them their bargaining power. And that’s why Turkey ended up signing away Mosul in the Ankara Treaty in ’26.