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The year 1919 saw unprecedented levels of unrest and violence in the United States, as it did in many other places.

The continual outbreaks of strikes, rioting, labor unrest, and anarchist terror made it easy to believe that behind it all was a Bolshevik plot to undermine the US government.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“The Memphis Blues”
Composed in 1912 by W.C. Handy. Public domain.

Closing Theme 

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The new constitution of 1917 marked the beginning of big changes for Mexico, although President Venustiano Carranza would resist many of them, until he was overthrown and killed.

The year 1924, though, would see the first peaceful transfer of the Mexican presidency since 1884, and as revolutionary violence faded, Mexico remade itself.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“El atole” from Aires Nacionales Mexicanos
Composed in 1895 by Ricardo Castro Herrera. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

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In the years leading up to the Great War, the larger and more prosperous Latin American nations, notably Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, were peers of the most advanced Western nations.

The Great War would trigger economic and political changes that would deeply affect the Latin American nations, even those that had remained neutral.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun)
Composed in 1894 by Claude Debussy. Public domain.
Performed by the Columbia University Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Piano Sonata. Op. 1
Composed in 1910 by Alban Berg. Public domain.
Performed by Jonathan Biss, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

“La cumparsita”
Composed in 1916 by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The compromise under which the other Allies agreed to grant Japan Germany’s concessions in China infuriated the Chinese.

China became the only country represented at the Paris Peace Conference to refuse to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The perceived betrayal of the Western powers, along with the seeming failure of democracy at home turned many Chinese leaders against Western values.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Jasmine Flower”
Traditional. Public domain.

“Wa Ha Ha”
Traditional. Public domain.

Closing Theme 

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Japan, like Italy, went into the Paris Peace Conference with demands the other Allies were reluctant to embrace.

The Italian walkout gave Japan the leverage it needed to win its territorial claims, but the debate on racism left the Japanese feeling humiliated.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Sakura Sakura”
Traditional. Public domain.

Closing Theme 

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Vittorio Orlando’s walking out on the Paris Peace Conference backfired, and his government lost a vote of no confidence.

Angry Italian socialists clashed in the streets with disgruntled Italian fascists over the future of Italy until, faced with the choice of crushing the fascists or inviting them into government, the King chose the latter.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Giovinezza”
Composed in 1909 by Giuseppe Blanc. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando went into the Paris Peace Conference with an extensive list of territorial demands for Italy.

When the Allies, and particularly Woodrow Wilson, refused to endorse the Italian claims, Orlando chose to walk out of the conference.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Cello Sonata in E minor.
Composed c. 1725 by Antonio Vivaldi. Public domain.
Performed by The Telemann Trio. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

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The Turkish nationalists remained defiant. With his Cabinet divided and the British public opposed to war, David Lloyd George hopes the Greeks can subdue the Turks and salvage the situation.

But the Greek offensive failed. The Greeks were ultimately driven from Anatolia in a bitter war that left hard feelings on both sides and brought down the Lloyd George government.

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The Four Lads perform “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” in 1953:

They Might Be Giants perform “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” in 1990, as interpreted by Tiny Toon Adventures:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Istanbul Dawn

Closing Theme 

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As the USA, Italy, and France all lose interest in the region, Britain tries to enforce the Treaty of Sèvres on its own, turning to Greece for support.

But the political situation in Greece is unstable. Meanwhile, Turkish nationalists are receiving arms and support from Moscow.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Semera donla m’Paschalia”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by Ioannes Milkas, Euangelos Gkopas, and Antonios Chalatses, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Source.

“Τou Mageirou (Achtsiska)”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by Demitris Zedamanis, Konnos Ouroumis, Basigis Tsiokas, and Athanasios Giannikis, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

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Allied military units were taking up positions in the territory of the defeated Ottoman Empire. The Empire was certain to lose its Arab lands, but rumor had the Allies partitioning Turkey among themselves.

The Sultan and the government in Constantinople were Allied hostages in all but name. In the interior of the country, though, nationalists regrouped and prepared to resist Allied designs on their homeland.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Istanbul Twilight

Closing Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.