May Revolution
The May Revolution was a direct reaction to Spain's Peninsular War. In 1808, King Ferdinand VII of Spain abdicated in favor of Napoleon, who granted the throne to his brother, Joseph Bonaparte. A Supreme Central Junta led resistance to Joseph's government and the French occupation of Spain, but eventually suffered a series of reversals that resulted in the Spanish loss of the northern half of the country. On February 1, 1810, French troops took Seville and gained control of most of Andalusia. The Supreme Junta retreated to Cadiz and dissolved itself, and the Council of Regency of Spain and the Indies replaced it. News of these events arrived in Buenos Aires on May 18, brought by British ships.
Culture of the Republican era in China
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student participants in Beijing on 4 May 1919. Mainly university and high school students began the protest against the Chinese government's response to the [Treaty of Versailles] which allowed Japan to have territories in Shandong. The students were joined by others in the capital. The Chinese government and people had contributed to the Allied cause and expected the German Empire controlled areas of Shandong, especially the port of Tsingdao, to be returned to Chinese sovereignty given Germany's defeat by the Allied Powers. The Chinese diplomats at the Versailles Treaty appeared to have failed the popular will of the Chinese people since the Allied powers ignored them and allowed Japan to lay claim to German 'possessions' in China. Demonstrations accelerated against Japan and the outsider influence in China and gave new energy to the New Culture Movement. Dubbed the May Fourth movement, the next few years saw an upsurge of Chinese nationalism: a shift towards political mobilization and away from cultural activities, and a move towards populism rather than politics led by intellectual elites. As a result, many political and social leaders of the next revolutionary decades in China emerged.