The leaders of the victorious countries drafted the treaty, which required the losing powers, particularly Germany, to assume responsibility for starting the war, and for paying the victors reparations with large amounts of currency and land. New states were created in Eastern Europe, carved from the territories of the German, Austrian, Ottoman, and Russian empires. The Treaty of Versailles also established the mandate system, which granted many of the Allied Powers, including Japan, administrative governance over former territories and colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire. However, in Africa and Asia, colonized peoples who had fought for the British and French soon realized that they would not be granted self-determination like Eastern Europeans were. Consequently, nationalist leaders began to organize independence movements to oppose the authority of colonial powers. The political and social map of the Middle East continued to be redrawn through European involvement during and following World War I. Students should learn about the significance of critical documents and agreements dating from the WWI and post-war periods in setting the world map and as a basis for future conflicts by addressing the question: How did agreements dating from the WWI and post-war periods impact the map of the Middle East?