Iraq was under occupation of foreign countries for quite some time. The people of this country last were independent during the existence of the Muslim Caliphates. Since then, the Mongols occupied them, and after that came to powerful Turkic peoples, one of which established the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottomans gained control over Iraq, lasting for almost half a millennium. After the Ottoman Empire started to fall apart, Iraq became a mandate of the British Empire, and it was at last in the year of 1932 that Iraq was granted independence and the country was free again. The independence was granted in a peaceful manner, which was good for both sides, as bloodshed was not desired neither by the British, nor by the Iraqis, especially in a post-war period.
In the late 19th century, immigrants arrived in large numbers on the U.S coast from China for the primary purpose of working on the Transcontinental Railroad.
