Nationalism,
Resentment, and Revolt
On December 30th,
1896, at 5:15 in the morning, a young woman named Josephine went to the prison
to see her new husband during his last hours before death. The couple had just been married the day
before, but their marriage was to be severed by the sharp knife of Spanish
authority. Jose Rizal, her husband, was an author and student who had studied
abroad and brought home ideas of reform. He was accused of conspiracy, even
though his work and ideas had nothing to do with wanting independence.
At 7:00 am, on the
same day, Rizal was shot. Proving that he was innocent, confident, and willing
to die for his occupied country, he turned around at the last second. Instead
of dying in shame, he was shot in the front and died with dignity. Little did
he know, the Spanish-occupied Philippines would honor his death and preserve
his ideals; activists formed the Katipunan that ultimately achieved
independence for the Filipino peoples (however, it did not happen until many years later). Rizal’s heroism and
Spain’s strict suppression of liberal ideas represents the long and grueling
process of conquest and independence throughout many other nations. One of the
main motives of conquest is economic gain and domination. A flaw in conquest, however,
is the suppression of local cultures and ideas, which often leads to revolt.
Nevertheless, no matter how rough it is on the locals, conquest helps the
nation being conquered, whether it is economically, socially, or
intellectually. (8)
During the era of
19th century imperialism, everyone wanted ‘’a piece of that African
cake,’’ as Bismarck, leader of the Prussian states, pointed out. The purpose of
the Belgians conquering the Congolese during the ‘’Scramble for Africa’’ was
economic gain from the Congo’s abundant natural resources, and to not be left
behind as the only nation not conquering a state in Africa. The conquest of
Vietnam by the French was also a direct result from imperialism. Conquering
nations encouraged the production of cash crops in many countries as well, such
as rubber, sugar, and palm oil in Indonesia and sugar and hemp in the
Philippines, which boosted their economies.
However, many
conquerors exploited their power and economic gains, to their detriment.
British, for example, became involved with India at first for the sole purpose
of trade. As time progressed, Britain conquered India and put their textile
industry out of business, forcing locals to buy foreign goods, which caused
unemployment and poverty. In the Philippines, the Spanish confiscated land and
dominated trade, which made life for the locals tougher because they no longer
had the land or money they did before. Likewise, the Japanese took away
businesses and land in Korea and gave it to the Japanese, causing the Koreans to
have a food shortage. All these events caused revolts from the working class,
which spread to the rest of the country.
Often, conquerors
are harsh on the nations that they control- sometimes, too harsh. The
suppression of local religion and culture causes resentment of the conquerors,
which eventually leads to revolt. In the Philippines, one of the first revolts
was initiated by local religious leaders who showed resentment over the fact
that the Spanish refused to include them in any religious orders. The
suppression caused rebellion and eventually the want to reform. Korea also
resented Japan due to the strict suppression of Korean culture and language-
speaking Korean was prohibited. In both cases, suppression caused even more
problems. In India, after Britain destroyed their textile market, activists
made the Swadeshi Movement, where they refused to buy anything not made in
India. In Korea, people also staged demonstrations against Japan, one in which
a Declaration of Independence was created. Suppression led to nationalism,
resentment, and revolt.
Although local
people in conquered nations were often abused and exploited, conquest did bring
benefits. In India, Britain introduced modern technology to benefit its own
trade. They also built railroads, schools, universities, and factories, which
introduced Western and Democratic ideas. All of these facilities benefitted the
Indians in the long run; people pursued better education, had better
healthcare, and began to see life outside of India. Similarly, in the
Philippines, the Spanish built Roman Catholic hospitals and schools, which
allowed Filipinos to get better healthcare and education. The prosperity in
trade brought by the foreigners also caused young people to want better
educations and study abroad, which eventually led to exposure to western ideas
and wants for reform. Many other institutes and ideas were also brought in by
conquerors that ultimately benefited the country it was conquering and helped
it achieve independence.
All countries, in
the end, want independence for themselves. They become intolerant to unfair
treatment, and with the new knowledge brought by their conquerors, revolt and
reform. Spain, Britain, France, and Japan all failed to maintain control in
their respective colonies due to the ideas that they themselves introduced to the locals. Consequently, no matter
how unjust or harsh the people are treated, conquest benefits their countries
in the long term. The conqueror provides schools, hospitals, roads, and
economic improvement, all to their own cost. Since they don’t want the colony
they have conquered to perish, they invest money. Once the colony has gained
independence, all the investment is still in the economy, being overall
beneficial. From the perspective of the future, is conquest really a bad thing?
