Trends and Similarities in Conquest and Independence

Nationalism, Resentment, and Revolt

On December 30^th, 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 19^th 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?