Anti-Colonial Movements, Asia

The competition among the emerging modern European nations for the control of the spice trade in the 16th century eventually led to the spread of colonialism and imperialism in Asia. The earliest colonization started with the Spanish domination of the Philippines in 1565. By 1900, with a few exceptions, almost all the societies in Asia were under some form of colonial rule: the British colonies of India, Burma (Myanmar), and Malaya; the Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia); the French colony of Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos); and the U.S. colony of the Philippines (1898–1946). China was not a colony, but its sovereignty was controlled by different foreign entities.

Generally, the first stage of resistance to the Western intrusion in Asia came from the traditional ruling class, who were motivated by the desire to defend traditional institutions and economic interests, and also from some traditional religious groups or leaders, who tried to defend native religious beliefs. But these early traditional resistance movements met with little success when the colonial authorities responded with their powerful weapons and well-organized armies. The real challenges to colonial rulers began to take shape in the early 20th century when the subject peoples developed a sense of their own identities and the consciousness of modern nationhood through the education brought by the Western rulers. This growth of nationalism in the early 20th century changed the traditional resistance movements to modern anti-colonial movements. Under the systematic leadership of the modern educated elites, nationalist parties were formed, and political movements dedicated to the overthrow of the colonial rule emerged. These new leaders proclaimed the independence from the foreign rule together with the establishment of a new nation. By the mid-20th century, almost all the colonized nations in Asia were free from Western colonial rule.

British colonization started with the British East India Company's victory over Indian forces in 1757. By 1857, most of India was directly or indirectly controlled. Prior to the annexation, India was in a state of chaos because of the collapse of the Mughal Empire. With no single effective ruler, the Indian princes were not strong enough to respond to the British East India Company's well-equipped troops.

Anti-colonial sentiments first appeared among the upper-class, Western-educated Hindu elites. These elite groups began to stir the Indian society by initiating literary and debating societies. Among them was Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833), who formed the Brahmo Samaj (Society of Brahman) in 1828. Early movements focused primarily on the traditional religious identity while stirring national sentiment, posing little threat to the colonial power.

The first anti-colonial movement that alarmed the British was the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857. Indian [Page 122]soldiers, called sepoys, formed the vast majority of the rank and file of the British army in India. The cartridges used by the sepoys' rifles, which were routinely opened by the soldier's mouth, were covered in cow or pig fat. The Hindus and Muslims were insulted by this slight to their culture. Although the British changed the cartridges, the rumor persisted and when the British officers forced the use of these cartridges, the soldiers protested. The military mutiny quickly became a war against the British when traditional rulers, such as the last emperor of the Mughal dynasty and the queen of Jhansi, joined in the fight with the support of the Indian military personnel and civilians. The British managed to reassert its control by July 1858.

...