The Revolt of 1857 in India and Caste War in Mexico - Essay Example

The paper "The Revolt of 1857 in India and the Caste War in Mexico" is an outstanding example of a history essay. The revolt of 1857 in India and the Caste War in Mexico had a lot in common. Both the rebellion in India and the Caste War in Mexico were directed against the population of European origin that held the reins in respective regions. Rebels in India and Mexico picked up a losing fight with their oppressors. It was an unequal contest and the revolts of indigenous people in Mexico and India eventually suffered a defeat.

However, there were a number of sensible differences between the aforementioned rebellions. The Caste War in Mexico started as a revolt of Mayans at the Yucatan Peninsula for equal rights with the population of European origin represented by local elites and the central government of Mexico. Unlike the revolt of indigenous people (namely the sepoys) in India as of 1857, which was crushed by the British army in one-years time, the rebellion of Mayans turned into a lengthy war that lasted more than 50 years.

By the beginning of the revolt at the Yucatan Peninsula, the native people of Yucatan, namely the Mayans, had a longtime autonomy, which was jeopardized by the growing pressure of exploitation incidental to intense sugar trade in the region. When the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 made Mexican government seek for soldiers in Mayan villages, the revolt of Mayans, which eventually turned into the Caste War began (Reed 59). Unlike the Caste War in Mexico, which had a well-defined task and led to brief independence of Mayans from the Mexican government, the rebellion in India directed against the exploitation of the mighty East India Company failed to generate and any conception of future development and existence of the region.

Although the rebellion in India was led by the local indigenous aristocracy, supported by the peasantry and directed against European presence in the region it failed to get wide-scale support in other regions of India and, thus, was doomed to swift defeat (Dalrymple 214). Unlike the Caste War in Mexico, the rebellion in India was not directed against the existing hierarchy of castes. The struggle of Mayans was directed against the caste system that existed in Mexico at that time but came to a bitter end under the weight of military might of the Mexican army in 1901 and due to the economic isolation of the region from the rest of Mexico. 2. The struggle against the colonial rule and European presence in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and China during the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century was a part of the same trend based on the resistance of indigenous peoples against Western imperialism that revealed itself in various forms.

The intense colonization of Africa by European nations during the era of the so-called New Imperialism sparked a number of national liberation wars in Sub-Saharan Africa (Hause, and Maltby 116). Along with the struggle of a number of African nations against the colonial rule of European powers the resistance to Western Imperialism in other parts of the world like India and China was inspired by the same challenges and had a lot in common. In spite of cultural, national and religious differences indigenous peoples in Africa, India, and China suffered from the same problems, namely political and economic inequality of indigenous ethnic groups (local elites, peasantry and working class, to be specific) with regard to the population of European descent.

The armed revolt against the British rule in India in 1857 turned into other forms of resistance after its defeat. Although India was one of the most important markets of the British Empire and the economic ties between the metropolitan country and its colony were being strengthened, Indians suffered from cultural discrimination and did not enjoy the same rights as British colonists, which inspire the steady resistance to colonial rule that eventually led to the independence of India. Just like in India and Africa, where Europeans took over the civil service and natural resources, local elites in China lost control over the economic development of its country.

The control of foreigners over Chinese port cities and domination in other important spheres of the political and economic life of the country was growing fast and reached its peak by the end of the 19th century. The defeat of Chinese in a series of armed conflicts against the West made Chinese yield influence in favor of European, American and Japanese traders. The inability of Chinese elites to respond adequately to the growing pressure of Western expansion led to revolution and war that resulted in the overthrow of monarchy and establishment of the republican government in China in 1911.

Thus, although the way in which indigenous peoples in Africa, India, and China struggled against Western Imperialism differed, the resistance in these regions exhibited a number of common themes and was caused by the same reasons.