During the period 1750-1900, the Enlightenment ideas such as natural rights, social
contract, and individualism from Europe had motivated the people of many nations including
France, America, and Haiti to mount revolutions and the idea of nationalism rose along with the
revolutions. Later, the conquest of Napoleon and the European empires’ state expansion led to
a greater development of nationalistic sentiment across the globe, since powerful external
threats strengthened the bond between people within the states.
Although other causes such as colonial subjects’ desire for better socioeconomic
statuses had been an effective source of motivation for political uprisings against imperial rules,
nationalism drove resistance to imperial rule outside of Europe and North America to a
significant extent because nationalism gathered people under one identity despite their
differences in religions or classes and fight against the foreign powers.
The Sepoy Rebellion or the Sepoy Mutiny in India occurred for many reasons. First, the
Indians were discontent about the lack of native representation in the legislation. This signifies
that they put a clear distinction between the British settlers and the Indian population, and had
the concept of Indian nationality, although many argue they had not in this time period.
Moreover, the Indian sepoys who were mostly Hindus or Muslims suffered from the British East
India Company forcing them to convert to Christianity and adopt Christian cultures and customs.
Racism was a common experience, too. When the sepoys were ordered to use guns with
cartridges that were oiled by cow and pig fat, which was an insult toward their religions, they
were enraged and decided to revolt. The tension between the Muslim and Hindu population
were long-unresolved problems in the Indian peninsula; for example, when it was Mughal
empire, the leaders struggled to build the sentiment of unification and resolve the conflicts
between the Muslim and Hindu population. However, during the Sepoy Rebellion, both Muslims
and Hindus who were suppressed by the British united under the Indian identity and fought
together to overthrow the British rule in India. Although their rebellion was unsuccessful, this
change in Hindu and Muslim population’s relation despite the continuity of the division’s
existence overtime demonstrated the start of nationalism within India and is an example of
anti-colonial resistance driven by nationalism. This shows nationalism had influenced resistance
against imperial rules to a great extent.
The Latin American Revolution is an example of resistance against foreign powers
driven by nationalism. Around this time period, the creoles in Latin American countries were
discontent about the peninsulares who were basically Europeans–who don’t share the same
nationality or ethnicity–holding the most power in their nations. After the successful American
and French Revolution the creole-class population who weren’t as poor as the lower class
absorbed rising enlightenment ideas, such as popular sovereignty and social contract, and rose
as the leaders of the Latin American Revolution. One of them is the famous Simon Bolivar, who
led the revolutions in multiple Latin American nations. The documents written by him, such as
the Jamaica Letter, proves that he reminded the Latin American people that the peninsulares
aren’t one of “them” and they should be the one who is in control of the nations, which is the
core idea of nationalism. Despite the casta system predominant in Latin American societies,
people gathered under the shared goal of national independence. Led by Simon Bolivar and
other Latin American revolutionaries, Latin American nations including Columbia, Panama,
Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, gained independence, announcing their identity as a
nation, too. Such a movement wouldn’t have been possible without the Latin American
populations’ belief in nationalism, and Latin American revolutionary leaders like Simon Bolivar’s
speeches and documents that persuaded the Latin American population with nationalistic ideas.
Therefore, the Latin American Revolution demonstrates how nationalism had greatly influenced
the resistance against imperial rules.
