Revolutions of the Early 20th

Revolutions of the Early 20th Century

This is a paper on revolutions in India, Mexico, and Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. There are three references used for this paper.

For centuries, there have been revolutions throughout the world. It is interesting to compare the differences among the revolutions in India, Mexico and Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, including the motivations behind the revolutions.

Great Britain vs. India

India came under British rule in 1757 with the "defeat of the Nawab of Bengal at Plassey, and by 1818 the British controlled nearly all of India south of the Sutlej River and had reduced to vassalage their most powerful Indian enemies, the state of Mysore and the Marathas. Only Sind and Punjab remained completely independent (Unknown)." While Great Britain controlled the agricultural interests of India and created a negative impact on the exportation of cotton goods, they were instrumental in improving irrigation and transportation.

As the British control expanded to include Sind and Punjab, social unrest began to surface. While the Indian Mutiny of 1857 was suppressed, it led to reforms which resulted in more Indians in the British army and "native rulers being guaranteed the integrity of their domains as long as they recognized the British as paramount (Unknown)." As government universities were established, an "Indian middle class emerged and advocated further reform. Popular nationalist sentiment was perhaps most strongly aroused when in 1905, for administrative reason, Viceroy Curzon partitioned Bengal into two presidencies. In the early 1900s the British had widened Indian participation in legislative councils, and separate Muslim constituencies, introduced for the first time, were to be a major factor in the growing split between the two communities (Unknown)."

When World War I began, Great Britain had the full support of India. However, there quickly became discontent among the Indians when the promise of eventual self-government never materialized, millions died due to influenza and the country experienced crop failures between 1918 and 1919. The passage of the Rowlatt Acts in 1919 by Britain, "which enabled authorities to dispense with juries, and even trials, in dealing with agitators, lead Mohandas K. Gandhi to organize the first of his many passive-resistance campaigns. The massacre of Indians by British troops at Amritsar further inflamed the situation (Unknown)." Although the "Government of India Act in late 1919 allowed elected Indian ministers to share power with appointed British governors and ministers, and created provisions for periodic revisions, Gandhi felt too little progress had been made, and he organized new protests (Unknown)." These protests led to Imperial conferences in the early 1930's, resulting in elections of entirely "Indian provincial governments and a federal legislature in Delhi (Unknown)."

Mexican Revolution

The Mexican revolution is considered "one of the great social upheavals of the early twentieth century, a reaction to centuries of poverty and inequality in the countryside and to the depredations of foreign investment and rapid capitalist development of industry in the late nineteenth century (MacEwan)." The upperclass citizens, who had a major interest in the agricultural and industrial workplace, continued to control Mexican society by shortening the revolution. Although the revolution prevented the peasants and workers of the country from gaining power, it did have an impact on the country and its citizens. It "gave a role to peasants and workers, provided a limited land reform, and allowed peasants' and workers' organizations to play a continuing role in Mexican political life. While the ruling groups generally succeeded in coopting and corrupting - or crushing - these organizations, the popular forces could not be ignored (MacEwan)." The revolution was also responsible for establishing "conditions for an era of economic development. Capitalist development had begun in Mexico prior to the revolution, but it had been constrained by the power of the large landholders and lacked the sponsorship of an active, development-oriented state (MacEwan)."

During the 1920s and 1930s, the modern Mexican state "came to embody the dual heritage of the Mexican revolution, representing and containing the interests of Mexico's working people and also leading a process of capitalist development by actively intervening in the country's economic life, resulting in a highly nationalist state. The revolution had in part been a reaction to the power of foreign investors, and nationalist policies struck a popular chord (MacEwan)."

In order for the country's economy to experience its total growth potential, it was essential that Mexican capital receive "support for the state and protection from foreign competition (MacEwan)."

Russia's Revolution

The Russian Revolution in 1917 was a result of a strain on the political system due to Russia becoming more industrialized. "Attempts by the lower classes to gain more freedom provoked fears of anarchy, and the government remained extremely conservative. As Russia became more industrialized, larger, and far more complicated, the inadequacies of autocratic Tsarist rule became increasingly apparent. By the twentieth century conditions were ripe for a serious convulsion (http://www.interknowledge.com/russia/rushis06.htm)."

War with Japan in 1905 led the soviets to unite under the Social Democratic party, and forced Nicholas II to "grant concessions to reformers, including a constitution and a parliament, or Duma (http://www.interknowledge.com/russia/rushis06.htm)." Nicholas attempted to remove the concessions after the war, which resulted in "popular discontent gaining strength. Nicholas countered it with increased repression, maintaining control but worsening relations with the population. In 1912, the Social Democrats split into two camps- the radical Bolsheviks and the comparatively moderate Menshiviks (http://www.interknowledge.com/russia/rushis06.htm)."