Seeds of Revolution and Rebellion

In the late 1700s, the former North American colonies of Great Britain revolted against its colonial rule and declared themselves the independent nation of the United States of America. Shortly after, France threw off the yoke of the monarchy and established a republic. In the early 1800s, former Spanish and Portuguese colonies in South America also became independent states.

As western imperialism took hold in other parts of the world, the seeds of resistance and rebellion that would, in time, lead to new nation-states took root. Westernization (assimilation of Western culture) was often resisted in colonized or dominated areas. In South Asia, for example, Indian soldiers known as sepoys rose up in rebellion against the British East India Company. While the rebellion was brutally suppressed by British soldiers, the effect was the disbandment of the British East India Company and the direct rule of India by the British government, commencing a period now known as the British Raj. Similarly, westernization was opposed in China by the Boxers who attempted to rid China of Western influence, especially from Christian missionaries. These nascent independence movements would lead to the more widespread and successful nationalism of the post-World War II period.