The road to obtaining independence in colonies was never easy. Lives were lost, property destroyed, families separated but still independence had to be achieved from colonizers. There are several leaders in history remembered for leading their countries towards independence through organizing and uniting the people and educating them on the importance of self-freedom as well as the independence of their state. Such leaders are known for being at the forefront in leading revolutionary movements in their countries through their ideas and actions. This paper, therefore, focuses on revolutionary ideas of individuals such as Marx and Engels, Lenin, Gandhi, Fidel Castro and Kwame Nkurumah. It compares and contrasts the kind of revolutionary ideas they envisioned, revolutionary leadership, purpose and goal, the means used, the chief beneficiaries and losers as well as the consequences of the revolution.
These leaders planned on using different kinds of revolution. Nkwame Nkrumah, Fidel Castro, Lenin together with Marx and Engels planned on using a violent revolution in their countries once peaceful methods such as negotiations and peaceful demonstrations had failed. Fidel Castro is known to have used the army in attempts to overthrow government twice where he failed on the first attempt and was arrested at Moncada and succeeded in the second attempt Nkwame Nkurumah first employed the used peaceful demonstrations and later incorporated boycotts and strikes as well as guerilla warfare. Gandhi, however, is known for a non-violent revolution through his approach of using non-violence resistance.
In Gold Coast present day Ghana, the revolution was Nkrumah’s brainchild as a means of advocating for both self-freedom and country freedom from the British rule. During this period, Africans were not free in their country and were mostly treated as slaves who were punished when they failed to perform their assigned duties. Some were traded as slaves to Europe to work on plantations. He urged Africans to unite and fight for their freedom in his speech while addressing young people in Accra; he stated, “Let the government of Gold Coast pass as quickly as possible into the hands of the Gold Coast people themselves.” (Nkurumah, p.4) Ex-military men had difficulties in finding jobs. In their attempts to get the government to address their concerns through a peaceful demonstration, British soldiers shot at them killing two of the men hence sparking off a revolution.
Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba, is known for using the military to stage a coup against Batista’s government in the company of his brother, Raul Castro where they were defeated, captured and imprisoned. During his trial, he offered a speech to the jury that was to sentence him for nineteen years’ incarceration (Castro, p.167). Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand, used non-violence resistance approach in fighting for his rights and his brothers. In his ideas, non-violence entails showing love to those who hate you and learning the art of dying at the hands of somebody else and not by killing them. He considers any injustices or injuries inflicted to a fellow human being as “crimes against humanity” (Gandhi and Krishna, p. 110). The approach to non- violence adopted its principles from religion.
Marx and Engels are characterized as violent revolutionists based on their works. For instance, they stated: “We traced the more or less veiled civil war raging within the existing society up to the point where that war breaks out into an open revolution and where the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie lays the foundation for the sway of the proletariat.” (Marx and Engels, Chapter 2). Lenin, a revolutionist from Russia, envisioned using violent revolution in championing the rights of the proletariat. In his book, Lenin states, “The overthrow of bourgeois rule can be accomplished only by the proletariat, as the particular class, which, by the economic conditions of its existence, is being prepared for this work and is provided both with opportunity and the power to perform.” (Lenin, p. 31). He is also known for taking part in the Russian Revolution of 1905.
For a revolution to be successful, effective leadership is needed for purposes of coordinating supporters’ activities. All the leaders mentioned above led the revolutions in their countries. They include Nkurumah in Ghana, Castro in Cuba, Lenin in Russia and Gandhi in India. Despite Marx and Engel being leaders they headed the revolution of proletariats against communists. Having been under the British rule for over ten years, Nkurumah with the help of other five elite Africans lead the revolution demanding for independence within the shortest time possible under the UGCC party. Nkurumah with the support of his followers later formed CPP party to fight for an independent Ghana that could govern itself (Nkurumah, p.18) which he used to lead the country to independence.
Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and Che Guevara lead the Cuban revolution. They referred to themselves as the July 26th movement after the date they intended to overthrow the government through attacking Moncada barracks in 1953 (Castro, p.189). India had Mahatma Gandhi as their leader. In his non-violence approach to revolution, he made use of passive resistance which was defined by one obtaining rights by personally accepting suffering (Gandhi and Krishna, p. 128). Karl Marx and Engels led the revolution during Marxism era. Being journalists, they were contracted to edit the communist manifesto where they outlined the overthrowing of capitalists by the proletariats who were socialists. They also explained the nature of the society at that point as well as the politics that were in place (Marx and Engels, Chapter 2). Lenin led the Russian Revolution where he advocated for a Soviet government controlled by proletariats and the replacement of capitalism with socialism. He used vicious campaigns and ended up being Russia’s leader (Lenin, p. 25).
Each of these revolutions had a purpose and a goal to achieve. Some reasons are similar, and some differ. Common purpose and goals include attainment of individual freedom as well as state freedom with Gandhi, Nkurumah and Castro emphasizing on the independence of their countries from British imperial rule. Contrasting goals and purpose arise from Nkurumah as stated in his book to end post-war inflations, to stop cutting down of cocoa beans due to swollen shoot disease even though they could still yield, demand for employment of ex-servicemen, (Nkurumah, p. 4). Lenin, Marx, and Engels demanded overthrowing of capitalist by the proletariat with Lenin fighting for a socialist Soviet government (Lenin, p. 27).
Mahatma Gandhi, a spiritual and political leader, used a non-resistance method in his non-violent revolution approach. He incorporated other movements in his approach. These include non-cooperation and the Quit India movements to resist violence as well as the ruthless British rule (Gandhi and Krishna, p. 203). Both Castro and Nkurumah waged guerilla warfare with Nkurumah also employing boycotts and strikes. He published his speeches on newspapers to reach a wider mass. This method was also used by Lenin, Marxism, and Engel. Lenin and Nkurumah used rallies to address their supporters and instill team spirit in them.
At the end of every revolution, there must be beneficiaries and losers. Cubans, Ghanaians, and Indians were the greatest beneficiaries as they were able to obtain their freedom from the colonialist and could now govern themselves. They were also able to achieve their individual freedom from exploitation, slavery and could now own property and move freely in their states. With the revolution came the abolition of slave trade and the substitution of slave trade with other forms of trade. Socialist was able to overthrow communists and enjoy their politics without exploitation. Those who spearheaded the revolutions benefitted by becoming the heads of state in their countries. Business companies could now freely conducted trade in these states in efforts to help them rebuild their countries as well as economic growth.
Losers included the British, who lost their colonies which were a source of raw materials as well as slaves to work on their plantations. Even though Africans, Indians, socialists and other British had fought for both self and country independence, those who lost their lives were losers since they were unable to enjoy the fruits of their labor (Nkurumah, p. 7). Companies and businesses that were shut down due to the revolution were losers too as well as the capitalists who thought they would continue ruling and dominating the socialists. With the abolition of colonies, some Europeans lost their jobs as well as their authority.
The revolutions did come with larger consequences which included loss of lives hence reducing the human population that was a source of labor. Secondly, they resulted in disruptions in liberty leading to the emergence of the socialists as the ruling class (Lenin, p. 30) as well as the other leaders discussed above. The revolutions resulted to poor living standards as well as slow economic growth in the post-evolutionary tenure. Next, they led to increased warfare among states due to poor relations as well as rebellion against the incumbent rulers and lastly they resulted in the emergence of the mullato population due to intermarriages.
In summary, revolutions have both positive and adverse effects to society despite the type or the means used in staging these revolutions. People should be educated on such matters relating to past revolutions to make them aware of how to handle such when need be. All the leaders in the five readings made use of revolutions due to the circumstances that were prevailing in their countries but in modern times, people should be educated on other methods of fighting for their rights which are less violent with minimal atrocities. Leaders should also lead their countries with diligence and avoid dictatorial rule as well as greed for power that may result in coups.
Works Cited
Castro, Fidel. History Will Absolve Me. Revolutionary struggles. London: Cape, 1968. Print. Pp 164-169, 212-221.
Engels, Karl. "Communist Manifesto (Chapter 2)". Marxists.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 May 2016.
Gandhi, and Krishna Kripalani. All Men Are Brothers. New York: Continuum, 1980. Print. Pp 110-139
Lenin, Vladimir Ilʹich. State and Revolution. New York: International Publishers, 1932. Print. Pp 21-31
Nkrumah, Kwame. I Speak Of Freedom. New York: Praeger, 1961. Print. Pp 1- 21.
