The Deccan Riots of 1875 were peasant uprisings in the Deccan region of Maharashtra against moneylenders, primarily due to agrarian distress. The riots were triggered by factors including high land revenue demands, economic depression following the end of the American Civil War (which had caused an artificial cotton boom), and exploitative practices of moneylenders who often took advantage of peasants' indebtedness to seize their land. The riots prompted the British government to appoint a commission and subsequently pass the Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act of 1879, which provided some legal protection to peasants against debt and land alienation. The riots were largely concentrated in specific districts and were suppressed by the British authorities, preventing them from spreading across the entire region.