Resisting Colonialism
Colonialism sparked powerful movements of resistance across the globe. These free lessons will help you explore how individuals and communities challenged imperial rule and fought for autonomy. Students examine diverse forms of resistance—from organized revolutions to cultural survival—while developing critical thinking skills and historical context for today’s global struggles.
How to Teach Resisting Colonialism
Blog: The Cherokee Republic as Indigenous Resistance
Learn how Native peoples responded to colonization by establishing a state with complex governing bodies, and guide students to analyze the effectiveness of this form of resistance.
Teaching Resistance through Continuity and Change Over Time
Teachers share ideas to engage students in historical thinking about resistance to colonization with examples from their own classrooms.
Graphic Biographies
Explore the stories of individuals who resisted colonialism through graphic bios, and teach students to make meaning of these unique visual texts.
Contextualizing Resistance to Colonialism
Deepen students’ analysis of acts of resistance by viewing them in historical context. Find teaching tips and tools for this historical thinking skill.
Teach Tomorrow: Lessons on Resisting Colonialism
Lesson 5.5
Resisting Colonialism in Ghana and India
In Ghana and India, resistance emerged even when it seemed impossible to challenge colonial power. Rebellion, leadership, and courage shaped these struggles—and continue to shape how they are remembered today.
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Lesson 6.3
Indigenous Responses to State Expansion from 1750 to 1900 CE
Use this lesson to guide students through the many strategies that colonized people employed to survive new systems of colonial control.
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Lesson 7.10.3
Resistance in India
This article and graphic biography introduce students to one of the methods that colonized peoples used to resist colonialism—violent revolts.
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Resisting Colonialism Activities and Resources
Causation: Indian Uprising
Activity
Causation: Indian Uprising
In this activity, students will analyze the causes of the 1857 Indian uprising to investigate how and why this rebellion took place when and where it did.
Forms of Resistance
Activity
Forms of Resistance
Indigenous Americans responded to European colonization in many ways. In this activity, you’ll categorize and evaluate some of their methods of resistance.
Resisting Colonialism: Through a Ghanaian Lens
Video
Resisting Colonialism: Through a Ghanaian Lens
In this video, we look at some episodes of resistance from Ghana—the British Gold Coast Colony—under the leadership of Yaa Asantewaa and later Kwame Nkrumah.
Azizun of Lucknow
Article
Azizun of Lucknow
Azizun was a nineteenth-century courtesan who became a resistance leader in India’s 1857 uprising. Her story shows how women defied colonial rule.
Source Collection: Indigenous Responses to State Expansion
Article
Source Collection: Indigenous Responses to State Expansion
How did Indigenous people respond to increased imperial expansion? Read about these responses and compare how different societies tried to counteract this expansion.
Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu
Graphic Biographies
Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu
Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother of Ejisu in Asante, was a leader of resistance to British conquest. Her actions demonstrate one strategy of resistance to colonialism.