Definition
Anti-colonial resistance is the broad range of actions by which colonised peoples opposed foreign rule. It includes armed uprisings, guerrilla warfare, strikes and boycotts, the preservation of language and culture, political organising, and the everyday refusal to fully cooperate with colonial authorities.
Resistance was present from the very start of colonial conquest, not only at its end. Wherever empires seized land and imposed rule by force, the people being conquered fought back — and that opposition continued, in changing forms, throughout the period of colonial rule.
Why it matters
How it works
Resistance adapts to the balance of power. When colonised peoples could meet the colonisers in open battle, they did, though industrial weapons often gave the empire a brutal advantage. When direct confrontation was hopeless, resistance shifted to other forms: keeping languages and traditions alive, organising political parties and unions, withholding labour, and mobilising public opinion both at home and within the imperial country itself. Over time, this combination wore down the will and the resources of empires, making colonial rule unsustainable.