Resistance and Nationalism in the Empire

Resistance to British imperial rule was constant, diverse, and ultimately successful. From the moment of conquest, colonised peoples challenged, subverted, and resisted British authority. The emergence of organised nationalist movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries transformed resistance from local and sporadic into systematic and ultimately irresistible demands for self-determination.

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Forms of Resistance

Primary Resistance

Primary resistance refers to the initial armed resistance to colonial conquest. Examples include:

Resistance	Date	Detail
Indian Rebellion	1857	The most serious challenge to British rule in India before the twentieth century (see Lesson 1)
Zulu resistance	1879	The Zulu kingdom under Cetshwayo resisted British invasion. The stunning Zulu victory at Isandlwana (22 January 1879) — where over 1,300 British soldiers were killed — demonstrated that colonial conquest was neither easy nor inevitable.
Mahdist resistance (Sudan)	1881–98	Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi (the guided one) and led a successful revolt against Egyptian-British rule, capturing Khartoum (1885) and killing General Gordon. The Mahdist state survived until Kitchener's reconquest (1898).
Ashanti resistance	1824–1900	The Ashanti Empire fought five wars against British expansion in the Gold Coast. Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa led the War of the Golden Stool (1900) — the last major Ashanti resistance.
Ndebele and Shona risings	1896–97	The First Chimurenga against Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company in Rhodesia

Secondary Resistance and Accommodation

Not all responses to colonialism took the form of armed revolt. Many colonised peoples adopted strategies of accommodation, negotiation, and selective cooperation:

• Collaboration — some indigenous leaders allied with the British to advance their own interests against local rivals. The Fante in the Gold Coast, the Baganda in Uganda, and many Indian princes collaborated with British rule while pursuing their own agendas.
• Legal and constitutional resistance — educated colonial subjects used the coloniser's own legal and political institutions to challenge colonial policies. Petitions, court cases, and appeals to British public opinion were important tools.
• Cultural resistance — the preservation of indigenous languages, religions, and cultural practices was itself a form of resistance to colonial cultural imperialism.

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The Indian National Congress and Indian Nationalism

Foundation and Early Phase

Aspect	Detail
Founded	December 1885, in Bombay. Founded by Allan Octavian Hume (a retired British civil servant) with the support of Indian intellectuals and professionals.
Early leadership	Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale — predominantly Western-educated, moderate, constitutionalist. They sought reform within the British system, not revolution.
Methods	Annual meetings, resolutions, petitions, delegations to London. The "mendicant" (begging) approach — politely requesting reform from the colonial government.
Demands	Greater Indian representation in government, Indianisation of the civil service, reduction of military expenditure, reform of land revenue systems.

The Extremist Challenge

Aspect	Detail
Bal Gangadhar Tilak	Tilak represented the "extremist" wing of Congress, advocating mass mobilisation, swadeshi (self-reliance), boycott of British goods, and a more confrontational approach. His motto: "Swaraj [self-rule] is my birthright, and I shall have it."
The Partition of Bengal (1905)	Lord Curzon's partition of Bengal — ostensibly for administrative efficiency but transparently intended to divide the Hindu and Muslim populations — provoked a mass protest movement (the Swadeshi movement) that radicalised Indian nationalism.
The Surat Split (1907)	Congress split between the moderate majority (led by Gokhale) and the extremist minority (led by Tilak). The split weakened Congress but demonstrated the growing radicalism of the nationalist movement.
The Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)	The Indian Councils Act 1909 expanded Indian representation in legislative councils and introduced separate electorates for Muslims — a decision that institutionalised communal politics and contributed to the eventual partition of India.

Gandhi and Mass Nationalism