The story of the European empires is all too familiar: beginning in the early fifteenth century, when Portgual began sending vessels down the African coast, Europeans gradually came to dominate much of the world, a situation that lasted into the second half of the twentieth century. But that story is not the focus of this module. Instead, we will examine the many ways in which people across the globe opposed European imperialism, with special attention to the campaigns, both violent and non-violent, that contested and ultimately helped to alter the old world order. We will see that although many of these movements were crushed, European empires were far from invincible and always faced opposition.
At the heart of the module will be a set of case studies ranging from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, with examples from the Americas, Asia, and Africa. We will pose three basic questions to each case. First, we will seek to understand the nature of imperial domination in each region and period, the historically specific structures and policies, as well as the constant push and pull that gave shape to ordinary lives. Second, we will examine the resistance movements, their ideas, goals, and methods. Finally, we will try to understand the reasons for the success or failure of each movement.