Colonization
Beginning in 1884, Germany built the third-largest colonial empire, after the British and French. The African countries Germany colonized included parts of present-day Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, as well as northeastern New Guinea, Samoa, and numerous Micronesian islands. At the beginning of WWI (1914-1918), Germany lost most of its colonies. After Germany was defeated in theFirst World War, the German colonial empire was officially dissolved with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Each colony became a League of Nations without sovereignty.
The German colonization period in Africa was short compared to the British and French colonial empires. However, as Peter Che Nfon, an activist at Initiative Change of Perspective e.V. in Berlin, said, the brutality was not proportionate to the length of the colonization. He added, “It’s like comparing two evils.”
During ESJF’s 2023 decolonization study tour, ESJF educators learned how people in German colonies actively resisted colonization and dehumanization while reclaiming their humanity and dignity. Their fight became a solid foundation to continue the growing decolonization movement in Germany today.
The lessons below will allow students to:
The German colonization period in Africa was short compared to the British and French colonial empires. However, as Peter Che Nfon, an activist at Initiative Change of Perspective e.V. in Berlin, said, the brutality was not proportionate to the length of the colonization. He added, “It’s like comparing two evils.”
During ESJF’s 2023 decolonization study tour, ESJF educators learned how people in German colonies actively resisted colonization and dehumanization while reclaiming their humanity and dignity. Their fight became a solid foundation to continue the growing decolonization movement in Germany today.
The lessons below will allow students to:
- Gain a better understanding of how African men and women resisted German colonization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Understand methods of resistance used by indigenous people forced or coerced into living in human zoos.
- How Germans, both the government and business elite, used propaganda to convince the German populace that imperialism was a necessary good.
Lesson Plan 1 of 2
Purpose:
This activity teaches students about propaganda methods imperial countries used to sell their citizens on the need for imperialism. It also allows students to see the ways that the indigenous people resisted dehumanization and reclaimed their humanity.
This lesson is recommended as an activity to be included in a unit on European “New” imperialism in Africa and Asia
Grades: 9-10. High school students taking a modern World History course.
Objective: Students will understand how Germans, both the government and business men, used propaganda to convince the German populace that imperialism was a necessary good. Students will understand methods of resistance used by the indigenous people living in human zoos.
Standards: See end of document
Suggested Time: 1-2 class days (at least one hour of class time)
Unit context:
This lesson is designed to go in the middle of a unit on “new” imperialism, after a lesson on the “Scramle for Africa”
Procedure:
The materials in this lesson can be adapted to fit a single 55min class, spread over two days, or used in a single “block” class of 85-100 minutes.
Materials/Handouts:
Standards:
2017 History-Social Science Framework:
California History-Social Science Content Standards:
10.3.1 Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology).
10.3.3 Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.
This activity teaches students about propaganda methods imperial countries used to sell their citizens on the need for imperialism. It also allows students to see the ways that the indigenous people resisted dehumanization and reclaimed their humanity.
This lesson is recommended as an activity to be included in a unit on European “New” imperialism in Africa and Asia
Grades: 9-10. High school students taking a modern World History course.
Objective: Students will understand how Germans, both the government and business men, used propaganda to convince the German populace that imperialism was a necessary good. Students will understand methods of resistance used by the indigenous people living in human zoos.
Standards: See end of document
Suggested Time: 1-2 class days (at least one hour of class time)
Unit context:
This lesson is designed to go in the middle of a unit on “new” imperialism, after a lesson on the “Scramle for Africa”
Procedure:
The materials in this lesson can be adapted to fit a single 55min class, spread over two days, or used in a single “block” class of 85-100 minutes.
- Warm-up: Ask students what they know about propaganda: What is propaganda? When do you think propaganda is used? What do you think propaganda looks like?
- Photo analysis: Have students analyze two photographs on successive slides and compare what they saw in each one. Have the class brainstorm how these images might be used as propaganda.
- Short lecture: The lecture is five slides long. For accessibility reasons all slides contain all the information you would need to convey. Edit them to suit your teaching style and student population
- 1st slide covers how colonial photography was used as a form of pro-colonization propaganda
- 2nd slide discusses the propaganda in everyday culture as when indigenous people from colonies are used as “mascots” to sell products
- 3rd slide talks about the pro-colonization message that was embedded in children’s literature of the time. This slide has students turn & talk about how such propaganda would lead to support for the colonies
- 4th slide explains Germany’s Great Exhibition of 1896
- 5th slide features the colonial/ethnological exhibition and it’s ‘human zoo.’ I decided against making a slide on the history of human zoos because that would be a distraction. If you feel the need to give your students that history a) it is easy to find information about them on the internet, they have occurred from 1500-1930, b) you might want to provide a content warning at the beginning of the lesson
- Timeline: Have students read through the timeline lined below. Currently it is six pages. You may want to edit it down for your students depending on their attention span. As your students read they should work with a partner to create a two-column table of dehumanizing events and events that were forms of resistance
- Paragraph: Have students review the evidence they compiled. Then, using the evidence they gathered, they should write a paragraph that answers the question of how German propaganda was used to exoticize the indigenous people of the German colonies and how those same indigenous people resisted.
Materials/Handouts:
- Google Slide deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_FyYoivsc2dcsxo9TxxheXgpfQvweZNfAz6-3w4hAb0/edit?usp=sharing
- A timeline of events connected to the German Colonial Exhibition human zoo https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vtkzfFMKSbp_btyJIk6gtX69n-iKtd3WkjT0eCvQsyo/edit?usp=sharing
Standards:
2017 History-Social Science Framework:
- Why did industrialized nations embark on imperial ventures?
- How did colonization work?
- How was imperialism connected to race and religion?
- How did native people respond to colonization?
California History-Social Science Content Standards:
10.3.1 Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology).
10.3.3 Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.
Lesson Plan 2 of 2
Purpose: Students will gain a better understanding of how African men and women resisted European colonization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Objective: Students will read and reflect on how African resistance is presented in McDougal LIttell’s Modern World History textbook. Students will then learn about Rudolf Douala Manga Bell in Cameroon and various other female resistors across the continent, analyze their methods, and consider how these stories deepen their understanding of African resistance against imperialism.
California Social Studies Content Standard: 10.4.3 Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.
2017 History-Social Science Framework: Indigenous leaders in various colonized regions engaged in protracted resistance to the colonizers, though they were ultimately outmatched by the military superiority of the colonial powers.
Students should consider the question—How did native people respond to colonization?—in order to make sense of the multiple contexts and responses to colonization. Nationalist leaders, often educated in European universities, began to use ideologies rooted in the Enlightenment to challenge the injustice of Western and Japanese imperialism.
Suggested Class: 10th grade world history
Suggested Time: 1 class day (one day=at least one hour of class time)
Procedure:
● For homework, have students read the two pages about African resistance (Chapter 11, section 2; pages 348-9) in the McDougal LIttell’s Modern World History textbook the night before the lesson. Have them write down at least three specific examples of African resistance, including the who, where, when, why, and how.
● Start the lesson with a do now, have students reflect on their three facts and answer the question: What is your overall impression of African resistance during colonialism?
○ Have them frame their answer in the form of a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning). Their evidence should be one of the facts they wrote down from their homework assignment.
○ Then, have students share what they wrote (either in “think-pair-share” or call on students in a whole class discussion).
■ Expect to hear claims that focus on how resistance was predominantly through military means, was violent, and largely unsuccessful. A map on page 349 shows where some resistance movements happened in Africa, so expect to hear that it was widespread throughout the continent.
● Have students visit the website: “The Bell Story: Petition, boycott, and protest in Douala (1884-1914)” from Initiative Perspektivwechsel e.V. https://www.initiative-perspektivwechsel.org/projekte/die-bell-story/#toggle-id-3
○ Note: though the audio and comics are in German, if students use Google to translate the page into English, there is enough English that students will be able to learn about Rudolf Douala Manga Bell and how he resisted German colonization in Cameroon. The website shows another form of African resistance through peaceful diplomatic means.
○ Have students answer the following questions from the website:
■ How did Germany colonize Cameroon?
■ Who was Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, and what was his family and educational background?
■ What caused Manga Bell to resist the Germans?
■ What was the result of his resistance?
● Divide students into small groups for a jigsaw activity. Every group will be assigned a different woman from UNESCO’s Women in African History website: https://en.unesco.org/womeninafrica/map
○ Suggested profiles that fit the time period of this lesson plan: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, women soldiers of Dahomey, Taytu Betul.
■ The following women have short profiles but no modules posted as of the posting of this lesson plan: Huda Shaarawi, Nehanda Nyakasikana, Fatima Soudi bint Abderremane, Sarraounia Mangou, Labotsibeni Mdluli.
○ Each group answers the following questions to prepare a short 1-2 minute share out to the rest of the class:
■ Where is she/they from?
■ Who was she resisting against and why?
■ How did she resist?
■ What were the results of her resistance?
■ Did gender impact how she/they resisted? Why or why not?
○ As each group shares out, the teacher writes brief notes on the board so students can refer to them later during their whole class discussion.
○ Hold a whole class discussion about Manga Bell and female resistors. Some sample discussion questions include:
■ How are the stories of Manga Bell and female resistors similar/different to the stories of resistance in the textbook?
■ Why do you think people like Manga Bell and female resistors are missing from the textbook?
■ Why is it important to learn about African resistance to imperialism?
● As a final reflection, have students look at their homework and do now again and write a short reflection about how their knowledge of African resistance has been deepened by learning about Manga Bell and female resistors. What is their one takeaway from the lesson, and/or how has their previous perspective about African resistance been changed or challenged?
Objective: Students will read and reflect on how African resistance is presented in McDougal LIttell’s Modern World History textbook. Students will then learn about Rudolf Douala Manga Bell in Cameroon and various other female resistors across the continent, analyze their methods, and consider how these stories deepen their understanding of African resistance against imperialism.
California Social Studies Content Standard: 10.4.3 Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.
2017 History-Social Science Framework: Indigenous leaders in various colonized regions engaged in protracted resistance to the colonizers, though they were ultimately outmatched by the military superiority of the colonial powers.
Students should consider the question—How did native people respond to colonization?—in order to make sense of the multiple contexts and responses to colonization. Nationalist leaders, often educated in European universities, began to use ideologies rooted in the Enlightenment to challenge the injustice of Western and Japanese imperialism.
Suggested Class: 10th grade world history
Suggested Time: 1 class day (one day=at least one hour of class time)
Procedure:
● For homework, have students read the two pages about African resistance (Chapter 11, section 2; pages 348-9) in the McDougal LIttell’s Modern World History textbook the night before the lesson. Have them write down at least three specific examples of African resistance, including the who, where, when, why, and how.
● Start the lesson with a do now, have students reflect on their three facts and answer the question: What is your overall impression of African resistance during colonialism?
○ Have them frame their answer in the form of a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning). Their evidence should be one of the facts they wrote down from their homework assignment.
○ Then, have students share what they wrote (either in “think-pair-share” or call on students in a whole class discussion).
■ Expect to hear claims that focus on how resistance was predominantly through military means, was violent, and largely unsuccessful. A map on page 349 shows where some resistance movements happened in Africa, so expect to hear that it was widespread throughout the continent.
● Have students visit the website: “The Bell Story: Petition, boycott, and protest in Douala (1884-1914)” from Initiative Perspektivwechsel e.V. https://www.initiative-perspektivwechsel.org/projekte/die-bell-story/#toggle-id-3
○ Note: though the audio and comics are in German, if students use Google to translate the page into English, there is enough English that students will be able to learn about Rudolf Douala Manga Bell and how he resisted German colonization in Cameroon. The website shows another form of African resistance through peaceful diplomatic means.
○ Have students answer the following questions from the website:
■ How did Germany colonize Cameroon?
■ Who was Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, and what was his family and educational background?
■ What caused Manga Bell to resist the Germans?
■ What was the result of his resistance?
● Divide students into small groups for a jigsaw activity. Every group will be assigned a different woman from UNESCO’s Women in African History website: https://en.unesco.org/womeninafrica/map
○ Suggested profiles that fit the time period of this lesson plan: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, women soldiers of Dahomey, Taytu Betul.
■ The following women have short profiles but no modules posted as of the posting of this lesson plan: Huda Shaarawi, Nehanda Nyakasikana, Fatima Soudi bint Abderremane, Sarraounia Mangou, Labotsibeni Mdluli.
○ Each group answers the following questions to prepare a short 1-2 minute share out to the rest of the class:
■ Where is she/they from?
■ Who was she resisting against and why?
■ How did she resist?
■ What were the results of her resistance?
■ Did gender impact how she/they resisted? Why or why not?
○ As each group shares out, the teacher writes brief notes on the board so students can refer to them later during their whole class discussion.
○ Hold a whole class discussion about Manga Bell and female resistors. Some sample discussion questions include:
■ How are the stories of Manga Bell and female resistors similar/different to the stories of resistance in the textbook?
■ Why do you think people like Manga Bell and female resistors are missing from the textbook?
■ Why is it important to learn about African resistance to imperialism?
● As a final reflection, have students look at their homework and do now again and write a short reflection about how their knowledge of African resistance has been deepened by learning about Manga Bell and female resistors. What is their one takeaway from the lesson, and/or how has their previous perspective about African resistance been changed or challenged?