Throughout history, various forms of political expression were used by colonies to battle against colonialism. These forms included, resistance, rebellion, and reform. It can be seen that various forms of political expression were more effective in some places than they were in others. Furthermore, it can be seen that patterns of resistance varied according to the type of colony.
Resistance and rebellion are an effective form of political expressions that were used against colonialism. Resistance and rebellion were effective in the English colonies in North America, and the Spanish colonies in South America. The North and South American colonies were able to win Independence through rebellions such as the Boston Tea Party and military resistance. On the other hand, the British colonies in South Africa were not as successful. The Boers or the descendants of South African Dutch settlers, tried to resist British rule in a conflict known as the Boer War. The British won the Boer War. This probably means that the success of resistance and rebellion depends on several conditions. One is that the colony must have a strong enough military and also timing. The North American Colonies had the military power to stand up to Britain, while the South American Colonies chose a good time to revolt since Spain at that time was weakened due to its losses to Napoleon, the emperor of France.
Reform was another method of political expression that was effective. For example, British settlement colonies, including Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, achieved autonomy gradually, by working to obtain a constitution. They were successful probably because of their close ties to their mother country. This would indicate that although reform is effective, but unlike rebellion reform is more gradual and takes time.
It can be seen that various forms political expression were effective against colonialism in various parts of the world.
