Topic: The More and Less Remote Consequences of Colonial Conquest

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

7th‑grade students of elementary school

XXIII. Europe and the world in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Pupil:

3. explains the causes, extent and consequences of the colonial expansion of European countries in the 19th century.

32.4. assesses the positive and negative effects of colonial policy from the perspective of colonized communities and countries.

General aim of education

Students learn the positive and negative effects of colonial policies from the perspective of colonized communities and countries.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what the most important manifestations of the colonized peoples’ resistance were;

• what the effects of the Europeans’ colonial policies were;

• describe the history of colonized communities / countries..

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks students to listen to the lecture on the attitude of colonizers to the non‑European population, published in the e‑textbook, and to note the concepts or facts that require explanation by the teacher.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher asks students to remember what colonial possessions belonged to Europeans in the nineteenth century. To this end, he uses the maps in the manual. Then he asks students to do Exercise 1. Students indicate which European languages have an official character in Africa today. Referring to the knowledge gained previously by students, the teacher asks what goals guided the colonizing activity of Europeans. What was the „white man's mission” to them? Asking questions, he remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions.

Realization

1. The teacher provides students information about the Berlin conference from 1885 (see the Capsule of the time in the e‑textbook), during which the territory of Africa was divided. Students analyze the map of Africa from the 19th century and write down the conclusions regarding the nature and effects of conference arrangements. Then they discuss it with the teacher.

2. The teacher provides students the information on the negative effects of the presence of Europeans in Africa. He talks about the extermination of the Herero people by the Germans and about the exploitation and extermination of the local population in Congo. He explains the information and answers any questions about the lecture heard before. Then he talks about how the Asians reacted to the presence of Europeans. Students get acquainted with the Chinese map showing the range of influence of European countries and the United States and carry out the Task 1. The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks..

3. Students carry out the Task 2. They get acquainted with the information about the activities of the population influenced by Europeans. Then the teacher designates two groups. The task of group I will be to prepare drama / staging on a selected event from the timeline from Africa. Group II will similarly develop a selected event from Asia. During the lesson, students broaden their knowledge on a selected topic with the help of English‑language materials on the Internet. They prepare the characteristics of the main historical figures, discuss the goals and actions of each of the parties to the conflict. They choose illustrations that will be used in the presentation of drama / staging; they write dialogue scenes. The teacher takes care of the feedback provided to the students during solving the exercises.

4. The students present in the class the results of their work in groups .

Summary

1. The student indicated by the teacher sums up the lesson, telling what he has learned and what skills he/she has been practicing.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and assessment of the teacher's work and other students.

3. Students do Exercise 2 at the lesson or at home, assigning events to the continent and time. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the script): Students can do Task 1 or Task 4 of the manual. The result of the work should be an essay of 4‑6 thousand characters.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The More and Less Remote Consequences of Colonial Conquest

In the reality of Africa, the greatest difficulties the colonizing nations had to face turned out to be the tough climate, no transport connections, and malaria, a disease that decimated the whites. Despite the military and civilizational superiority, Europeans encountered resistance during colonial expansion. For an extended period, the British were resisted by the Zulu tribes. They encountered similar difficulties in Egypt. It was only in 1898 when they were able to quell the uprising of the Islamic leader, Mahdi, in Sudan. Italy suffered defeat at the hands of Abissynia (Ethiopia). The Ethiopian Empire managed to keep its independence. In 1857‑1859 India, Britain’s most important Asian colony, was shaken by the Sepoy Mutiny. In 1899, China saw the eruption of the two‑year Boxer Rebellion directed against the foreigners and the weak Imperial monarchy. Apart from the pacifications of the resistance and acts of genocide (mass killings of the local populaces), the presence of the Europeans caused the collapse of the conquered nations’ own production (with India serving as the prime example). However, owing to the colonists’ presence, modernization processes took place as well (though the example of the conflict surrounding sati shows that they were not always accepted). The French and the Portuguese were the nations to pay the most attention to the diffusion of their own culture. The British and the Germans sought, above all, to expand militarily and economically, much less so culturally. The europeization of the people living outside of Europe was superficial in character and did not result in the creation of “coloured Europeans”. Various spirituality decided about it. However, their shared experience was the acknowledgement of Europe’s domination, as well as taking for granted the conviction that its ideas and material culture deserved to be considered superior to the others. The assumption of the Western system as the common standard shaped (and keeps shaping) our perception and understanding of the other cultures.