Imperialists vs. Indigenous: Contrasting Points of View

The era of imperialism was, at its core, a great, ironic contradiction. The allegedly enlightened Europeans were behaving in barbaric fashion, while the supposed “barbarians” of China, Africa, and India were protesting in a very enlightened fashion. In this activity, students will create a grid that compares points of view between imperialist Europeans and the inhabitants of the lands they wished to colonize. This activity should be focused on discovering and using primary source documents, and the grid should include POV statements from China, Africa, and India.

The storyboard above uses the following comparisons:

• Africa: Rudyard Kipling vs Chief Machemba of the Yao tribe
• China: William Melbourne vs Lin Zexu
• India: Herbert Kitchener vs Ram Mohun Roy

Before beginning this activity, teachers may want to make sure students comprehend the difference between perspective and point of view.

Extended Activity

One way to extend this activity is to ask students to use their research to write a one-page response paper or create a traditional storyboard that addresses the following question:

“What does the development of imperialism say about how deeply the Enlightenment actually had an impact on European policy making?”