“Resistance to colonial authority was mainly motivated by political concerns.” Discuss.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the statement that resistance to colonial authority was mainly motivated by political concerns. Causes may predate the timeframe but they must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. To propose that political concerns were the main cause of resistance to colonial authority, candidates may refer to the impact of the ideas of the Enlightenment in mobilizing the leaders of the protest movements against colonial powers, given colonial restrictions to autonomous decision-making. Other relevant factors may be addressed, for example economic concerns generated by excessive taxation and regulation; or social discontent given social stratification and racial tensions, but with a focus on the issue in the question. Candidates may also discuss that the weakening power of the parent country contributed to the organization of resistance. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The suggestion that colonial resistance to authority was mainly prompted by political concerns was rarely answered. Those who did most often addressed the resistance of the American colonists to British authority and asserted the causes were as much economic as political.