Lesson 2: Colonialism as a Global System
Patterns of Extraction and Control: Connecting Aotearoa to the World
Lesson Overview
Focus
Recognizing colonialism as a global machine.
Key Concept
Imperialism & Extraction
Outcome
Identifying colonial patterns across different countries.
🎥 Media Anchor (8 mins)
Video: New Zealand Wars Documentary Context
- What systemic mechanisms of colonial control are most visible in this source?
- How do historical patterns still influence contemporary inequity?
Karakia Timatanga | Cultural Opening
"He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata"
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Colonialism often prioritized profit and power over people. Today we look honestly at this history, not to feel guilty, but to understand the world we live in today.
Phase 1: The Rules of the Game (25 minutes)
📜 The Doctrine of Discovery
How did European kings and queens claim land that was already inhabited?
They invented a "game rule" called the Doctrine of Discovery. It said: "If you find land and the people there aren't Christian, you can claim it."
The 'Doctrine of Discovery' Explained
🗣️ Discussion:
- Is it fair to "discover" a place where people already live?
- How did this rule affect Māori in Aotearoa?
- How did it affect Native Americans?
Phase 2: Patterns of Control (30 minutes)
🔍 Same Story, Different Place
Colonial powers used the same playbook all over the world. Match the tactic to the place.
1. Changing the Names
Renaming places to claim ownership.
Aotearoa: Taranaki → Egmont
India: Mumbai → Bombay
Australia: Uluru → Ayers Rock
2. Taking the Children
Breaking connection to culture.
USA/Canada: Residential Schools
Australia: Stolen Generations
Aotearoa: Native Schools (Speaking English only)
3. Taking the Resources
Extracting wealth for the empire.
Congo: Rubber
India: Cotton & Spices
Aotearoa: Timber & Flax
Phase 3: The Cost of Greed (20 minutes)
Case Study: The Congo
King Leopold II of Belgium treated the Congo as his personal property. It is an extreme example of how colonialism hurt people.
Overview: Colonialism in Congo
Whakamutunga | Reflection
Journal Entry:
- "History isn't just in the past. It shapes our world today because..."
- Why is it important for Indigenous peoples to tell their own stories?
Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. (Be strong, be brave, be steadfast.)
Curriculum alignment
- Text Studies — Knowledge: Text specifications — Text forms and range: - In each year, students must engage meaningfully with at least one novel, a selection of poetry³, and a selection of non-fiction t…
- Language Studies — Knowledge: Text specifications — Text forms and range: - In each year, students must engage meaningfully with at least one novel, a selection of poetry³, and a selection of non-fiction t…
- Text Studies — Practices: Beginning a presentation or speaking situation with an introduction that helps make connections with the audience, appropriate to the context. For example, sharing pepeha, whi…
- Language Studies — Practices: Beginning a presentation or speaking situation with an introduction that helps make connections with the audience, appropriate to the context. For example, sharing pepeha, whi…
- Text Studies — Knowledge: Introductions in presentations or other speaking situations in New Zealand can include practices such as pepeha and mihi, acknowledging place and people, introducing the speak…
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will investigate global indigenous solidarity movements through a historical lens, using whakapapa of resistance to trace how communities have organised across borders to assert tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake. This unit connects Aotearoa's struggle for sovereignty to broader international movements for indigenous rights and decolonisation.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ I can analyse and compare perspectives from multiple indigenous resistance movements globally.
- ✅ I can explain how solidarity across difference has strengthened indigenous rights campaigns.
- ✅ I can evaluate the significance of international indigenous solidarity for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide graphic organisers for comparing movements. Entry-level tasks focus on identifying key events; extension tasks require evaluating the effectiveness of solidarity strategies and writing a persuasive historical argument.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key historical terms (sovereignty, solidarity, colonisation, decolonisation). Provide bilingual glossaries where available; allow discussion in home language first.
Inclusion: Use structured note-taking templates and chunked readings. Neurodiverse learners benefit from visual timelines and choice in how they demonstrate understanding — oral, visual, or written formats all valid. Ensure content is presented sensitively given the potential for personal connection to histories of dispossession.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Centre whakapapa as a methodology — tracing the genealogy of resistance ideas across cultures and time. Frame the hīkoi as both a political act and a cultural expression of rangatiratanga. Connect to the whakataukī: "He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
Prior knowledge: Best used after foundational study of colonisation and the Treaty of Waitangi. Familiarity with basic historical inquiry skills is recommended.