Abstract

This article is a nuanced revisionist history of the near-general contention that pre-colonial minority or stateless Nigerian peoples were passive in their resistance to European imperialism—an impression that is generally wrong. Because such peoples did not evolve popularly acclaimed political organizations, they were equally said not to have forged formidable military prowess. Hence, several accounts of so-called “noteworthy” resistance to European imperialism are associated with mega states, kingdoms, or empires which had strong armies; and to the neglect of minority peoples. Using the methodological tool of historical description and critical analysis, archival materials, oral evidence and existing literature on the subject were analyzed in interrogating existing contentions which belittle evidence of minority peoples, even routing European forces. This article uses the conquest of the British by the Ezionum community as case study. It concludes that formidable African resistances to European imperial incursions were not exclusive preserves of mega states.