Another non-British Isandlwana?

[Victor1234]

The British suffered a very humiliating defeat at Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War. Was this the only case of a European colonizer being defeated by natives or are there other non-British examples? Maybe with the French while colonizing Vietnam?

 

[demanvanwezel]

the italians famously were defeated in the first italo-ethopian war

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Italo-Ethiopian_War

 

[pithorr]

Custer's last stand?

 

[Count Blue]

James Cook got chased away by the natives (with spears and arrows) of the Islands of Nauru and Niue.

 

[The Super Pope]

Red Cloud's War, the only time the United States lost a war to Native Americans

 

[SeekTruthFromFx]

Many in the 20th century: Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Algiers, the Indonesian war of independence.

There were also a number of Indian victories in the 18th century, such as the Second Anglo-Mysore War.

 

[Ming]

If you accept Mexicans as 'natives' there is the Battle of Puebla.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Puebla

Many many more if you allow Latin American wars of independence.


I guess the battles of Mactan and Wofla technically count, although they are probably earlier than you are wanting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mactan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wofla

If you want to stretch the definition of 'colonizer' there's also Alcácer Quibir.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alcácer_Quibir

 

[DoomBunny]

The British suffered a very humiliating defeat at Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War. Was this the only case of a European colonizer being defeated by natives or are there other non-British examples? Maybe with the French while colonizing Vietnam?

The biggest example of a European defeat in a colonial war is the already mentioned Adwa. Not only was this later than Isandlwana, it also involved a larger number of Europeans being defeated, and actually had a long term impact in that Italy accepted or at least acknowledged it had been pasted and gave up on the colonisation.

Other examples I can think of off the top of my head are the Dervishes in Somalia who had some success in the early 20th century, the Rif War, the Mahdi in Sudan who defeated what was admittedly a somewhat neglected and abandoned force under Gordon, and the First Boer War which was another tits-up right on the heels of Chelmsford's campaign in Zululand (though whether you consider the Boers eligible for inclusion here is up to you). There are other examples I'm sure you'll find, but I would note that these are the only occasions I can think of in Africa where European forces really met with a substantial setback that actually effected things (Isandlwana is not one of these cases, it was certainly an embarrassment but in the end it wasn't London burning but Ulundi). Part of the reason these are rare is that it really took major incompetence or bad luck for these defeats to happen, and on top of that for them to mean anything they had to coincide with the defeated party not coming back for more. I'd also note that in most cases, colonial armies weren't that large, so disasters were impossible in most cases anyway, though there were certainly examples of smaller units being wiped out.

If you move elsewhere you'll find more examples. Afghanistan/the North West Frontier was quite successful at withstanding outside influence, the Sikhs in India were also respected for their skill if not ultimately successful (indeed, the Sikhs were possibly the hardest colonial opposition faced by any European power during the 19th and 20th centuries).

Going even further afield we meet point to China in the Second World War, or the Ottomans in the First, though here we're definitely stretching what I assume your criteria are.

 

[kaoss]

The battle of Annual in the Rif War. The Spanish overspread over a desert area without seting proper suply lines or garrisons. A defeat turned into a disorganized rout and almos a complete annihilation of the spanish troops.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Annual

 

[olm]

Mapuche repelled Spanish attempts to conquer them and were fully subjugated by Chile only centuries later.

 

[PEP]

Many in the 20th century: Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Algiers, the Indonesian war of independence.

I don't think the battle of Algiers counts as a French defeat.

 

[Avernite]

Many in the 20th century: Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Algiers, the Indonesian war of independence.

There were also a number of Indian victories in the 18th century, such as the Second Anglo-Mysore War.

By the time peace was signed Dutch forces had mostly defeated the Indonesian republic as a standing army (even while being utterly incapable of bringing an end to the guerilla war). That this was not a politically feasible victory but instead a losing draw was new, but it wasn't a military disaster like Isandlwana.

Of course the aftermath, once the Dutch were gone, was a total victory for the Javan-Indonesian nationalists.

 

[SeekTruthFromFx]

I don't think the battle of Algiers counts as a French defeat.

On reflection you're quite right; I was confusing the battle and the war.