Afghanistan

[GenuineRisk]

Though in the interest of self-correction, the Brits couldn't have called the colonists "guerrillas" exactly, as the word wasn't in use yet. Here's the origins:

Guerrilla

One might assume that this term is a 20th century one. After all, warfare in this century has often been characterized by guerrilla combat. Guerrilla warfare is the choice of the oppressed seeking to throw out foreign oppressors, and the 20th century has seen lots of colonial wars. The term, however, is much older.

It dates to the Napoleonic campaign in Spain (1808-1811). The earliest English usage cite is by the Duke of Wellington in 1809. The adjectival use dates from 1811.

In Spanish the word is a diminutive of guerra or war; so guerrilla is literally little war, and that is its origin.