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Home , British Empire

Thursday, 02 April 2020 Essay preparation on “The British was a force for good (a positive thing)”

Learning objective: To examine if the British Empire was a force for good (a positive for the world) or a British Empire negative? • • • UK • •

Which specific countries were once part of the British Empire? Answer in your neat books – Hint- think of countries that share the as their first language 5 mins Read ’s arguments on the British Empire below

Niall Ferguson has two points of view about the Empire. Here is the positive: ‘Without the influence of British rule, it is hard to believe that parliamentary (being able to vote freely for who has power) would have been used by the majority of countries in the world today. India, the world’s largest democracy, owes this to British rule. Its best schools, its universities, its , its army, its press and its parliament all still have roots in the British model. Finally, there is the English language itself, perhaps the most important single export of the last 300 years. Today 350 million people speak English as their first language and around 450 million have it as a second language. That is roughly one in every seven people on the planet. It invested huge sums in developing a global network of modern communications. It spread and enforced the rule of over large areas. Though it fought many small wars, the Empire maintained a global peace unmatched before or since. 1) In your neat book create Here is his negative view point: a table with Of course the British Empire wasn’t perfect. When the English conquered lands, they positives and negatives brought to that land germs and diseases that killed many of the people who already lived in that land, because they had never been exposed to such germs, and there wasn’t the medical care in the to care for or to cure the diseases. It failed to live up to its own ideal of individual liberty (freedom for people – because of the slave trade. There were many small wars fought over the empire. The Empire also enforced traditions and cultures of the English on many different countries who already had their own traditions and cultures, as the English way was seen as better!

10 mins Clips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDVxMSv4pTE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHlkfPSo8o

Watch the two clips and answer the questions below in your neat books:

1. How did the British make money? 2. What did the British do with their money? 3. What impact will the British empire have on people around the world? 10 mins Task: Read the worksheets with the different cards. Copy the positives and negatives into a grid like the one below. Write this in your draft book. Extension: Are there any points that don’t fit into only one category? Why are these not positives or negatives?

Positives Negatives

15 mins British Empire:Positives the positives andNegatives negatives The British version of democracy has been copied by many countries: Millions of men, women and children were shipped from as The USA, India, and have all largely based their slaves and forced to work in awful conditions farming and coffee in the political systems on the British model. Caribbean and the American in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The British Empire was united and determined in its fight against Nazi Britain ruled parts of the . Its withdrawal from and Germany and Japan in the Second (1939-1945). left unresolved issues that have resulted in a bloody conflict continuing to this day. Some of the most advanced countries in the world: the USA, Australia, Britain divided its old Indian Empire into two countries: India for and Canada and were all, to a large extent, founded by British for Muslims. Millions had to move their home to one of the new colonisers. These countries would not exist today were it not for the states and many died. The two countries still regard each other as enemies to British Empire. this day. Many of the world’s most popular sports (, , rugby) were From 1899-1902 the British fought to conquer the land of the in South invented in Britain and spread around the world as a result of the British Africa as there were many mines there. 20,000 Boer men women and Empire. children died in British concentration camps. ‘’ – From 1815-1914 there was no large scale war. The led to racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance British were the most powerful country in the world and could enforce towards African and Asian people and people of African and Asian ancestry. the peace using the powerful . Modern day racism is, in many respects, a legacy of this. The English language is now the most widely spoken language in the Despite claiming to be a ‘liberal’ nation, the British didn’t see Indians and world – it is the closest thing we have to a world language. This is a Africans as being fit to rule themselves. Consequently, these people had few consequence of the British Empire. legal and political rights and little say in how they were governed Once the slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807, the From 1757 onwards the British conquered most of India by force. When many Royal Navy ensured that no other countries continued to trade in Indians rebelled against British rule in 1857, the British responded by killing beings. many of the rebels. As a consequence of the British Empire, the UK (and especially London) In 1919 a demonstration against British rule in the city of Amritsar in India is now a multi-ethnic society which includes people from all over the was broken up when British troops shot at and killed 379 people, many of world (where Britain used to rule). them children. The British invested in many of their colonies; universities and railways As British settlers colonised New Zealand in the nineteenth century, they took were built in India. a great deal of land from the existing Maori population. The of Nations is an organisation made up of most of In 1876 the British ruler of India, Lord Lytton, organised an enormously the countries that were once ruled by Britain. It promotes trade and expensive spectacle celebrating British rule. At the same time, over 5 million understanding between the different nations organises the Indians were dying in the worst famine of the century. . Many of the poorest countries in the world today were once part of the British Empire: , , , and many others. Explain two consequences of the British Empire. • One consequence of the British Empire was…

• A second consequence of the British Empire was…

10 mins Answer this in your neat book Plenary - Planning – Complete in your draft book: “The British Empire was a force for good.” How far do you agree? 1. What does ‘ ’ a force for good 10 mins mean?

2. How do you structure an essay? Draw this out.

Introduction 3. Do you agree with Niall Ferguson? Which parts do you agree or disagree with?