Did everyone benefit from the British Empire?

Maoris in New Zealand lost lands to the

British settlers.

Many Aboriginal people in Australia were

killed by settlers and lost the right to live
on their ancestors lands because these
lands were turned into cattle and sheep
ranches.

The number of hospitals increased in India

from 0 to 65.

Britain helped to irrigate many fields in

India which meant that more land could be
farmed. The land used for farming
increased from 400,000 acres to 3.2million
acres.

Britain provided some education to

Indians. The education challenged many
superstitious beliefs (e.g. about how to
remain healthy). The number of schools
in India increased from 170 to 2900.

The best jobs in India were reserved for

the British.

Indian workers were often exploited (not

paid enough).

The British in India had more luxurious

lives than they had had at home and were
often looked after by many servants.

By 1900 the British had built nearly 50,000

miles of road in India. They built dams
and dug nearly 70,000 miles of canal.

10

Britain allowed a free press and free

speech in India.

11

During famines in India, Britain provided

relief.

12

In Africa, missionaries such as David

Livingstone spread Christianity and
European ideas.

13

Britain taxed its colonies and used some

of the money in Britain (rather than within
the colony itself).

14

Through most of the Empire, British sports

like cricket, football and rugby were taken
up.

15

Britain banned the practice of sati (this

was the Hindu custom of widow burning,
where a woman would have to jump on
the funeral pyre of her dead husband).
Britain also worked hard to end infanticide
(the mass killing of unwanted children) in
India.

16

For some the Empire became a way to

escape unemployment and poor living
conditions in Britain itself. Between 1800
and 1914 about 14 million people
emigrated from Britain, mainly to Canada,
Australia and New Zealand.

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Did everyone benefit from the British Empire?

Additional cards
17

British traders made money from the

Empire by buying or taking goods from
abroad (e.g. sugar, tea, coffee, silk,
tobacco and spices) and selling them for a
high price back home. These goods were
extremely popular in the days of the
Empire.

18

Raw materials (e.g. cotton and rubber)

were bought very cheaply in Britains
colonies and then made into goods like
clothes and tyres in Britain. Then they
were sold back to the countries in the
Empire. This created jobs for workers in
Britain. By the 1830s most of the cotton
worn by Indians was grown in India, made
into clothing in Britain, and then sold back.

19

Britain introduced a new legal system in

India and helped settle ancient feuds
between rival areas and regions. The
justice system in India was fair and equal
to all in theory. However, if there was a
case of a British person against an Indian,
the court would normally favour the British
person.

20

When Britain first started building its

Empire, ordinary people were not
particularly interested! But by the late
1800s it was a different story. They
became proud of the Empire and this was
reflected in the popularity of songs such
as Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and
Glory as well as events such as the
Festival of the Empire (1911) and the
Empire Games (now the Commonwealth
Games).

21

Soon after Australia was first mapped by

Captain James Cook, the British
government decided to use the new
colony as a place to send criminals.
Between 1787 and 1868 160,000 British
convicts were transported to Australia.

22

By 1900 Britain ruled about 450 million

people living in over 50 colonies around
the world. This meant that Britain had
millions of men to call on if it got involved
in wars. Indeed, in both World Wars
around 40% of the men fighting for Britain
were from the Empire.

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Did everyone benefit from the British Empire?

Benefitted Britain

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Benefitted colonies

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Did everyone benefit from the British Empire?

Teaching notes
There are two main parts to this resource: a starter activity with the analysis of a painting (this is
available as a separate PDF file), and a card sort. This can be further developed with a short
extract from Niall Fergusons documentary on Empire. A suggested lesson outline is given here
but these elements can of course be rearranged to suit your classes.
Starter painting analysis
The image of the painting is contained in a separate PDF file which accompanies this resource. It
is of Queen Victoria giving a bible to an unidentified African prince. Students can work in pairs to
decide what they think is being said by the people in this image. They can then act out their
imagined scenarios to the rest of the class.
This could be followed up with questioning:

What does this tell us about the relationship between Britain and colonies?

Why dont we know who the African is?

What impression do you get of Victoria? (Identify details which tell you this.)

What does this suggest about the benefits of the Empire?

Development card sort

There are 16 core cards in this sorting activity. There are also an additional six higher level
cards for more able students, which add greater depth and complexity. Students can sort the
cards to decide if they represent a benefit to Britain, to the colonies or both. They can summarise
their findings in the Venn diagram. An interactive version of this is available (for subscribers only)
on the site.
This sorting activity can be consolidated with teacher questioning and class debate. Here are
some possible questions to stimulate debate:

Who benefitted the most from the British Empire?

Why did they benefit?

Why did some people not benefit from the Empire?

Do you think that the British Empire was a good thing overall?

How might the Empire be remembered differently by different groups?

Did all of Britains actions help to control the Empire?

This critical thinking can be further developed with a short extract from Niall Fergusons
documentary: Empire How Britain Made the Modern World (available at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSbMBh0YC1c ). In the first 2 minutes 17 seconds, Ferguson
makes substantial claims about the benefits of the Empire, which you can then challenge as a
class.
Students could then write a short post for the Channel 4 website, explaining why Fergusons view
of the British Empire is not entirely accurate.
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