Teaching the British Empire: Stories and Sources

Anyone who knows me, or is unfortunate enough to be taught by me, knows I am a slight Empire nerd. Studying the British Empire is important in History, in order to give students a grounding in the footprint that the United Kingdom has on the world: past and present. It is a very nuanced footprint,

The Problem with Empire Teaching

I have been a on a roller-coaster of emotions, linked to the current events erupting in America and in Britain. I have clicked on articles calling for curriculum change and become angry: “Well… I do teach this… We do have that in our curriculum… the History teaching community has been working so hard to change

“Life in Soviet Russia changed for the worse between 1928-1964.” Assess the validity of this view. 25 marks

Both Lenin and Stalin were looking to move Russia ever more forwards to communism; pivotal in this aim was the creating of the “socialist man” which was embedded in the proletarianisation of the people. It was widely believed by theorists that the masses had to be proletarians in order to create the socialist society and

To what extent did Lenin fulfill the revolutionary aims of the early Russian Marxists during his years as leader of Russia? 25 marks

Marxist theory is based on the work of Karl Marx and Freiderich Engels which centres around the idea that all history is composed of class struggles between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. It theorises that the lower classes would over throw the factory owning bourgeoisie, and after a short period of a working class dictatorship would

“Theatres in Elizabethan England showcase how the time was a golden age.” Using your study of the Globe Theatre how far do you agree? 16 marks

  Elizabethan England was known as a golden age of culture, as a result of the fact that during her reign from 1553-1603, the country was relatively peaceful compared to the times previously. As well as this exploration into the New World, and new discoveries resulted in the so called Golden Age. The theatre, in

How useful is the source to historians studying the impact of the American Wars of Independence?

This source shows the British Commander Cornwallis surrendering 8,000 British soldiers and sailors to an American and French force at Yorktown on 19 October 1781. This lithograph (print) was published in America in 1846. This source is useful to show the impact that losing the wars of independence had on the British, as it clearly

Compare the migration of Jamaicans after WW2 with the Huguenots. In what ways were they similar? 8 marks

After WW2, Britain was in need to be rebuilt due to the bombings during the Blitz, as well as the large scale loss of life. In 1948 the British Nationality Act was passed which allowed individuals living in the colonies and dominions to have a British Passport. This was passed in order to stimulate migration

“The main reason for the British gaining empire in America, was to secure the Slave Trade”. How far do you agree? 16 marks

The slave trade was a pivotal factor in allowing Britain to build and expand empire. Britain made £60 million from the slave trade, which became the main financier of the empire. Securing the slave trade, by building colonies in America was a reason for Britain gaining empire in the region, but it is not the

Explain what was important about the execution of Mary Queen of Scots for Elizabethan England. [8 marks]

Mary Queen of Scots was Elizabeth Is cousin, which meant that she had a claim to the English throne thus was a threat to Elizabeth. Mary returned to England in 1560 after the death of her first husband, Francis who had been the King of France briefly. Mary was a devout catholic, which posed a

How useful 12 Mark GCSE Battle of the Somme

How useful are sources A and B to a historian considering the success of the Battle of the Somme? This will be question 2 paper 1 in the Conflict and Tension part of the AQA GCSE exam. The sources will either be cartoon (picture based) or written. This one is based on a newspaper and