At its peak, the British Empire was the biggest Empire in historical past, encompassing almost one quarter of the Earth’s floor and a couple of quarter of its inhabitants. All through its historical past, this large geopolitical entity was perceived by its proponents as a beacon of civilization, an engine for commerce and constructing native infrastructure and prosperity, a supply of army and nationwide pleasure. For sure, nonetheless, populations beneath its rule could have had a VERY completely different opinion about issues, and eager to level out a variety of issues glossed over in in style historical past. In earlier episodes of TodayIFoundOut, we lined how the nationwide faculty curricula in Germany and Japan train their pupils in regards to the shadiest elements of their respective history- the intervals earlier than and through WWII. However what about good ol’ Blighty? How do colleges within the UK train in regards to the British Empire? Do historical past lecturers additionally cowl its most damaging points? Or do they gloss over them?
To beg with, the nationwide curriculum’s method to the British Empire is extraordinarily advanced and topic to vary, and is at the moment present process a reasonably main change, as we’ll get into later on this video. However first, let’s now take at a fast run by means of of the subject at hand, beginning with a really transient overview of the British Empire itself.
The British Empire will be outlined as a International system of territories beneath the sovereignty of the Nice British Crown and Authorities. These territories embody colonies, protectorates and dominions. It’s fascinating to notice that almost all of those early settlements had been established by personal enterprise, with no direct strategic oversight from the Crown or the Authorities.
For many of the historical past of the Empire, till the mid-Nineteenth Century, the Crown had some restricted powers of supervision over the acquired territories, however the colonies themselves had been largely self-managed and self-sufficient.
However let’s rewind slightly. England first began its colonial path by invading Eire in 1169, absolutely re-conquered by the Tudors within the sixteenth Century. And but, the official begin and finish dates of the Empire have been set at 1601 and 1997. So what occurred right here? Within the seventeenth Century, England established its first trans-Atlantic colonies in North America and the Caribbean, primarily pushed by business ambition and a technique to stem French affect over the world. Across the similar time, the privately owned East India Firm started establishing buying and selling posts in India and South East Asia.
Persevering with the development, within the 1660s, England prolonged its attain into the African continent, by settling into modern-day Gambia. Over the next two centuries, England first, and Nice Britain later, colonised a lot of Africa, establishing a series of territories from Cairo to Cape City.
By the 18th and Nineteenth centuries, the Brits had been on a roll. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 unlocked the door to what would turn into Canada and the East India Firm continued its growth, on the expense of their French counterpart and native Bengali rulers.
There was the occasional, but main setback, after all, such because the lack of the 13 American colonies following the Revolutionary battle of 1776. However even that got here with some main benefits, as Britain very purposefully gave the brand new nation insanely beneficial phrases within the deal, as we’ve lined in one among private favorite movies we’ve ever performed: That Time Ben Franklin and John Adams Slept Collectively and the Hilarity That Ensued, which works in depth into the beginning, center, and finish of the revolution and the reasonably fascinating and hilarious two contrasting people in these two males who performed such important roles, in addition to covers intimately why Ben Franklin advocated so strongly that aged girls had been one of the best to sleep with.
However going again to those colonists and the terrorist organisation that took management of them and subsequently mass murdered so many British troopers simply there making an attempt to earn a residing, France and the newly minted United States had been bosom buddies at this level, which was a significant drawback for the British each at the moment and really probably might have was a catastrophic drawback sooner or later if that was allowed to proceed. Thus, in a little bit of a double cross, which actually what extra are you able to count on from already traitors to king and nation, the colonists determined to throw France, with out whom they’d have positively misplaced the battle, fully beneath the bus on the final minute in trade for these insanely beneficial phrases from Britain
As for the British facet, then British Prime Minister Lord William Petty, Earl of Shelburne felt that in granting america such favorable phrases, additionally they positioned the U.S. to prosper to an incredible diploma, whereas concurrently serving to to open up very favorable commerce with them which might profit British retailers, in addition to assist provide the British Empire with a lot wanted sources. This could additionally all hopefully foster a good quantity of goodwill in the direction of Britain from the brand new nation, and probably assist be sure that the connection between France and the U.S. didn’t proceed to mature unchecked on the expense of Britain. And looking back, whereas the now dubbed “particular relationship” between the British and Individuals wasn’t all the time easy within the aftermath, on the entire, such pleasant relations with their former colonies has served the U.Okay. extraordinarily properly, and been a boon to america as properly. A lot in order that the U.S. Division of States’ webpage on the connection between the U.S. and the U.Okay. begins off,
“The USA has no nearer Ally than the UK. Following the tip of the American Revolution in 1783… in 1785 our two nations established diplomatic relations. Aside from a short break in relations in the course of the Battle of 1812, america and the UK have remained sturdy companions and Allies. Our partnership is a basis of our mutual prosperity and safety.”
Not simply teaming up in issues of battle and safety, the 2 nations are amongst one another’s largest commerce companions. Additionally they share the world’s largest overseas funding partnership. And, as UK Overseas Secretary William Hague famous in 2013, “on daily basis nearly a million individuals go to work in America for British firms which are in america, simply as a couple of million individuals go to work right here in Nice Britain for American firms which are right here.”
Most importantly of all within the historical past between these two nations, round 2014 an exceptionally awkward and nerdy American with a significant beard envy advanced and a silky toned and superbly bearded balding British particular person teamed as much as begin this channel.
However going again to issues of lesser significance within the nations’ respective histories, even in defeat on this one, the British Empire was advancing and the constructing of the Empire resumed within the following a long time. Australia was settled in 1788 and Malacca in 1795. Then, the end result of the Napoleonic Wars resulted within the acquisition of additional former French territories. These had been primarily island colonies reminiscent of Ceylon, Trinidad, Tobago, St Lucia and Malta, which made for excellent buying and selling posts and bases for the Royal Navy.
New Zealand was colonised in 1840, adopted by growth within the Pacific. In 1857, as a consequence of the Mutiny of East India Firm’s personal troops, the Crown assumed management within the Subcontinent. And, as talked about earlier, within the late Nineteenth and early twentieth century, Britain accomplished its growth in Africa.
I’m positive everybody can have nice enjoyable at mentioning within the feedback which territories not talked about and wars of conquest sarcastically glossed over. However the level we needed to make is that the historical past of the British Empire is a particularly lengthy and sophisticated matter that fairly actually spans the globe.
In all this, opposite to excessive factors of view on the opposite facet, there have been simple constructive results at factors, some intentional, others much less so. And in the case of controversy and ramifications, one ought to acknowledge what may very well be thought-about the constructive points of imperialism, in addition to its most sinister penalties.
On the previous, British civil servants and personal enterprises developed trendy infrastructure within the colonised areas. They created a world commerce community, permitting colonies, dominions and protectorates to entry profitable markets on the opposite facet of the world. Colonial administration standardised training throughout the Globe, created job alternatives within the civil service and the army, and launched trendy legislature and administration practices.
The method of constructing the Empire is a exceptional achievement in itself, a testomony to the ability, competence, braveness and management of the British army, service provider sailors and explorers.
OF COURSE, in all this the British Empire was additionally liable for a number of the worst atrocities and violation of human rights in comparatively trendy historical past… Even when glossed over in their very own historical past books, as we’re going to get into shortly.
Which, to be honest, as we outlined in our sadly age restricted 2 hour lengthy documentary: Swept Beneath the Rug: The Fact Concerning the Japanese Holocaust, which is one of the best video now we have ever produced, not simply the Japanese, however america too dedicated thoughts boggling quantities of crimes towards humanity in the course of the Pacific Theater as one thing of a matter after all, but just about none of that is ever talked about in both nation’s tutorial historical past books, usually left to school lecturers and the likes of us to dig into. It is a theme with mainly each single nation in historical past with how they cowl their very own historical past in colleges, with the stark exception being Germany. Who some, maybe rightly, have argued go too far the opposite manner. Hammering their very own atrocities dwelling a lot that the youth of at this time not solely have realized the teachings from them as is excellent, but in addition have sadly developed a little bit of a collective main guilt advanced about it although neither they, nor their mother and father, nor even in lots of instances their grandparents, had something to do with any of it.
Going again to the British Empire, the atrocities of their very own have nonetheless been confirmed by the UK Authorities itself. For instance, in 2011, the Overseas and Commonwealth Workplace confessed to conserving 20,000 categorised recordsdata which included incriminating proof of homicide and torture by British colonial authorities.
So, earlier than we cowl how all that is taught particularly, we must always in all probability additionally very briefly dive into these imperial atrocities so little mentioned.
To start with, British troops – and their colonial models – had been enthusiastic proponents of utilizing focus camps to regulate hostile native populations. The tactic was first used towards the Boers in South Africa within the early years of the twentieth Century.
In the course of the 1950 Malayan Emergency, camps generally known as ‘New Villages’ had been constructed to maintain Chinese language civilians beneath tabs, lest they assist the native independence motion. After which once more in 1964, as much as 1.5 million Kikuyu individuals had been detained in camps in Kenya, as a way to quash the Mau Mau rebellion.
When not forcibly locking up astounding numbers of individuals for no morally justifiable cause, Imperial troops distinguished themselves in massacring civilians to quell unrest, or slaughtering poorly armed native militias within the context of unprovoked invasions. An instance of the previous case will be illustrated by the bloodbath in Amritsar, Punjab, which came about on April thirteenth, 1919. That’s when the British Indian Military fired over an unarmed crowd, killing upwards of 1000 civilians. Yet one more is the 1903 British invasion of Tibet. This was staged to pre-empt a possible Russian offensive. The operation resulted in a bloodbath by way of machine gunning 700 native militias armed with flintlock muskets.
When not inflicting loss of life by bullets, the British Empire additionally had one other frequent human weapon of mass destruction at their disposal: incompetence – usually compounded by callousness. Via a mixture of poor administration, carelessness, disdain in the direction of populations perceived as inferior, or plain idiocy, British colonial authorities annihilated a whole lot of hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of lives by means of their actions, even when that wasn’t actually the unique intent of mentioned actions.
Essentially the most blatant instance is the partition of the Indian subcontinent into Pakistan and India. An operation so mishandled that it brought on the mass migration of 10 million individuals, and the loss of life of 1 million as a consequence of sectarian violence. Different examples embody the introduction of smallpox to Australia, and the mismanagement of crop failures in India and Eire, which led to terrifying famines of catastrophic proportions.
This carousel of colonial horrors wouldn’t be full with no point out of the Transatlantic slave commerce. Positive, different European powers took half on this observe. And undoubtedly African kingdoms took an lively function by fortunately promoting captured prisoners of battle into slavery. However the function performed by England first, and Britain later, is pivotal. The primary English ship transporting slaves from Africa to America set sail in 1562, captained by John Hawkins. Hawkins bought his human cargo to Spanish colonists in America, raking in an infinite revenue. Over the seventeenth Century, demand for unpaid labour skyrocketed additionally within the English possessions within the New World, propelled by the increasing demand for sugar cane crops.
By the late 18th Century, greater than half of all of the African slaves transported throughout the Atlantic had been carried by British ships. Across the similar interval, in 1787, campaigners Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp based the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Commerce, which raised consciousness in regards to the inhumane circumstances of African slaves, boycotted items produced thorugh slavery and petitioned Parliament.
Petitions had been led by MP William Wilberforce and after years of failed makes an attempt, in 1807, the slave commerce was abolished within the British Empire. However, as much as that time, some 11 thousand ships had sailed from British ports with the aim of transporting and promoting individuals throughout the Atlantic, with numerous hundreds dying alongside the way in which, and those who made it left to a lifetime of slavery, generally beneath extraordinarily brutal circumstances.
To their credit score, following that date, the Royal Navy took an lively function in patrolling the Atlantic waters, cracking down on these merchants who defied the ban, as we mentioned in our current video The True Story of the Amistad. Nonetheless, slavery itself was not abolished till 1838, after which the slave-owners – not the slaves – obtained compensation from the Authorities.
Once more, you may have a discipline day by mentioning which atrocities we failed to incorporate on this record. As a result of had we lined all of it, or in any additional element even than we did, this video would seemingly have set the world report for longest YouTube video of all time. And been not solely demonetized, however age restricted as properly, as occurred to our aforementioned phenomenal video Swept Beneath the Rug: The Fact Concerning the Japanese Holocaust. However, please be our visitor discussing as many things like you may give you within the feedback.
All that out of the way in which, let’s now, lastly, have a look at the British Empire within the UK Syllabus
To start with, on this, Aneira Roose-McClew, former instructor and member of Going through Historical past & Ourselves UK, a charity that makes use of the instructing of historical past to problem bigotry and racism, states, “The historical past we be taught in academic establishments and wider society in regards to the British Empire is incomplete. The tales that dominate are inclined to amplify the voices of the colonisers, depicting the ‘Imperial interval’ as a time of glory and greatness – whereas the plunder, oppression and destruction of indigenous peoples, and their societies and cultures, usually occupies, at most, a footnote. We hear of how Britain’s Empire left behind sporting traditions, practice networks, training and democracy (as if these subjected to colonialism wouldn’t have come to those themselves), however be taught little of how a lot of Britain’s present wealth will be traced again to the struggling, exploitation and enslavement of hundreds of thousands of fellow human beings in abroad territories.”
In her article, Roose-McClew quotes a March 2020 survey, by which 33% of respondents believed that former British colonies had been ‘higher off general’ for having been a part of the Empire. She then goes on to remark that, “If the brutal realities of the colonial previous of the British Authorities had been taught in colleges and mentioned extra inside wider society, these survey outcomes would little question be very completely different.”
Historian William Dalrymple chimes in on all this: “The British historical past curriculum strikes all of the sudden from Florence Nightingale to the Nazis, in order that Britain all the time appears to be on the facet of liberation, releasing individuals. You be taught in regards to the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, all kinds of empires — simply not the British Empire. The truth that we conquered half the globe was, bizarrely, left off the curriculum.”
He goes on, “Now, greater than ever, we badly want to know what’s frequent data elsewhere: that for a lot of historical past we had been an aggressively racist and expansionist drive liable for violence, injustice and battle crimes on each continent.”
As for extra specifics, up till the interval post-WWII, historical past classes devoted ample time to the Empire, with a nationalistic method. In different phrases, lecturers and instructing materials lined the fantastic exploits of British politicians, directors, sailors and troopers, emphasising army victories towards rival colonial powers and invaded territories. As a consequence, essentially the most unsavoury points of British colonial rule had been principally ignored.
Within the Fifties and Nineteen Sixties one other faculty of thought took maintain, referred to as ‘New Historical past’. This method harassed the significance of understanding and analysing the experiences and perspective of the populations concerned in historic occasions, reasonably than their leaders. Monarchs and Generals light within the background, in favour of a ‘backside up’ technique based on empathy for many who suffered from the tidal waves of historical past.
On this context, any patriotic or nationalist emotions had been expunged from the lecture rooms. The historical past of the British Empire was principally sidelined or downgraded, apart from Britain’s function within the slave commerce. This was and nonetheless is an extremely vital topic to deal with. However the historical past syllabus was not standardised throughout the nation, and it was as much as the discretion of the person instructor whether or not to incorporate slavery or not.
In 1991 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launched a ‘Nationwide Curriculum’ to introduce some standardisation throughout all topics. In her memoirs, Thatcher claimed that it had been simpler to struggle the Argentinians within the Falkland Islands than to agree on a Nationwide Historical past Curriculum with lecturers and historians.
Her Secretary of State for Schooling, Kenneth Baker, had some clear views on find out how to painting the Empire within the new curriculum: ‘Pupils needs to be taught in regards to the unfold of Britain’s affect for good all through the empire within the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries… These items are issues by which we must always take nice pleasure’
However the finish end result was a syllabus which lined the historical past of Nice Britain in chronological order, but leaving ample discretion to lecturers on what matters to cowl intimately. As soon as once more, a holistic historical past of the Empire was largely neglected, apart from slavery.
The Nationwide Curriculum for Historical past was revised in February 2013, by David Cameron’s Conservative authorities. The proposal for renewal of the syllabus included matters reminiscent of English colonisation of the Americas and India, the occupation of Eire and a big module referred to as ‘Britain’s world influence’ within the nineteenth century ‘, which might span the scramble for Africa, growth in central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent and the Boer Wars.
Regardless of it mentioning ‘the Nineteenth Century’, the module would additionally embody the post-WWII independence actions and the immigration into Britain of residents from Commonwealth nations. The general intention was to accord extra significance and time to the Empire, with exhortations from the cupboard to current it in a largely constructive mild.
The top end result was a syllabus which did embody some imperial matters, however, as soon as once more, it was as much as the person lecturers to resolve what and find out how to train their pupils – if something in any respect!
All that mentioned, in very current years, the problem of Imperial instruction has taken centre stage within the British parliament. Following a web based petition, the Home of Commons held a debate on Monday 28 June 2021, to debate how Britain’s colonial previous was addressed in UK colleges. Labour MP Chris Evans quoted Dr Deana Heath, who teaches Southern Asian and Imperial Colonial Historical past on the College of Liverpool: “I face an uphill wrestle at the beginning of every new tutorial yr. Most of the undergraduates who greet me know just about nothing about any of the themes I train.”
Different MPs, from each Labour and the Scottish Nationwide Social gathering agreed that colleges oversimplified Britain’s function within the Transatlantic Slave Commerce, as properly largely omitting the contributions of non-white historic personalities. This omission extends additionally to the struggles of the decrease lessons, with Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy suggesting that this exclusion is each racially and class-driven.
The response from the Conservative majority was merely to level out that, as of 2021, the British Empire and Britain’s colonial previous had been a statutory theme for the Key Stage 3 historical past curriculum.
To make clear, Key Stage 3 corresponds to pupils aged 11 to 14. And a statutory theme signifies a theme which should be lined as a part of historical past classes. The number of the particular matters inside a statutory theme, nonetheless, is, as soon as once more, right down to the selection of the person instructor.
So, we took a peek into the present nationwide syllabus for the UK, and as of June 2023, the Key Stage 3 curriculum contains two statutory themes associated to the Empire. The primary is “Concepts, political energy, trade and empire: Britain 1745-1901”. Subjects contained inside embody the transatlantic slave commerce, the Seven Years battle, the American Revolution, the connection with Eire and ‘the event of the British Empire with a depth research’
The second theme is ‘Challenges for Britain, Europe and the broader world, 1901 to the current day’. Which options matters such because the world wars, Indian independence, and the tip of the Empire.
So, in concept, the Empire needs to be a part of what pre-teens and early teenagers find out about at school. And in concept, there are many probabilities to debate all sides of imperialism, together with Britain’s function in reasonably excessive crimes towards humanity. However in observe this isn’t all the time the case.
In preparation for this video we requested a small pattern of scholars, lecturers and one retired headteacher about their particular person experiences. In all instances, they replied that these themes and matters merely had not been touched. Greater than a concerted effort to brush a shameful previous beneath the carpet, it seems that historical past lecturers don’t have the time to suit these supposedly statutory themes into an already packed curriculum.
And but, there’s loads of accessible sources for some lecturers to develop classes on our colonial previous. For instance, academic marketing consultant Neil Thompson, by means of his firm Key Stage Historical past, gives a great pattern of imperial matters which can have been taught by Key Stage 3 lecturers as a part of the statutory themes.
Examples embody an in-depth module in regards to the slave commerce, and the way it was propelled by the soar in demand for sugary merchandise, which required an enormous, unpaid workforce for the sugar cane plantations within the Caribbean. This module would then delve deep into the horrific circumstances of the person slaves, the standing of African servants in wealthy households, and the way they had been portrayed in seventeenth and 18th century artwork. The teachings would then conclude with the abolitionist campaigns and Britain’s function in policing unlawful slave commerce.
One other wide-ranging matter, apparently largely ignored, is British rule in India. Thompson recommends a module spanning 4 centuries of historical past, from the start of the East India Firm, to Indian independence, with out shying away from occasions such because the Amritsar bloodbath or the recurrent famines.
Lastly, Thompson proposes for lecturers to stimulate school rooms dialogue on the British Empire as a complete, for instance by asking, “How did Britain obtain to overcome such a big Empire; how did the Empire ultimately dissolve; and to debate the professionals and cons of the Empire itself”
At this stage, we would like to listen to from you, our esteemed viewers. When you hail from the UK, tell us if and what had been you taught about any of those topics once you had been in school? Extra curiously, in the event you hail from a rustic previously a part of the Empire, how had been you taught about British colonisation?
Shifting on from there, there’s probably excellent news on the horizon of comparatively correct historical past being taught in UK colleges. Back in March 2022, the Division for Schooling introduced the preparation of a brand new “mannequin historical past curriculum”, which needs to be issued by 2024. This curriculum ought to, to cite, ‘Equip [teachers] with the talents to steer classes that cowl migration and cultural change …[and] To assist pupils perceive the intertwined nature of British and world historical past, and their very own place inside it.’
In different phrases, the longer term curriculum ought to present a extra complete view of Britain’s colonial insurance policies and their relationship with the remainder of the world. By shedding mild on this previous, pupils at this time will likely be higher positioned to know their current.
In the long run, we predict Professor Terry Haydn of East Anglia College summed all of this up greatest, stating in 2014:
‘Whether or not instructing in regards to the British Empire, Empire extra usually, or any matters the place there are controversies of interpretation, historical past lecturers, historical past didactics, and policymakers liable for the formulation of historical past curricula ought to commit some consideration to making an attempt to domesticate in learners the tendencies of open-mindedness, respect for proof and veracity.’
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