Empire, enslavement and abolition
What does your town choose to remember?
Whose story gets a statue, a street name or a plaque - and whose does not?
Watch first
An English teaching video on this topic from That Archive Guy. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
What you need
Tick each one as you find it — 0 of 3 ready.
Plan the fair test
- Change: Which memorial or street name you examine
- Measure: Whose story it tells, and the reason given for remembering it
- Keep the same: The same town centre area, the same categories used for every entry
Objectives this evidences
- Understand ideas, political power, industry and empire in Britain 1745-1901, including the Industrial Revolution and its impact on society
- Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition
Do it, one step at a time
Step 1 of 5
- Step 1. List every statue, plaque, memorial and person-named street you can find in one town centre area.
- Step 2. For each one, record the year it was put up and the reason given, if any is given at all.
- Step 3. Sort them into groups: military, industrial or commercial, political, religious, sporting, other.
- Step 4. Research two of them properly and note whether the wealth or fame involved connects to empire, enslavement or industry.
- Step 5. Write a paragraph on what is missing as well as what is present.
What should happen
Most named memorials commemorate a small number of wealthy or military men, often from one century. The people whose labour produced that wealth - and enslaved people in particular - are usually unnamed.
Think about: A memorial is evidence about the people who put it up, not only about the person on it. What does the date of each one tell you?
Write up your result
A sentence or two is enough to save it.
The lessons behind this practical
Each one opens with the same short film, and the film has a written transcript underneath if reading is easier than watching.
Now the quiz for this topic
Questions come from the lessons behind this practical, so nothing is asked that has not been taught.
Quiz
Empire, enslavement and abolition quiz
4 questions from the lessons in this stage. No timer, and you can try again as many times as you like.