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SavannahYear 8
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HistoryIndustry, empire and the slave trade30 min★★★ difficulty

Industry, empire and political power, 1745-1901

Within a century Britain went from a mainly rural society to the world's first industrial economy, with an empire to match. The gains and the costs were not shared equally.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand ideas, political power, industry and empire in Britain 1745-1901, including the Industrial Revolution and its impact on society

Key learning points

  • • Why industry took off here
  • • Living with the change
  • • Pressure for political reform
  • • Industry and empire together

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

politicalindustryempirebritainindustrial

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Industry, empire and political power, 1745-1901

An English teaching video on this topic from TED-Ed. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand ideas, political power, industry and empire in Britain 1745-1901, including the Industrial Revolution and its impact on society

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that Parliament's power grew after 1688.

Recap: The emergence and growth of Parliament
3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Urbanisation
The growth of towns and cities.
Factory system
Production concentrated in one site using powered machinery.
Reform Act
Legislation extending or redistributing the vote.
Empire
Territories ruled or controlled by another state.
4

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Industrial change

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

Why industry took off here

Coal and iron were plentiful, canals and later railways moved goods cheaply, colonial trade supplied raw materials and markets, and available capital funded machinery. No single cause is sufficient. Steam power freed factories from riverside sites, which is why industrial towns grew where coal was, not where water flowed.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

Living with the change

Cities grew faster than sanitation, producing overcrowding, cholera and short life expectancy. Factory work imposed clock discipline on people used to seasonal rhythms, and children worked long hours until legislation restricted it. Real wages eventually rose, which is why historians disagree about whether the early decades improved or worsened ordinary lives.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

Steam power allowed factories to be built...

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Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

Rapid urban growth caused...

9

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Power, protest and empire

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

Pressure for political reform

Industrial towns had almost no representation while tiny constituencies elected MPs. Protest, from Peterloo to Chartism, pressed for change. The Reform Acts of 1832, 1867 and 1884 widened the franchise in stages, but women remained excluded. Reform came gradually, usually when elites judged that refusing would be more dangerous than conceding.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Industry and empire together

Empire supplied cotton, sugar and tea, and provided protected markets for manufactured goods; naval power secured the routes. Imperial expansion was justified at the time by claims of civilising mission, claims which historians now examine critically alongside evidence of coercion, extraction and resistance in colonised societies.

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Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

The Reform Acts of the nineteenth century...

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Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

Empire supported industry mainly by providing...

15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • People often name one cause of industrialisation. Resources, transport, capital and trade combined.
  • People often assume reform came from goodwill. It usually followed sustained pressure and protest.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

Steam power freed factories from riverside sites, which is why ____ towns grew where coal was, not where water flowed.

____ supplied cotton, sugar and tea, and provided protected markets for manufactured goods; naval power secured the routes.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Industry, empire and political power, 1745-1901

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Chartism campaigned for...

  2. 2. Clock discipline in factories replaced...

  3. 3. Historians disagree about industrialisation because evidence shows...

  4. 4. Railways mattered because they...

  5. 5. Peterloo in 1819 was...

  6. 6. Imperial 'civilising mission' claims are now treated as...

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

A factory inspector's notebook, 1842

"I visited the mill at seven in the morning. The machines were already running. I counted fourteen children at the frames, the youngest no more than nine years of age. The overseer told me they work from six until seven, with forty minutes for dinner."

"The air is thick with cotton dust and the windows are kept shut so the thread does not break. Two of the children showed me hands cut by the shuttles. The owner assured me that the work is light and that the families beg him for the places, since without the children's wages the rent cannot be paid."

"I have written to the magistrates. I doubt much will follow from it."

Original source-style text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Who wrote this, when, and why might that make it useful to a historian?
  2. What does the source tell you about children's work — and what does it not tell you?
  3. How far does this source show that mill owners were to blame? Answer with a judgement and evidence.

  • Source work

    Reading

    Read the source closely. Write who made it, when, and what it tells you — then what it does not tell you.

    2 paragraphs

  • Essay answer

    Writing

    Answer the enquiry question with a clear judgement. Use two pieces of evidence and finish with a sentence that weighs them up.

    300–400 words

  • Timeline

    Diagram

    Draw a timeline of the events in this lesson with dates, then photograph it.

    6–8 events

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Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

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