Did India lose or gain from the British
Empire?
L/O – To evaluate whether India benefited from the
British Empire and to organise responses into an essay
Starter – Are empires good or bad for the countries
they control?
Thinking about….Empires
• We usually assume that empires
exist to give money and power to
the mother country.
• That is true but they can also
benefit the countries and
individuals they rule over.
• This lesson is all about reviewing
whether the British Empire was
good for India – or bad…
• Think back to Year 7 - Did the
Roman Empire benefit Britain in
any way? Was it bad for Britain?
Empire was basically
the exploitation of one
race by another for the
purpose of gaining
wealth. Lasting
damage was often
done to the cultures
and economies of the
countries that were
taken over and
became part of an
empire.
It is true that there were many
unacceptable things done in the name of
empire but we cannot judge the past by
the standards of the present. Many of
the countries and individuals taken over
did benefit it some ways from becoming
part of an empire.
2.
rocks
each
historian
use
to
support
4.3.Which
Why
Can do
you
people
thinkcould
of
disagree
other
pieces
about
of
whether
evidence
empires
that
each
are a
1. Which
Historian
do
you
agree
with
the
most?
historian couldgood
use
orsupport
bad thing?
his point of view?
his to
argument?
‘The greatest force for good the world has
ever seen’
Despite what we think about the British Empire, the Victorians
6. India
– did they think that the Indian people were
thought
that their empire
was thethink
successor
to the
Roman thing?
Empire.
5.
The Empire
– did they
it was
a good
winning
or losingfrom
from
being
part ofHow
the
Look
at the statements
British
politicians.
didEmpire?
they view:
Did India lose or gain from the British
Empire?
• Asking British politicians of the time whether empire was good for
India is obviously going to result in a biased answer (why?)
• So what about the majority of the Indian people? Were they
winners or losers of the Empire?
• You will be looking at brief summaries of the lives of Indian people
or groups who experienced British rule in India.
• For each individual or group, fill in a section of your ‘experience
chart’↓
Name of person
1. Dadabhai Naoroji
Positive experiences
under and resulting
from British rule
Negative experiences
under and resulting
from British rule
Indian person’s likely
overall judgement –
what would they
have thought at the
time?
My overall
judgement
Doing History: Diversity & Interpretations
• The impact that the British
Empire had on India still causes
a lot of controversy and debate
amongst historians. One reason
is the diversity of people’s
experiences →
• Whether or not people living in
India benefited from British rule
depended on a number of
factors:
– Where they lived
– When they lived
– Whether they were rich or poor
Can you think of any other
factors?
REMEMBER!
People’s lives are different even if they
live in the same country in the same
period of history.
REMEMBER!
People’s experiences vary during their
lifetime. We need to look at their whole
lives, not just one episode.
REMEMBER!
The diversity of people’s experiences
means that historians can select from
the past to support their own point of
view.
REMEMBER!
Their interpretation of the past may
depend on where they have looked for
evidence and what case study they
have chosen.
HISTORIAN B –
INDIA GAINED
FROM THE
BRITISH EMPIRE
HISTORIAN A INDIA SUFFERED
FROM THE
BRITISH EMPIRE
‘Individuals did
not benefit from
British rule.
Duleep Singh had
his land stolen
from him and he
died in poverty.
Lasting damage
was done to the
Indian economy.
Look at all the
people who died
as a result of
famine.’
Develop more arguments to
support historian A & B. Make a
list in your book, making sure
you
give historian
specific examples
from
Which
do you agree
the evidence
support
with the cards
most?toWhy?
your arguments.
‘It is true that
there were many
unacceptable
things that
happened but we
cannot judge the
past by the
standards of the
present. Many
individuals did
benefit. Naoroji
and Ambedkar
received a good
education and the
Indian economy
benefited from
British investment
in railways and
new buildings.’
Did India lose or gain from the British
Empire?
Now use your notes to start writing your essay. Use the
following essay plan to structure your answer:
Introduction – Give some interesting facts about the British Empire in India. State
what you will be investigating. Summarise your argument (Overall, did India lose
or gain?). Link to the next section.
Ways in which India gained – Explain how India gained from the British Empire.
Give specific examples to support your arguments. Conclude by summarising and
referring back to the essay question. Link to the next section.
Ways in which India lost out – Explain how India suffered from the British Empire.
Give specific examples to support your arguments. Conclude by summarising and
referring back to the essay question.
Conclusion – Summarise the two sides of the debate again. State your main
argument with reasons. Overall, did India lose or gain from the British Empire?
Plenary
1. What did the Victorians think about their
Empire in India?
2. Did all Indians have the same experience of
empire?
3. How did India gain from the British Empire?
4. How did India lose from the British Empire?
5. Overall, was the British Empire good or bad for
India?
Did we meet our learning objective?
L/O – To evaluate whether India benefited from the
British Empire and to organise responses into an essay