Having previously investigated the criticism of empire, students now set about defending it. After studying a contemporary Indian view of Empire, which they critique in terms of usefulness, students explore a range of possible achievements of the empire, some using a structured sheet, others are given a freer rein. The groups come together to predict the 6 top arguments Niall Ferguson uses to defend the empire and then discuss what he might have left out. Students then prepare a 60 word defence of empire to combat the negative view given in Horrible histories.
Step 1
Re-visit the critical view of the empire using slides 2-4 and explain the enquiry. Recently a controversial historian Niall Ferguson has staunchly defended aspects of the empire. The students’ task is to see if they can work out what 6 arguments Ferguson might have chosen and then compare his view with theirs.
Step 2
The final line of Terry Deary’s Horrible History slide 6, says that no-one ever asked the Indians what they thought about the empire. So that’s just what we’re going to do. Introduce Resource sheet 1. This is a summary of the views of an Indian written in 1871. Later pupils are
