Year 8 · History · Industry, empire and slavery · Lesson 4

The British Empire and India

The British Empire and India: motives for empire, the East India Company, the 1857 rebellion, the Raj, Gandhi, Amritsar, independence and partition, and interpretations.

20-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

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What your child will learn

Describe the size and motives of the Empire
Explain how Britain came to rule India
Describe resistance to British rule
Explain independence and partition
Compare interpretations of the Empire

The method

What does each say?
What evidence?
Who holds it, and why?
Which is more convincing?

Key words: empire, colony, East India Company, the Raj, rebellion, partition, interpretation.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What is an empire?

Step 1: Many lands ruled by one country

Answer: A group of lands ruled by one country

Question 2

Roughly how much of the world did the British Empire cover at its peak?

Step 1: A big fraction

Answer: About a quarter

Question 3

When was the East India Company founded?

Step 1: Elizabeth I's reign

Answer: 1600