1. A2 Historical enquiry: India and the British Empire, 1757-1947

2. Britain’s imperial strength 1870-1914
L.O. 1: To find out about Britain’s imperial strength in more depth and to collect evidence
L.O. 2: To decide whether the Boer War was a turning point in any way

3. British politics of the period
Pre 1906 Tory Party was imperialist; Liberals were split, many Liberal imperialists having joined the Tories over the issue of Irish Home Rule. So you might expect a clearly different policy before (Tory government) and after (Liberal government) the 1905 election. In reality the Liberals were anxious to hold onto the empire but chose to do so by making concessions in South Africa, Ireland and INDIA
Students tend to write about the Boer War without relating it to concessions in India – for h/w, read p.40-1 in Leadbeater so you understand that concessions were being granted across the Empire during this period e.g. Morley-Minto reforms in India

4. Britain and the Boer War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_7yNjQquik
When –
Where – Southern Africa
Why – Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, wanted to fulfil his vision of a strong empire that would be economically self-sufficient (linked to tariff reform and social reform)
Who – the British versus the Dutch colonists who owned the Transvaal and Orange Free State
What – a bloody war
Outcome – The Treaty of Vereeniging, Republic of South Africa granted dominion status, 1910

6. Why did the Boer War lead to a questioning of British imperial policy?
Read through the sheet – you can consider these results when deciding if the Boer War marked a turning point or not

7. Britain’s imperial strength 1870-1914
Opinions on economic cost and benefit
Opinions on military/strategic cost and benefit
Opinions on international standing
Opinions on political support for empire (Conservatives, Liberals, Labour)
Opinions on popular support for empire
Does the Boer War mark a turning point in the period?

8. The sources
1 = British Imperial and Foreign Policy by John Aldred, an A/S textbook
2 = British Imperial and Foreign Policy by John Aldred, an A/S textbook
3 = The British Empire by Frank McDonough, an A Level textbook
4 = Britain and Empire, by Dane Kennedy, an undergraduate level textbook
Extension reading, Empire, Ch 5 Maxim Force by Niall Ferguson, a popular economic history by a (right wing) academic
Let’s read the first source together and annotate it/pick out the lines of argument and supporting quotes

9. Was the Boer War a turning point?
Now we have collated all the evidence, your task is to look for significant agreements and disagreements between writers (e.g. economic cost vs benefit)
Aldred vs McDonough
Aldred vs Kennedy
McDonough vs Kennedy
In pairs you will be given two of the historians to compare.
You must compare them on criteria 1-6 that we used to analyse the sources – in what areas do they agree/disagree?

10. Was the Boer War a turning point?
Now join up with the other pair who were looking at your historians – have you come to similar conclusions? Discuss any disagreements and be ready to feedback your findings to the rest of the group. Prepare a PPT so I can print handouts for the rest of the class
Aldred vs McDonough
Aldred vs Kennedy
McDonough vs Kennedy

11. Autumn 1 tracker essay
Use all 3 authors and your own knowledge (where possible). How far did the Boer War weaken Britain’s imperial position? words, /24, due 09/10
Introduction – set up the debate
Debate 3 of the 5 factors (so 3 paragraphs and within each factor put forward a balanced argument for and against)
Conclusion – judge how far it weakened their position (your conclusion must be consistent with what you’ve written throughout the essay)

12. Source questions 24 marker – MUST HAVES
Balance. Range of Interpretations
(Own knowledge – integrated with…)
Intelligent use of ALL the sources – integrate and compare them – don’t just analyse one source at a time
Judgement – conclusion

13. E.G. popular support…
One effect of the Boer War was to shake popular support for the empire. Aldred calls 1902 “the high watermark of anti-imperialism”, though this does suggest that support rose again later. McDonough puts the point even more strongly stating that “imperialism became synonymous with ‘methods of barbarism.’”