What can little-known stories tell us about British India? L/O – To examine and illustrate in a graph how the British relationship with India changed between 1800-1897 Starter – Do you think that Indians enjoyed being ruled by British people?
Feb 24, 2016
What can little-known stories tell us about British India?
L/O – To examine and illustrate in a graph how the British relationship with India changed between 1800-1897
Starter – Do you think that Indians enjoyed being ruled by British people?
The Story of Thomas Coryate• This is Thomas Coryate. You
have probably never heard of him. He is not very famous and he did little to change history (except that he was the man who introduced the fork to Britain’s dining tables!)
• He is typical of many people or events from the past whose little-known stories often remain hidden from history books.
The Story of Thomas Coryate• But Coryate did live a
fascinating life. He was the son of a Somerset vicar and served for a while as a jester at the court of King James I.
• He then surprised everyone by setting off on long walking tours of Europe and beyond. In 1612 he set off on his final and longest journey – to India.
The Story of Thomas Coryate
• When Coryate reached India in 1615, he visited the court of the mighty Mughal emperor, Jahangir.
• The emperor had recently allowed Englishmen to trade in his lands and so Coryate’s arrival was not entirely surprising.
The Story of Thomas Coryate• The emperor was rather
puzzled by his strange visitor but gave him a few minutes of his time, lent him some money and then ignored him.
• Even when Coryate preached Christianity from the MINARET of a mosque, the emperor did nothing! He – and many others – thought Coryate was slightly mad but harmless.
The Story of Thomas Coryate• No one could pretend that Thomas
Coryate was of great importance in history, but historians still love to find out about people like him.
• His story is fascinating in itself but it can also be used to sum up just how insignificant and harmless the British were to life in India at the start of the 17th century.
• As time went by, the Indians discovered that the British were to be anything but insignificant in the history of their country!
Your EnquiryIn the next two lessons you will use little-known stories to
sum up changes in the relationship between the British and the Indians between 1800 and 1897.
In each case you will need to make a ‘summary sheet’ which tells the main points of the story very simply and
makes clear what is shows about the bigger picture:
At the end of the enquiry you will take all your summaries and use them to make a display that tells the bigger story
of a century of change.
The Story of the Prime Minister’s Granny
Lord Liverpool
The Story of the Prime Minister’s Granny
The story of… What the story tells usSum up the main facts about Lord
Liverpool – who he was, what his link was to India, etc.
Explain what this piece of hidden history tells us about
relationships between British people and Indians in the late
18th century.
The Statue’s StoryRammohan Roy
The Statue’s Story
The story of… What the story tells usSum up the main
facts about Rammohan Roy – who he was, what
his link was to India, etc.
Explain what this piece of hidden history tells us about
relationships between British people and Indians in the late
18th century.
The Great Hedge of India Story
The Great Hedge
The Great Hedge of India Story
The story of… What the story tells usSum up the main facts about the
Great Hedge– what it was, who planted it, its purpose, etc.
Explain what this piece of hidden history tells us about
relationships between British people and Indians in the late
18th century.
The Memsahib’s Story
Miss Williams
The Memsahib’s Story
The story of… What the story tells usSum up the main facts about Miss
Williams– who she was, what her link was to India, etc.
Explain what this piece of hidden history tells us about
relationships between British people and Indians in the late
18th century.
The MP’s StoryDadabhai Naoroji
The MP’s Story
The story of… What the story tells usSum up the main
facts about Dadabhai Naoroji – who he was, what
his link was to India, etc.
Explain what this piece of hidden history tells us about
relationships between British people and Indians in the late
18th century.
Analysing the Changing Relationship1. Create a large graph
based on the one shown here. Place each summary sheet where you think it belongs on the graph. You will need to find the right date and then decide how good or bad the relationship between the British and the Indians was at that time.
2. Write an extended paragraph explaining how the relationship between the Indians and the British changed during this period.
Plenary1. In which story was the relationship the best
between Indians and the British? Why?2. In which story was the relationship the worst
between Indians and the British? Why?3. What happened to the relationship over time?4. Overall, did the Indians like being ruled by the
British?
Did we meet our learning objective?
L/O – To examine and illustrate in a graph how the British relationship with India changed between 1800-1897