Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons, we'll be thinking about our big inquiry question.

Why did the British Empire grow in the 17th and 18th centuries? This is the question we'll use to investigate how a tiny archipelago of the west coast of Europe came to rule over the biggest empire the world has ever seen.

By 1688, England was still a lightweight in empire building.

For over a thousand years, England and indeed Europe had been relatively primitive when compared to developments that had emerged from the Ottoman and Chinese empires.

Even when the Europeans did show signs of building empires, it was not England, but Spain and Portugal who had extensive colonies in the Americas and beyond.

So all in all, there was not really any indication that England would be an empire of any size, especially when compared to the other imperial giants around the world.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe how Britain and its empire had changed by 1815.

Before you begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

In this lesson, private means controlled or paid for by a person or company and not by the government.

Consumer society is a society in which people can afford to buy non-essential goods.

Imports are goods brought in from another country, and exports are goods sold to another country.

Today's lesson splits up into three parts.

We'll first focus on Britain in relation to its empire in 1815 before focusing in on overseas trade, and finally looking at the point at which Britain became a global empire.

Right, let's start the lesson with Britain and its empire in 1815.

So in 1688, England was still a relative lightweight in empire building.

However, there were signs that Britain had established a foundation to grow from.

England had developed a vibrant economy, and many people have higher wages than usual, and this enabled people to buy non-essential items and other exotic goods.

This encouraged privateers and merchants and the like to expand links to other parts of the world because they knew there was a profit to be made with a prosperous market back home in England that wanted to buy their exotic goods.

Private plantations were set up in the Americas, which we can see from the pink bits on the map.

Many of these soon became established as colonies and were drawing a migrant population from Britain.

However, that was about it for England's empire.

The only other development was that the East India Company had become a trading partner with the Mughal Empire in India.

And England attempted to establish a mercantilist framework to protect overseas trade.

The laws required that goods imported to England or its colonies be transported in English ships to ensure the economic benefits of colonial trade flowed back to England.

However, by 1815, the tables are turned.

England had gone through radical transformations and now oversaw a vast global empire.

So the crucial question is, what had happened? So firstly, the Acts of Union 1707 and 1800 unified England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland into a single state called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

United Kingdom now contained a population of 12 million people who could contribute towards industry and empire.

For example, it is estimated that 75% of British settlers in the colonies after 1700 originated from Scotland or Ireland, and Scottish people made up half of the officials in the East India Company.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What impact did the Act of Union 1707 and 1800 have on Britain's empire? A, a bigger population could contribute more towards industry and empire.

B.

the Acts led to the independence of American colonies from Britain.

C, the Act resulted in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well if you knew the correct answer is A, a bigger population could contribute more towards industry and empire.

Okay, let's continue.

So Britain had also gone through dramatic transformations which resulted in political, economic, and technological innovations.

This was due to the industrial revolution which would spread from England across the world.

A succession of technological inventions transformed the productivity of Britain's workforce.

These radical transformations had a far-reaching impact resulting in Britain taking a global lead in manufacturing.

And the illustration on the left demonstrates the innovations being made by Britain during the Industrial Revolution.

However, it was much more than that.

English society, like much of Europe, had adopted many enlightenment ideas.

People were freer from religious and political constraints to conduct intellectual inquiries and scientific methods.

Britain's agricultural productivity continued to increase food production supporting further population growth.

Agricultural innovations freed up labour to work on industrial activities instead.

A middle class flourished with higher wages, which gave them vast purchasing power and increased the demand for manufactured goods.

Manufacturers profited which created incentives for technological progress.

In other words, people could work on further inventions because it was profitable, and they were now armed with the latest developments in scientific thinking.

Innovations like mechanised textile production and the steam engine transformed Britain's industry and economy.

Furthermore, private individuals played crucial roles in the Industrial Revolution in England acting as inventors, entrepreneurs, and investors.

A further radical transformation was that, by 1815, Britain had become the world's first mass consumer society.

What had happened was that goods from around the world were imported into Britain, such as tobacco from Virginia and sugar from the Caribbean.

Initially, these were luxuries only that aristocracy could afford.

However, developments in transportation and political negotiations over trade meant a much higher volume of imports, which led to falling prices, making these products affordable to the general public.

This created a mass market, and this mass market was matched by a mass demand as ordinary Brits dashed to spend their wages on luxuries such as sugar, tea, tobacco, and cotton.

Now, today, this is normal In the modern world.

Our world has been pretty much built around the consumer with shopping malls, advertisements, online shopping, takeaway foods, branding, fashion, beauty products, electronic gadgets, and appliances, et cetera.

You name it, you can buy it.

However, before the 18th century, this world did not exist.

This market did not exist.

These products did not exist.

One of the main reasons for this was because most people spent most of their time and money attempting to get their basic needs met, to put a roof over their head, to put food on the table, and they often did not have enough to even achieve those basics.

So when Britain's mass consumer society emerged, it was highly novel and unusual.

Sugar became a particular favourite of this new consumer society.

It became the single largest import.

Brits like to combine sugar with tea, creating a national drink that is still enjoyed to this day.

And we can see this in the image on the left, It's a painting of tea time in the 18th century.

So here we can imagine a middle class father, he's the man in red, has commissioned a painter to capture the wealth and luxury of his life.

This is the closest we can get to an 18th century selfie.

We all know those photos of people showing off on social media, photos of delicious food, extravagant holidays, their latest designer purchase.

They all want to be seen in the right places wearing the latest fashion and eating the finest food, and that is exactly what is happening in this painting.

We can see this family sitting around their tea table, drinking this new exotic drink from China, tea.

We can also imagine they have a dish of sugar on the table there, and it's all served in the finest silver and porcelain crockery.

This family is showing they can afford the latest exotic goods shipped in from the Americas and the Far East, wearing the finest textiles from India, surrounded by valuable possessions, showing off their wealth and social status.

This is what the consumer society was about, and people began to work harder and longer just so they could keep up with all their friends and family who always seem to have more luxuries than they could ever afford to consume themselves.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was significant about Britain's consumer revolution? Select three correct answers.

A, it's marked Britain as the world's first mass consumer society.

B, it led to the unification of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

C, it created a demand for overseas imports from Britain's middle class.

D, the demand for manufactured goods fueled the industrial revolution.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were, A, it's marked Britain as the world's first mass consumer society, C, it created a demand for overseas imports from Britain's middle class, and D, the demand for manufactured goods fueled the industrial revolution.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do here is pick at least three words from the grid below and use them to write a short description of Britain by 1815.

I want you to aim to write between two and three sentences and use specific examples from your learning so far.

So write two or three sentences describing Britain by 1815, and use at least three of the words from the grid.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

So there's many ways that you could have written your answer.

Compare your answer with what I have here.

So your description might have looked something like this.

By 1815, Britain became the first mass consumer society.

You can see I've highlighted that in purple because that's one of the words from the grid.

Imports of goods like sugar and tea became accessible to all, creating a mass market and high demand, further driving economic growth and industrialization.

However, you might have really pushed the boat out and got a richly detailed description using plenty of those words from the grid, and your answer might look like this.

By 1815, Britain had undergone radical changes, transforming it into an industrialised nation and a global empire.

Enlightenment ideas encourage scientific progress leading to technological innovations like the steam engine.

Agricultural productivity freed labour for industrial work, fostering a middle class with increased purchasing power.

This shift fueled demand for manufactured goods turning Britain into the first mass consumer society.

Imports of goods like sugar and tea became accessible to all, creating a mass market and high demand, further driving economic growth and industrialization.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson, the Americanization of Britain's overseas trade.

So by 1815, Britain had gained colonies in parts of Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the Caribbean.

And the map on the right shows how much change has happened since 1688.

After the collapse of the Mughal Empire, the East India company had taken control over large parts of India.

This expansion was driven by local Indian rulers in cooperation with opportunistic company officials, largely acting independently of the British government.

Britain had also gained more colonies in America, however, these were lost after the American colonists fought for independence from the British Empire.

Okay, true or false, the British governments had taken control over large parts of India by 1815.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that was false.

But why was that false? I want you to justify your answer and have a think about that.

Why could that be false? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was false because after the collapse of the Mughal Empire, the East India Company, not the government, had taken control over large parts of India.

And this was an expansion driven by local Indian rulers in cooperation with opportunistic East India company officials.

Okay, let's continue.

So for most of the long 18th century, the majority of Britain's foreign trade was conducted with Europe.

However, trade with the Americas did make significant increases until trade with the United States and the Caribbean made up over half of British exports, 32% of British imports coming from the Americas.

The use of enslaved labour in the southern states of the United States of America had created an economy based on the cultivation of cotton.

The main market for this cotton was Britain, especially the cotton mills of northern England, which were at the of Britain's Industrial Revolution.

Britain then sold the cotton cloth it manufactured to its domestic markets and around the world.

In the early 18th century, Britain had become the largest carrier of enslaved people in the Americas.

3 1/2 million African people were transported.

This was funded by private merchants, highlighting how private individuals continue to be important in the British Empire's expansion.

Many enslaved people were shipped to lucrative sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the cotton plantations in Southern America.

Despite the profitability of slavery, Britain abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1807, which was a result in part of campaigns by British middle class abolitionists whose objections to slavery were based in part on enlightenment ideas about liberty, freedom, and Christian teachings of the equality of all people before God.

Britain then spent resources enforcing abolition, sending the Royal Navy to intercept slave ships and free enslaved people.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade by the end of the long 18th century? Select two correct answers.

A Britain abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 due to pressures from abolitionists.

B, Britain had become the largest carrier of enslaved people in the Americas.

C, Slavery was mainly funded by the British government instead of private individuals.

Pause the video, select your two correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct two answers were A, Britain abolished transatlantic slave trade in 1807 due to pressure from abolitionists, and B, Britain had become the largest carrier of enslaved people to the Americas.

Okay, great, let's move on to task B.

What I want you to do here is, in the diagram below, link the different boxes and describe the connection between them.

Try to make as many connections as possible, and you can see I've started you off with an example already completed.

So we've got four boxes, enslaved labour, cotton, Industrial Revolution, and private investors.

And I've connected the enslaved labour box to the cotton box, and I've described that connection as enslaved labour was used for the cultivation of cotton.

So now it's over to you to complete the rest of the boxes with their connections.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Now, of course, there's many connections that you could've made and your completed diagram might look slightly different from mine, but you might have made the following connections.

So if we look at the cotton box on the right, we could have connected that to the industrial revolution box at the bottom by describing the fact that cotton imports to cotton mills were at the heart of Britain's industrial revolution.

We could have then connected the Industrial Revolution box to private investors by describing the fact that private investors funded the development of the steam engine, crucial to the industrial revolution.

And we could have finally linked the private investors back to enslaved labour by describing the fact that private merchants funded the slave trade.

Okay, great, so we've got a fuller understanding now of what the British Empire looks like in 1815 with all the developments that happened internally or domestically in Britain, but also the overseas trade that was being conducted with her colonies.

Now let's move on to the final part of the lesson, a global empire, and have a closer look at what many historians believe to be the point at which Britain truly becomes a dominant global power.

So by 1815, Britain had a global empire on a huge scale that was much stronger than those of its European rivals.

A significant reason for this was the Royal Navy and Britain's ability to fund it.

If we go back to the Glorious Revolution in 1688, a Dutch monarch was invited to take the English crown.

This resulted in England adopting the financial institutions of the Dutch Republic, and it was this that enabled the English and British government to cheaply borrow money to fund the military.

A third of Britain's military spending was financed through the government's ability to borrow money.

Moreover, 80% of tax revenue was spent on the military.

So it's this economic innovation which would prove incredibly important for British imperial expansion.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What innovative economic method did Britain use to fund its military? A, exporting exotic goods, B, government borrowing, C, private merchant investments.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay.

Welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was B, government borrowing.

In Britain's rise to heavyweight empire builder, it came into conflict with other European empires around the world, resulting in the Seven Years' War.

The Seven Years' War is considered to be the first ever global conflict.

Although there were other countries involved, the war centred around Britain and France, their colonies, and control of global trade.

Britain's strategy relied on the Royal Navy to protect trade routes, especially between Britain and its economies.

Britain's expertise in industry, science, and technology completely reformed the Royal Navy.

Firstly, Britain's industrial developments enabled efficient Royal Dockyards to build and repair an increasingly larger and more powerful fleet.

And we can see from the image on the left, it's a painting of a Royal Navy shipyard.

This shipyard and dock looks down the River Thames towards Woolwich.

And we can see a mast house in the foreground.

This house the crane for masting the ships.

They use the height of the building to hoist the mast onto a ship.

The rest of the building is where the mast sails and rigging were stored.

Shipyards like this churned out Royal Navy vessels at an unprecedented rates.

This can be seen in this graph showing European navies from 1775 to 1815.

It shows the total tonnage of vessels above 500 tonnes.

In the vertical axis, it shows the tonnes of displacement in the thousands, and this gives us the size of the European navies.

And at the bottom on the horizontal axis is the time in years.

And we can see from the bottom purple line, This shows the size of the Dutch Republic's navy.

And as you remember, in the 17th century, the Dutch Navy actually outnumbered and defeated the Royal Navy.

The orange line shows the size of the Spanish Navy.

The blue line shows the size of the French Navy, which was Britain's main rival in the Seven Years' War.

And finally, the red line shows the size of the Royal Navy.

Now what you may notice about the Royal Navy is not only is it larger than the other European navies, but the line trends upwards as the Royal Navy's rate of shipbuilding increased due to industrial developments in Britain.

However, there were also other developments too, such as the invention of the chronometer, which improved navigation.

And in the photo on the left, you can see a marine chronometer from 1865.

Some historians believe that without accuracy of marine chronometers, the Royal Navy and the British Empire might not have been so dominant.

This is because Portuguese, Dutch, and French imperial rivals did not have this technology.

So clearly this technology would've been vital in the Seven Years' War.

There were also medical discoveries.

the British discovery that citrus fruits prevented scurvy improved crew health and mortality rates.

Scurvy had often killed more seamen than combat.

By 1800, the Royal Navy had increased recruitments and introduced strict discipline, and this also helped Britain achieve naval superiority over France.

Britain secured multiple victories in the Seven Years' War and used its navy to cut communications between France and her colonies.

The victory in the Seven Years' War was a highly significant moment as it made Britain the dominant world power.

Britain's control of the seas also meant control of trading networks and access to vast wealth.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which war resulted in Britain first becoming a dominant world power? A, the American Revolutionary War.

B, the Napoleonic Wars.

C, the Seven Years' War.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was the Seven Years' War.

Okay, great, let's move on to the final task, task C.

What I want you to do here is describe how Britain and its empire had changed by 1815, and I want you to write one paragraph on either of the following, so you can choose between either Britain's trade developments or Britain's military developments.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, so there's many ways you could've answered this question, but compare your answer with what I have here.

So if you chose to write your paragraph on Britain's trade developments, your answer may include the following.

By 1815, Britain's trade had expanded dramatically as it had gained colonies in parts of Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the Caribbean, and the East India company had taken control over large parts of India.

Initially focused on Europe.

British trade shifted towards the Americas, with the United States of Caribbean accounting for over half of British exports.

The imports of goods like tobacco, sugar, and especially cotton from the Americas fueled Britain's industrial economy.

The use of enslaved labour in the southern states of America supported this trade, and continued to do so even though Britain's abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 meant Britain worked to stop more Africans being captured and sold in the Americas.

The cotton imported from the Americas fed the mills of Northern England, which then exported finished textiles worldwide.

Okay, and if you chose to write about Britain's military developments, your answer may include the following.

By 1815, Britain had developed a formidable military, particularly through its naval strength.

The financial innovations adopted from the Dutch in 1688 enabled the British government to fund an extensive military presence.

The Royal Navy benefited from industrial advancements such as efficient ship building, superior navigation techniques like the chronometer, and improvements like the use of citrus fruits to prevent scurvy.

The Navy's role in the Seven Years' War was pivotal.

This war marked a turning point with Britain emerging victorious over France and gaining control of key colonies and trade routes.

The Royal Navy established Britain as the dominant world power at the time.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, Britain's Empire at the end of the long 18th century.

The acts of union created the United Kingdom, which increased the industrial worker population.

Furthermore, enlightenment ideas, private investment, and technological innovations had turned Britain into the first industrialization and mass consumer society.

Britain established more colonies and expanded overseas trade.

Initially focused on Europe, British trade shifted towards the Americas.

Imports like cotton bolstered by slave labour helped to fuel Britain's industrial economy.

Britain abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 due to enlightenment ideals of liberty and Christian teachings.

Financial and industrial advancements reformed the Royal Navy, playing a key role in establishing Britain as their dominant world of power.

Well done on a brilliant lesson, and thank you for joining me as we try to understand some of the reasons that Britain has become such a dominant force by the end of the long 18th century.

I'll see you next time when we continue our inquiry.

See you in the next lesson.