Lesson video

Hello and welcome to KS3 History with Ms.Dawson.

Today, we're going to be looking at our third lesson in a four lesson enquiry asking, did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely? If you've already done lessons one and two, then well done, you're in the correct place.

If you haven't, you need to go and do those ones first.

Today, we're going to be looking at a case study of a country called Egypt.

What I'm going to do now, I'm going to get my head out of the way of the screen so you can copy down today's title.

Put your video on pause in order to do this.

Once you're ready, resume the video and we'll get started.

Off we go.

For today's lesson, all you're going to need is a piece of paper and a pen.

You will also need somewhere nice and calm and quiet in order to work without distractions.

If you're already with all of these things, well done.

If you're not, put your video on pause, get yourself ready and resume it when you're good to get started.

Let's start by taking a look at this really interesting political cartoon, which describes some events that we're going to look at today.

Political cartoons can often be quite tricky to work out, but what you need to do, is you need to zoom in on different clues that could be symbols that could help you unpick the events.

We're going to learn about the events depicted here in this lesson.

And we're going to use the cartoon to answer a question later on in the lesson.

So you can put it on pause for a moment and look for some clues, then resume it once you're ready to get a bit more guidance from me so we can work out what we're looking at.

So in this cartoon, there are probably three clues that I would have honed in on in order to try and unpick what I can see.

The first of which is that there is a bulldog here.

The bulldog looks quite aggressive.

Now, often animals in cartoons, political cartoons, can be used to represent people or countries.

So when you had first of all, I just want you to think about what country could be represented by use of a bulldog.

Well done if you then looked at the fact that the bulldog is guarding something in its bowl.

Now we know from our own knowledge of the way that dogs behave, that often they can be aggressive or territorial over food that's in their bowls.

So in this instance, we could gather that this bulldog is being aggressive or trying to protect something.

It's not literally going to be food.

You can look closely and see that the bowl is labelled 'cartoon' and that the bone in the middle of the bowl is labelled 'Fashoda'.

I would be really surprised if you knew straight away what those were.

So don't panic about that at all.

I'll give you a clue.

They're places in Africa.

And then the last bit that we could use, this may have been the first thing that drew your attention, is the text.

The text helps us work out what's going on.

So in this text it says, "no fight." And the French poodle is saying, "well, if I can't have the bone, "I'll be satisfied if you'll give me one of these scraps." So we've had a bit of a giveaway here.

That there's two countries competing over some land that one of them's defending.

And we know that one of the countries is France because it says it's a French poodle.

So the French poodle has apparently backed down from the aggression of this other country.

Have we worked out what the other country is yet? It's supposed to be Britain.

Well done if you worked out that a bulldog tends to be associated with Britain.

So today is a story of how Britain and France almost went to war over a territory called Fashoda, but they didn't in the end.

And we're going to return to this at the end of the lesson.

A reminder of where we are in our enquiry.

We are on our third lesson of four.

We've looked at reasons why European powers wanted an empire, we've looked at the causes, events and consequences of the Berlin conference and that results in Scramble for Africa.

And today we are going to look at how Britain and France attempted to share power or compete for power in Egypt.

And then it results an issue in a place called Fashoda.

And don't worry if you don't know where that is, because I'll explain it to you.

In the next lesson, we're going to look at how European powers came to blows over a country called Morocco.

A reminder of our kind scale.

We are looking or interested specifically in this period called the Scramble for Africa.

So 1876 to 1914 roughly covers the period when these seven European nations fought for dominance and influence in the continent of Africa.

The end of the enquiry, 1914, is when the first world war breaks out.

And our question is all about how responsible, if at all, these previous tensions in Africa are for the European war that happened in 1914.

So today's lesson is about Egypt.

Now in 1880, Egypt did not look the same as how it does today.

And it's important for us to note that.

If you can see it on this map, it's quite a big territory.

It's a very large territory, which was located in the Northeast of Africa.

It was led by a salesman Isma'il Pasha, and Pasha also claimed to rule the Sudan.

So in modern day, Africa, Egypt and Sudan are two completely separate countries.

And we can see in this picture that the territory of Egypt is quite a lot bigger because Pasha, the leader of Egypt, claimed to also be in control of Sudan.

That wasn't completely accepted by the Sudanese, but it's important for us to know that he claimed that as his territory.

Just in case you weren't sure, I've circled that land that is Egypt in 1880.

So we've got an idea of where we're talking about now.

So now we know where Egypt is, we need to know why the French were interested in it.

So one of the reasons that the French were interested in Land in Egypt is because they already occupied a country called Algeria.

If you remember in lesson one, I told you that before 1870, there was only 10% of land in Africa that was already colonised by Europeans.

And Algeria was one of those places.

The French had started conquering it in 1830.

So they'd had influenced there for a while.

And what they were hoping was that from Algeria, they could spread that influence Eastwards, which would mean that they'd have opportunities to trade in ports on the other coast of Africa, in order to make more profits.

Here's Algeria, and this is the direction they were hoping to spread their influence, which would have taken them right through Egypt.

So that's why it was important to the French.

This image shows us one of the reasons why the French was so interested in spreading their influence eastwards and gaining some influence in Egypt.

This picture shows a territory known as the Suez Canal.

And I'm going to explain what that is in just a moment.

The Suez Canal was a joint project between the French and the Egyptians.

And the idea behind this canal was that it would mean that you could travel between the Mediterranean sea, which is at the top of where that square is, and the Red sea.

It was begun being made in 1859.

So it was not a naturally occurring canal.

That was a manmade constructed canal.

And it was opened in 1869 under French control.

So the French and the Egyptians discussed the idea of building this canal between the Mediterranean and the Red sea.

And the reason for that is because if you look at how big Africa is, in order to make any trade on the other side of it, going all the way around it would be a huge endeavour.

Whereas this canal could cut through Egyptian territory, saving huge amounts of time in boat journeys, which would mean that more trade could be made and more profit could be made.

Initially, the British were very critical of this project.

They criticised the French for teaming up with the Egyptians to do it.

They criticised the idea of the project existing at all.

It's important that we note that.

However, Britain did not stay completely critical of the project for long.

They in fact, changed their minds about it quite quickly.

Why do we think that might be? The reason is partially because of India.

India was one of Britain's most valuable colonies and the Suez Canal provided an easy trade route for British ships to go via Egyptian territory to reach India.

As I previously said, Africa was very, very big.

So for ships to have to go all the way around it, versus being able to cut through this canal, is a huge difference in the amount of time it takes to sails that, and that would mean huge profits to be made.

So in 1875, Britain bought shares of the canal.

This is after having criticised the projects the whole way and suggesting that the French should not be getting involved, should not be building it, and that they didn't approve of it at all.

They changed their mind.

And in 1875, they bought huge amounts of it.

So, whereas in 1869, it had been opened under French control, in 1875 now, the British owned part of it.

So now the British and the French had to work together in order to run it.

This caused tension with France as this altered the balance of power and the dynamics that the French had initially hoped for when they had suggested to the Egyptians that they build and control this canal.

Just to make it really clear, circled here is Britain.

Here is India.

So we try and visualise how long that journey may have taken, going all the way around Africa.

And then we see this new route being opened up here.

Suddenly, it begins to make sense why the British changed their mind about this being a project that they were interested in.

So now we've had a little bit of introduction.

I want us to quickly check how much we have learned so far by doing a quick true or false quiz.

So there are five statements in front of you and they're not all correct.

I would like you to pause the video and to take a moment to work out which ones are true, and which ones are false.

You can do this either by just writing true or false, or if you would like to challenge yourself and make sure your notes are quite comprehensive, What you can do is write out the correct statements, give them tick, and then the statements that are incorrect, you can write out correctly.

After you've done that, resume the video and we'll go over the answers together.

Off you go.

Welcome back, well done.

Let's take a look.

Very well done if you said that statement A was incorrect.

Britain had not owned Algeria since 1830.

We will clarify what the correct answer is in a moment.

B, well done if you answered true to this one.

The Suez canal was a joint project between France and Egypt.

C, well done if you said this was false.

Britain was not immediately interested in joining the project.

We will clarify in a moment.

D, well done, the Suez canal did provide Britain with faster routes to get to India.

Give yourself a tick if you've got that correct.

And E, the Suez canal was not opened under joint British and French control.

So tick the ones you got right and let's have a look at why A, C, and E were not quite right.

Let's clarify what the correct answers are.

The England had not owned Algeria since 1830.

France had begun conquering Algeria in 1830.

So if you want to, you can pause the video and write down the correct answer.

Well done if you've already done that.

Secondly, England were not immediately interested in joining the project.

That's not true.

They were initially critical, but they changed their minds once they realised how valuable it was.

The Suez Canal was not opened under joint British and French control.

It was opened under French control, but Britain and France later assumed joint control.

Very well done if you got these correct.

What I'm going to do now is to just quickly walk you through the story of the issues that Britain and France had over Egypt, so that you've got a chronology of the order in which things happened.

And then I'll set you off on your task.

So just a reminder, this whole time period of 1876 to 1914 is what we call the Scramble for Africa.

So in 1869, the Suez Canal is opened under the French.

A reminder that France and Egypt together had set out to build this canal in order to improve trade.

And Britain hadn't liked the idea.

In 1875, the British changed their mind, decided they wanted to get involved, and they bought shares in the Suez Canal.

So Britain was now part owner of this canal.

In 1882, Britain took control of Egypt.

So this is a big change if we think about the fact that in 1869, Egypt had been working with the French.

By 1882, Britain are in control of Egypt.

Between 1884 and 1885 is when the Berlin conference in the treaty of Berlin happened.

So this is when the European powers wrote an agreed on their rules for colonising Africa.

In 1898, there was an incident known as the Fashoda crisis.

This is an incident where Britain and France almost went to war over their competing ambitions in this region.

In 1899, Britain and France made an agreement to recognise each other's colonies.

So it's important for us to note they could have gone to war, they didn't.

They made an agreement instead.

In 1904, Britain and France actually became allies after having nearly gone to war six years earlier.

So big change in their relationship.

And then in 1914, the first world war broke out and Britain and France were on the same side.

So that's our big story and we're going to zoom in and look at it all in a bit more detail now.

Now that we've had our overview, it's time for you to complete your comprehension questions.

I'll read them to you, and then I will set you off on the worksheet.

Question one, where is Egypt located? Question two, what did the French discuss with the Egyptian leader? Question three, how did Britain's view on this project change over time? Question four.

What happened in 1882? Question five.

How did Britain and France's relationship change after 1882? Question six.

Why did Britain and France nearly go to war? Question seven.

What did Britain and France do in 1904 and why? Challenge question.

Describe how the relationship between Britain and France changed over time.

And there are some sentence starters you can use in order to help you answer this challenge question.

Remember, try and use full sentences and use historical detail to back up your answers.

The answers to the question are all going to be contained within the worksheets.

So read it carefully before getting started.

Okay.

You're ready to get started now.

So pause the video and answer the comprehension questions in as much detail as you can.

When you're happy, resume the video and we'll look at some answers.

Off you go, good luck.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you did.

Question one.

Where is Egypt located? The acceptable answer is North East Africa.

A good answer, which uses full sentences is, Egypt is located in the North East of Africa.

Well done.

Big tick if you got that right.

If you didn't, pause the video and correct it.

Let's move on.

Question number two.

What did the French discuss with the Egyptian leader? The acceptable answer is, building a trade route through Egypt.

A good answer in full sentences is, the French discussed building a trade route through Egypt with the Egyptian leader, Isma'il Pasha.

The Suez Canal was completed in 1869.

Well done if you used specific historical details to support your answer.

Give yourself a tick if you did that.

Question number three.

How did Britain's view on this project change over time? The acceptable answer is, at first, they opposed it, then they supported it.

A good answer that makes use of full sentences is, initially, the British were critical of the building of the Suez Canal and they opposed French involvement in the project.

They became interested in it after they realised that they would benefit from a quicker trading route to India, and they bought shares in the canal in 1875.

Really well done if you used fully developed sentences to answer this question.

Remember our answers could look different, but yours could still be correct.

So give yourself a tick if you wrote anything that suggests that the British changed their mind into supporting the project.

If you didn't get this answer correct, please feel free to pause the video and add some details to yours.

Question number four, what happened in 1882? The acceptable answer is, the British took control of Egypt.

A good answer with more developed detail is, the Egyptian leader was having financial difficulties.

So Britain and France had assumed joint financial control of Egypt.

This had not solved the problem and they were riots and revolts in Egypt and the Sudan, so the leader asked the British for help.

As a result of this, in 1882, the British took control of Egypt.

This is a good answer because as well as telling us what happens, it makes an effort to explain why it happened.

So really well done if you did that.

Give yourself a big tick.

Question number five.

How did Britain and France has relationship change after 1882? The acceptable answer is, it caused tension.

So after Britain took control of Egypt, it caused tension.

A better answer with more developed detail is, as Britain and France had been controlling Egypt together, when Britain assumed control of Egypt in 1882, it caused tension with France.

This tension was to last for many years.

Very well done if you used full sentences and developed the detail.

Feel free if you didn't get the answer right to pause the video and add more detail.

Question number six.

Why did Britain and France nearly go to war? The acceptable answer is, both of them wanted control of land in the Sudan.

A good answer with more developed detail is, the French wanted to expand their empire from West to East, and the British wanted to expand theirs from North to South.

This meant that their paths crossed in Fashoda in Sudan in 1898, which they both tried to claim for themselves.

They both prepared for war before eventually reaching a compromise.

Really well done if you used specific details, such as the name of the place that they were disputing, Fashoda, and the year, 1898.

If you need to pause the video to add some details, go ahead.

If you're happy, give yourself a tick and get ready to move on.

Question number seven, what did Britain and France do in 1904 and why? The acceptable answer is, they formed an Alliance to protect them against Germany.

A good answer is, in 1904, Britain and France formed an Alliance called the Entente Cordiale.

It was a series of agreements which improved the relationship between their countries.

It was partially to avoid war between the two of them, but it was also to counter the threats of Germany.

Good job if you developed your detail here.

If you've got the answer right, please give yourself a big tick.

If you need to add detail, pop it on pause and go ahead.

Our challenge question.

Describe how the relationship between Britain and France changed over time.

The acceptable answer is, it was tense, but it improved.

A better answer with more detail is as follows; At first, Britain and France's relationship was tense because they were competing for influence in Egypt.

For example, the French weren't happy when the British assumed control in 1882.

They also almost went to war over land in the Sudan in 1898.

This changed because they realised that neither of them wanted to go to war and they reached a compromise in 1899.

This meant that they both recognised each other's claims. It also helped them to form a closer Alliance later in 1904 to counter the threats from Germany.

This is a good answer because it makes reference to several different points in their relationship.

in order to explain the change over time.

It also makes use of historical evidence in terms of giving you different things that happened in different years.

Great job if your answer looks anything like that because this was quite hard.

If you would like to add some details to your answer, go ahead, pause the video and do so.

If you're happy, give it a tick and we'll move on.

Well done.

So, we've done a great job today.

We looked at some really difficult stuff.

Now our extension activity today is going to be based on the cartoon that we looked at the beginning.

So what I want you to do is to use your knowledge from today's lesson to go back to this cartoon and to explain the message.

So you're going to need to write a developed paragraph to explain what the cartoon is showing you.

I just like to remind you of the key details that I picked out at the beginning.

So we've got this French poodle, which is not fighting, but settling for scraps.

We've got this British bulldog, which is growling at the French poodle.

And we've got this bowl, which the French poodle is not getting and the British bulldog is protecting with the word Fashoda in the middle.

So think about what that's supposed to signify.

And here I've got sentence starters that you can use to help you explain that message.

So on the left, sentence starters that you should follow in order to answer this question really successfully, and on the right, keywords that you can use in order to answer it like a real historian.

I would also use the worksheet to help you fill in those details.

So you can go back, reread the bit that describes the Fashoda crisis and use it to help inform your answer.

Okay.

Now you've had some help from me.

You're ready to pause the video and complete the extension question.

Remember to use full sentences, details from the source, and your own knowledge.

Off you go.

Resume when you're happy with your answer to check it against mine.

Welcome back.

Well done.

Remember your answer and my answer might look quite different.

And this is quite a challenging question.

So make sure that you are positive with yourself when you're ticking to see how you did.

I'll read through my answer.

The cartoon represents Britain and France competing over land in the Sudan.

It suggests that the British were the winners and forced the French to back down.

Details in the cartoon which tell me this are that the French poodle looks scared and it says it's happy to have some of the scraps while the British bulldog looks aggressive and is standing over the bowl, protecting Fashoda.

This might mean that the British successfully beat the French.

I know that in 1899, the British and French reached a compromise which partially supports what it shows in the cartoon because the British did keep land in the Sudan, but they also agreed to the French having influence in Morocco.

So this means it wasn't a total defeat.

That's a model paragraph following the structure.

Your answer could look very different because you could have picked out different details, you could have used different knowledge to support the cartoon.

So don't panic if what you've written is different because it may well still be correct.

So double check your details, see if they match up with what it says in the worksheet and give yourself a tick if you've managed to do anything that describes what it shows in the cartoon.

Really well done cause that was tough.

That takes us to the end of today's lesson about Egypt and how Egypt contributed to disputes between the European powers over Africa.

Hopefully, you're starting to see now how there's a bit of a debate about whether or not tensions over Africa caused war or prevented it because there were arguments on both sides.

We've only got one lesson to go.

Next lesson we're going to be talking about Morocco.

Really well done for today and I will see you next time.

Bye.

Don't forget to complete the exit quiz after you've closed this PowerPoint so that you can test how much you managed to learn today.

And if you would like to, please feel free to ask your parent or carer to share your work with Oak on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

We'd love to see what you've been up to.

Thanks very much for today and take care.