Empire & Industry 1750 - 1850 | The National Archives

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Empire & Industry 1750 - 1850

The face of Britain is transformed by the industrial revolution but our documents show as many protests as patents.

As the British Empire expands so our records grow to cover the furthest corners of the globe.

Topics
- British Empire
  Rise and decline of the first global empire
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- Black Presence
  Asian and Black history in Britain from 1500 to 1850
- Power, Politics and Protest
  The growth of political rights in 19th century Britain
  
  Key stage 3 - 5
- - Human Rights
    800 years of the struggle for rights
  - Abolition of Slavery
    A guide to our resources on the transatlantic slave trade
  - Nelson
    The admiral, Trafalgar and those who served
  - Moving Here
    200 years of the history of migration to England
    
    Key stage 2 - 4
  - Secrets and Spies
    Hidden codes and double agents across three centuries
  - Citizenship
    A history of people, rights and power
  - Caribbean Histories Revealed
    Explore our collections on the history of the British Caribbean
  - Crime and Punishment
    From heretics and poachers to car crime and walkie-talkies
    
    Key stage 2 - 5
  - Treasures
    Highlights from the collections of The National Archives
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Lessons
- Captain Cook in Hawaii
  What happened on his final voyage?
  
  Key stage 3
- Slavery
  How did the Abolition Acts of 1807 and 1833 affect the slave trade?
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- 1834 Poor Law
  What did people think of the New Poor Law?
  
  Key stage 2 - 3
- - The French Revolution
    How did the British react to July 1789?
    
    Key stage 3
  - 1833 Factory Act
    Did it solve the problems of children in factories?
    
    Key stage 2 - 3
  - Rebecca Riots
    What happened during them?
    
    Key stage 3 - 5
  - Bussa's Rebellion
    How did the enslaved Africans of Barbados rebel in 1816?
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
  - Helyntion Beca (Welsh)
    Beth a ddigwyddodd yn ystod
    
    Key stage 3 - 5
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Workshops
- Chartism on Trial
  Home Office documents take us to the heart of the movement
  
  Key stage 5
- Famous People: Horatio Nelson
  Why do we remember Admiral Nelson?
  
  Key stage 1
- Poor Victorian Children
  What was life like for poor children in the 1840s?
  
  Key stage 2
- - Kill or Cure: Cholera 1831
    How did the government respond to the deadly infection?
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
  - This Evil Trade: Olaudah Equiano and Abolition
    Investigate the slave trade with an 18th century abolitionist
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
  - The British Empire
    Debate the rights and wrongs of the world's largest empire
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
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Videoconferences
- Chartism on Trial
  Home Office documents take us to the heart of the movement
  
  Key stage 5
- Children in the Mines
  Help the commissioner gather evidence on life underground
  
  Key stage 2
- Industrial Lives
  Wealth and health in the Victorian potteries
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- - Slavery, Resistance and Rebellion
    Uncover documents relating to a dark chaper of British history
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
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Virtual classroom
- Children in the Mines
  Help the commissioner gather evidence on life underground
  
  Key stage 2
- Slavery, Resistance and Rebellion
  Uncover documents relating to a dark chaper of British history
  
  Key stage 3 - 4

Podcasts
- Radicalism and unrest
  Discover how people tried - and sometimes succeeded - in changing their part of the world.
  
  Key stage 4 - 5
- Darwin's voyage
  HMS Beagle 1831-6
  
  Key stage 5
- How to win a duel
  A fight, possibly to the death, over a matter of honour.
  
  Key stage 5

Time periods

History by numbers

17

Luddites executed in York in January 1813
222

Number of crimes punishable by death in 1815
9

Hours a day children aged 9 to 13 are allowed to work under 1833 Factory Act
404%

Growth of population in Manchester (1801-51)
2441

Miles of railway in Britain by 1845

For teachers

For students