British empire

• British Empire


  Other countries and territories around the world were ruled by or under the influence of Britain, the 'mother country'
• Colony


  A country within the empire, ruled or influenced by the mother country
• Emigrants/colonists


  People who moved from Britain to the colonies
• Indigenous peoples


  Original inhabitants of the colonies
• West Africa before the European slave trade


  • Akan kingdoms
  • Songhai
  • Benin
• Akan kingdoms, Songhai, Benin


  • Rich and powerful kingdoms
• Culture in West Africa before the European slave trade


  • Gold
  • Pepper
  • Education
  • Skilled craftsmen
  • Beautiful art
  • Drums used for communication
  • Stools were a symbol of power
• Slavery in West Africa before the European slave trade


  Captured in war between tribes and kingdoms, in the Akan kingdoms, slaves had a right to be treated well, could earn freedom, and their children were free
• Transatlantic slave trade


  African war lords and slave traders captured and sold slaves to Europeans and others in return for manufactured goods such as guns, metalwork, alcohol; European demand fuelled wars leading to the capture of more slaves
• British slave traders


  Bought slaves from African traders; shipped them across the Atlantic; sold to plantation owners
• Middle Passage


  The journey across the Atlantic, when slaves were transported in crowded, unhygienic conditions in the holds of slave ships; took 6-12 weeks
• The British took control of Barbados in the Caribbean, farming its plantations with slave labour


  1625
• Royal Africa Company founded to organise the slave trade


  1672
• Tacky's rebellion in Jamaica

  1760
• Slave rebellion in St Domingue, a French colony

  1791
• Slave revolts on Grenada and St Lucia


  1795-7
• Plantation owners (plantocracy)


  Owned large farms growing crops such as sugar and tobacco for export to Europe; bought slaves to grow the crops; many plantation owners or their families lived in England
• Chattel slavery


  Enslaved people treated as commodities/property, enslaved for life, children born enslaved, no rights, de-humanising
• Maroons


  Escaped formerly enslaved people, who formed independent communities e.g. in the mountains of Jamaica
• Nanny the Maroon


  A successful female leader of the Maroons
• Other rebel leaders


  • Tacky
  • Nanny
  • Grig
  • Samuel Sharpe
  • Toussaint L'Ouverture
• Guerrilla warfare


  Successful strategy used by Maroons and slave rebellions, making raids on plantations and their owners, or ambushing military forces, before disappearing into forest and mountains
• Emancipation


  Setting enslaved people free
• Mughal Empire


  Empire in India ruled by Muslim emperors, controlled most of India by 18th century; known for beautiful art, architecture and craftsmanship; very wealthy; highly skilled warriors
• Mysore


  A kingdom in southern India; its rulers sought to increase their power and independence from the Mughal Emperor
• Tipu Sultan


  Ruler of Mysore in the late 18th century
• Nawab


  A local Indian ruler
• East India Company formed

  1600
• East India company trading bases at Surat, Madras, Bombay, Calcutta

  1608-91
• East India Company victories against Mughal armies; extension of EIC control over Bengal and other regions of India


  1757-63
• Anglo-Mysore Wars – EIC fought for control of Mysore


  1760s-90s
• Defeat of Tipu Sultan; silver casket looted by EIC employees

  1799
• Silver casket donated by Fraser family to the British Museum

  1904
• Nabob


  Insulting term for an Englishman returning from India with extensive wealth gained by corrupt or illegal methods
• Heirloom


  Precious item passed down through generations
• The slaves of St Domingue achieved independence, creating the republic of Haiti


  1804
• An Act of Parliament banned the slave trade in the British Empire


  1807
• Rebellion in Jamaica led by Samuel Sharpe


  1831
• An Act of Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire; plantation owners compensated

  1833
• Apprenticeship period ended


  1838