New
New
Year 9

The Great Exhibition and the British Empire

I can explain what the Great Exhibition is able to tell us about British attitudes towards empire.

New
New
Year 9

The Great Exhibition and the British Empire

I can explain what the Great Exhibition is able to tell us about British attitudes towards empire.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The use of gunboat diplomacy in the Don Pacifico Affair increased the British conviction in empire.
  2. The Great Exhibition was opened in 1851 to showcase the best of British design and manufacture.
  3. The Great Exhibition showcased goods from Britain's colonies and the wider world.
  4. The Great Exhibition aimed to demonstrate the importance of the Empire to British supremacy.

Common misconception

The Great Exhibition was located in the Crystal Palace.

The Great Exhibition, which became known as the Crystal Palace, was located in Hyde Park.

Keywords

  • Empire - an empire is a group of countries or provinces ruled from the centre by another person or group of people

  • Gunboat diplomacy - gunboat diplomacy is foreign policy that is supported by the threat of military force

  • Supremacy - supremacy is the state or condition of being superior

  • Exhibition - an exhibition is a public display of works of art or items of interest

In the second learning cycle, you can help convey the size of the Crystal Palace by highlighting that at 563 metres long, it was over five times as long as the the recommended length of a football pitch, which is 105 metres.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
__________ is when a country extends its control and power over other countries, often by taking over their land and making them part of its empire.
Correct answer: Imperialism
Abolition
Annexation
Rebellion
Q2.
In which of the following countries was the Morant Bay rebellion?
Correct answer: Jamaica
China
India
Ghana
Q3.
Which theory of Charles Darwin was used to justify imperialism?
civilising mission
Correct answer: Social Darwinism
nationalism
jingoism
Q4.
What was the year of The Indian Rebellion?
Correct answer: 1857
1865
1760
Q5.
Match the following words with their definitions.
Correct Answer:nationalism,Supporting the interest of one's own nation

Supporting the interest of one's own nation

Correct Answer:civilising mission,believing that colonising other nations will lead of their advancement

believing that colonising other nations will lead of their advancement

Correct Answer:natural selection,The process in which living organisms adapt to their environments

The process in which living organisms adapt to their environments

Q6.
A group of countries or provinces ruled from the centre by another person or group of people is known as an...
Correct Answer: empire

6 Questions

Q1.
diplomacy is the name given to the foreign policy that is supported by the threat of military force.
Correct Answer: Gunboat
Q2.
In which country was David Pacifico's house sacked and looted?
Gibraltar
Correct answer: Greece
Britain
Portugal
Q3.
This keyword is the state or condition of being superior
Correct Answer: Supremacy
Q4.
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
Correct answer: The Great Exhibition was located in Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was 563 metres long
The Koh-i-Noor diamond was exhibited at the Great Exhibition
A folding piano was exhibited at the Great Exhibition
Q5.
Approximately how many people visited the Great Exhibition?
Correct answer: 6 million
18 million
48 million
Q6.
Which one of the following were not exhibits at the Great Exhibition?
a taxidermy elephant
a printing press
Correct answer: public flushing toilets
dental appliances

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