Understanding the Napoleonic era through political cartoons
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how historians analyse political cartoons from the Napoleonic era to understand differences in contemporary public opinion.
Key learning points
- Contemporary cartoons give us insight into contemporary responses to the Napoleonic period.
- Historians look at the provenance of a source to determine the purpose of its creation.
- Historians also look at the provenance of a source to determine its reliability.
- Historians can discern nuance in contemporary opinion on the Napoleonic era by studying contemporary political cartoons.
Keywords
Contemporary - a contemporary source is one created at the time of the events it depicts or is commenting on
Provenance - provenance is a term used to describe a source's background; its nature, origin and purpose
Reliable - reliable is another word for trustworthy and accurate
Satire - when something serious is made fun of in order to make a point it is known as satire
Common misconception
All French cartoons are complimentary of Napoleon and all British cartoons are critical of Napoleon.
Many French cartoons were critical of Napoleon and many British cartoons were critical of the British government's response to his actions.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to move from a basic understanding that the likelihood is that French cartoons always praise Napoleon to a more advanced understanding that contemporary French public opinion was more nuanced than this, especially during Napoleon's later career.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What did Napoleon impose on Europe after the Battle of Trafalgar in order to try and stop countries trading with Britain?
Q2.Which keyword means being sent away from your home country as punishment?
Q3.Roughly how many soldiers did Napoleon lead into Russia?
Q4.Match the places listed below with the descriptions of their geographical locations.
a country in western Europe between Spain and Prussia
an island nation across the English Channel from France
a town in Belgium
an island in the South Atlantic Ocean
an island off the coast of Italy
on the coast of Spain
Q5.Complete the sentence: France and Spain were beaten by the British navy at the Battle of in 1805.
Q6.Put these events into chronological order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which keyword is used to refer to when something serious is made fun of in order to make a point?
Q2.Which of the following help historians to determine the diversity of public opinion during the Napoleonic era?
Q3.Match the type of political cartoon to its likely message.
Likely to be critical of Napoleon's actions
Likely to be complimentary about Napoleon
Q4.Which words are associated with the word 'reliable' when thinking about historical sources?
Q5.Which keyword describes a source's background; its nature, origin and purpose?
Q6.Put the events into chronological order.
To help you plan your 8 history lesson on: Understanding the Napoleonic era through political cartoons, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 history lesson on: Understanding the Napoleonic era through political cartoons, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
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