ESW: British Empire

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Lesson: The British Empire

This is the first lesson of a series in which we are going to recap the most important information from the literature classes. This lesson consists of a short recap of some events, an instruction, and a few exercises and questions to test your knowledge. We also included some extra questions which require a deeper understanding of the British Empire. These are optional; they serve as a challenge for interested students. Good luck!

Shields with tribe colors

Primitive weapons, like axes and clubs made of wood, stones (sometimes steel) and wicker rope

Vikings

From Norway

410 - 1066

No helmets

Parts of the body are only covered with fabric, leaving them exposed and vulnerable

See video on slide 4

Shields made of high end materials

Thick, metal helmets

Chainmail armour to cover up exposed parts of the body

Advanced weaponry made of high end materials like steel

British

Soldiers 

Norman Britain

Reunited England

1066-1154

The Norman conquest of England (in Britain, often called the Norman Conquest or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French soldiers led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqueror.

What you see here is the depiction of the Norman Conquest on a cloth called the Bayeux Tapestry.

War of roses

1455 - 1485

Henry Tudor 

(Henry 7) 

& 

Elisabeth of York

Red rose of house Lancaster

White rose of house York

Catherine of Aragorn

Anne Boleyn

Jane Seymour

Anne of Cleves

Kathryn Howard

Katherine Parr

Henry 8

Henry 8

1509 - 1547

Henry VIII succeeded his father Henry VII, and was not only famous for his six wives. His most famous action was the break with the Catholic Curch and the coming into existence of the Anglican Church (English Church). He was also the man who introduced the renaissance to England.

BLOODY MARY

Roman Catholic

Elizabeth 1

Church of England

The virgin Queen

Mary I (1516 – 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was the queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death. She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, Henry VIII.  During her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned, which led to her nickname "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents.

Elizabeth I, bynames the Virgin Queen and Good Queen Bess, (born September 7, 1533, Greenwich, near London, England—died March 24, 1603, Richmond, Surrey), queen of England (1558–1603) during a period, often called the Elizabethan Age, when England asserted itself vigorously as a major European power in politics, commerce, and the arts.

Elizabethan  period

Shakespeare

Golden Age

Colonies

Historically, the Commonwealth was an evolutionary outgrowth of the British Empire. The traditional British policy of allowing considerable self-government in its colonies led to the existence by the 19th century of several dependent states that were populated to a significant degree by Europeans accustomed to forms of parliamentary rule and that possessed large measures of sovereignty. 

Instruction

You have now been taken on a quick tour of the history of the British Empire up to the Elizabethan era. Now, a series of questions follow that you need to answer in order to complete this lesson. You are expected to use whatever source (the booklet, the internet, this lesson) you have available to provide the answers. Good luck!

What was considered as literature in the Old English period?

1. Short Stories
2. Poems
3. Fairytales
4. Oral verse or prose

Name the two best known literary works from the Old English period

What is the 'Bayeux Tapestry' and what does it portray?

William the Conqueror came up with the Domesday Book, listing all the possessions of civilians. What function did the Domesday Book have?

1. Administrative reasons
2. Monitoring economic action
3. For trade purposes
4. To start tax-paying

What kind of literary work is Beowulf?

1. A religious story
2. An epic poem
3. One of the Canterbury Tales
4. A romance story

In 1537, Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, finally gave him the baby boy he had longed for. What was the baby called?

Which factor had the biggest contribution on the development of English as a language?

1. Wars
2. Trade
3. The Renaissance
4. Shakespeare

Which language was used to write the Canterbury Tales?

1. Old English
2. Modern English
3. French
4. Middle English

Extra Questions

At this point we've discussed and tested some basic knowledge about the British Empire. The following slides will include some more questions that are perhaps more challenging. See if you can come up with interesting answers! Again, use all the sources you have. 

What effect did the Roman Invasion (43 AD) have on British society?

What does it mean that a language gets poorer? And how do we see this applying to the English language?

What are the Canterbury Tales, and why are they significant to the Middle English period?

End of Class

Next lesson: the Renaissance