Country Houses and the British Empire: How Imperialism Transformed Britain’s Colonial Countryside
Explore the fascinating histories of Britain’s colonial houses and their links to the British Empire.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone interested in British history, especially the sociocultural reach and influence of the British empire. Heritage professionals, writers, and teachers will find it especially engaging.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to…
Identify objects with complex connections to colonialism, and how these can be connected to different aspects of the British Empire.
Summarise Britain’s involvement in transatlantic slavery and the legacies that can be found in historic houses.
Reflect on how enslaved labour was used to produce goods for a European market, in particular the colonial significance of sugar, mahogany and cotton.
Describe the East India Company, the British Raj and British power and influence in India.
Explore archival evidence of African and Indian people on country estates between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, and how these figures are often depicted negatively in archival sources.
Demonstrate how contemporary art can be a way of restoring dignity to those who never got to record and convey their own experiences.
