Britain and Empire: Origins and Growth c1500-1850

Alan Sennett

Part One of a three-part course looking at Britain and its empire 1500-2000.  This ten-week course traces the origins and development of Britain’s Empire through to the mid-nineteenth century.  We examine voyages of exploration, the development of colonies in America and slavery in the Caribbean.  We consider the emergence of a trading empire and the territorial expansion of the period after 1780, not least in India.  We also look at the shift from empire as a peripheral activity to its central role in the formation of a “British” identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  Along the way we look at historical debates such as “what drove and sustained imperialism: economics, politics or missionary zeal?”  How did Britain extend its empire at the expense of other powers? How should we view the relationship between industry and empire.  How should we assess Britain’s involvement with slavery?

Day: Tuesday                                         Time: 10am – 12 noon
10 weeks, 22 September to 1 December 2020
Half term break: 27 October

Online Learning Environment: Zoom

Price Concessions Minimum No. Maximum No.
£50 n/a 12 50

Please send your MANCENT booking form with accompanying payment to the address below. If you prefer to pay through BACS, please contact the lecturer for further particulars.
Contact details: Alan Sennett
136 Gawsworth Road, Macclesfield, SK11 8UQ
email: a.sennett@open.ac.uk
telephone: 01625 665031 or 07812 772 682

Adult Education in Manchester and Cheshire