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Year 2 - History

Alice Kinloch and the Victorian British Empire

Queen Victoria: how did Britain change during her lifetime?

Unit Summary

This unit teaches students about life in Britain from 1837-1901. They learn about key events like Victoria's accession, the railways, and the Great Exhibition. The unit explores how her reign defines the period, technological advances, and connections within Britain and globally.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain why Alice Kinloch came to Britain and how she helped miners in Africa.

Key Notes

  • Britain had an empire which meant it controlled a lot of places across the world, including countries in Africa.
  • Towards the end of Victoria's reign, a woman called Alice Kinloch travelled a long way to come to Britain.
  • Alice Kinloch was born in South Africa, and had come to Britain with an important mission.
  • She wanted to speak out about the poor conditions that African miners faced when they worked to find diamonds.
  • Alice helped to set up a group of people to speak up and help the miners in South Africa.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • empire: when a country controls other groups of people or other countries, it has an empire
  • South Africa: South Africa is a country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa
  • diamond: a diamond is a precious gemstone found deep under the earth's surface that has taken millions of years to form
  • miners: miners are people who work in mines, digging for coal, metals or precious stones like diamonds

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • That 'South Africa' refers to the southern half of the continent of Africa.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.

Britain had an empire which meant it controlled a lot of places across the world, including countries in Africa. Towards the end of Victoria's reign, a woman called Alice Kinloch travelled a long way to come to Britain.

2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'empire'

when a country controls other groups of people or other countries, it has an empire.

3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.

Mistake: That 'South Africa' refers to the southern half of the continent of Africa. Correction: 'South Africa' is one single African country, which is located in the south of the continent of Africa. The south of africa (the part that sits in the southern hemisphere) covers a much larger area and includes 15 other individual African countries.

More Lessons In This Unit

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