Imperial Past and Present
In preparation for their visit to the National Maritime Museum, Dr Davies spoke to members of the Year 10 Athenaeum about the highly topical issue of how the British Empire is viewed today.
Although Dr Davies’ area of expertise is the British Empire in India, he broadened the scope of the talk to consider aspects of the Empire more generally.
Through the use of primary sources, the students were able to examine how attitudes towards the Empire have changed significantly since the middle of the last century.
The journey was one from a position that often celebrated the impact of the British Empire unquestioningly, to an appreciation that there were negative aspects to be reckoned with, and finally to the more nuanced assessments of its impact, both historically and in the present day.
Discussing the impact of Black Lives Matter, the issue of repatriating artefacts from museums, and the ongoing reassessment of the legacy of Empire, the students were given an excellent insight not only into the contested nature of that legacy but also into the discipline of history itself. The past is not dead and buried; it is, and arguably should be, constantly revisited.
