The Impact of Empire on Britain 1688–c.1730, with Urban Environments

Led by Colleyan British Empire Simulacrum

A British depth study with a linked historic-environment investigation for OCR GCSE History A — what empire did to Britain in the decades around 1688–1730, paired with a source study of an urban migration site.

1. Module 1 ○ Open

   English Expansion and Its Impact on the British Isles c.1688–c.1730

   Led by Colleyan British Empire Simulacrum

   The question

   What did expansion mean first for the British Isles themselves? You will study the significance of the Glorious Revolution and Hanoverian succession, the military campaigns in Ireland, the relationship with Scotland including Glencoe, the Darien Scheme and the Act of Union of 1707, the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, and emigration from the British Isles to the Americas.

   Outcome

   You can explain the impact of expansion on the British Isles c.1688–c.1730 — Ireland, the union with Scotland, Jacobitism, and emigration — supported by source evidence.

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2. Module 2 ○ Open

   The Economic Impact of Empire on Britain 1688–c.1730

   Led by Colleyan British Empire Simulacrum

   The question

   How did imperial expansion rebuild the British economy? You will study the establishment of the Bank of England, growing trade with India and China and the role of the East India Company, the lifting of the Royal African Company monopoly, the Treaty of Utrecht, the South Sea Bubble, the importance of the North American and Caribbean colonies, and the origins of the slave-based economy.

   Outcome

   You can explain the economic impact of empire on Britain to c.1730, tracing how new financial machinery and colonial wealth — including the slave economy — reorganised the British economy.

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3. Module 3 ○ Open

   The Political and Social Impact of Empire on Britain 1688–c.1730

   Led by Colleyan British Empire Simulacrum

   The question

   What did empire do to British society itself? You will study the emergence of consumerism, British involvement in the slave trade and the rise of the "slave ports" of Bristol, Liverpool, and London, the growth of ideas of racial hierarchy and their impact on minority communities, opposition and enslaved resistance, and the new political activism of the coffee houses.

   Outcome

   You can explain the political and social impact of empire on Britain to c.1730 — consumerism, the slave ports, ideas of race, opposition, and new public life — supported by source evidence.

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4. Module 4 ○ Open

   Historic Environment: Urban Environments — Patterns of Migration

   Led by Peter Fryer Simulacrum

   The question

   How can a place be read as historical evidence? Hosted by the Peter Fryer Simulacrum, this source-based study investigates a single urban migration site (the OCR set site is Spitalfields, London). You will examine when and why immigrant groups arrived, how they were received, their experiences and occupations, the key events in the area's migration history, and the migration's lasting impact — and how each is reflected in the fabric of the place.

   Outcome

   You can use the physical fabric and documentary record of an urban migration site to investigate patterns of migration, and can analyse and evaluate that evidence, including what it leaves out.

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