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Explore the latest news and find out what's on this month
Explore our learning offer for schools, families and community groups
Uncover the rich history of Elmbridge with our latest online exhibitions
Want to discover more about your local area?
In the peak years of the British Empire, an understanding of the rule of empires was intrinsic to the way most people viewed the world they lived in. Notions of imperial prestige and expansion, and pride in Britain’s own far-reaching Empire, were pushed forward through a variety of propaganda tools, becoming heavily entrenched in the national consciousness as a result.
Unlike domestic items, buildings, or monuments, historical thoughts can be elusive. A mostly supportive press provides perhaps the clearest outline of popular thoughts and attitudes towards the British Empire, and in Elmbridge Museum’s own collection, strands of pro-imperial thought can be picked up in a number of objects.
Schooling, especially in the topics of history and geography, often endorsed the view that the British Empire was a positive force in the countries it controlled, and part of the natural order of the world. Royal tokens were also heavily linked to the British Empire, with coronations, jubilees, and other royal events acting as a vehicle for pro-imperial language and imagery which was more than merely symbolic. National events regularly shaped the way that people saw empire, and vice versa. The First World War of 1914-18 was one of the most prominent opportunities for widespread propaganda in support of the British Empire, as soldiers from across the colonies fought for Britain in an attempt to maintain her own vast empire and halt Germany’s imperial ambitions.
David Olusoga OBE is professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He writes regularly for BBC History Magazine and The Guardian, and presents BBC history documentaries Black and British, and A House Through Time.
Kirsten Mckenzie is Professor of History at the University of Sydney. She specialises in imperial history and the links between Britain and Australia, with publications including Imperial Underworld: An Escaped Convict and the Transformation of the British Colonial Order.
Dan Jones is a historian, journalist, and presenter, best known for his work on medieval Britain and the Crusades including The Plantagenets, The Hollow Crown and a variety of Channel 5 documentaries.
Marina Amaral is an artist who specialises in digital colourisation of black and white images. She has collaborated with a number of museums and heritage institutions, including English Heritage and Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, and is the founder of the Faces of Auschwitz project.
Paul Greenhalgh is a historian of art and design. He was formerly head of research at the V&A Museum and is currently Director of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia. He has also published a number of books, including Ceramic, Art and Civilization.
Michael Wood is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He is also a journalist and broadcaster, presenting over 100 history documentaries since the 1970s, including The Story of England, The Story of China and The Story of India.