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Use the original documents in this lesson to find out about the Corn Laws: how the British public reacted to them, and their eventual repeal in 1846. Suitable for: Key stage 4, Key stage 5 The Corn Laws were passed by the Conservative Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, in 1815. These were measures brought in by the British government to protect landowners and farmers. They controlled the price of all grain crops, including wheat, barley and oats. After the Napoleonic Wars, food prices were predicted to fall as Britain resumed its trade with Europe, and goods could once again be imported to Britain. However, further imports of cheaper foreign grain harmed the interests of British landowners and farmers. The Corn Laws were aimed to prevent this harm. The laws placed tariffs on grain imported from other countries. The price of grain at home had to reach extremely high levels before duty-free grain from overseas was permitted. Harsh import duties made buying grain from abroad unaffordable. Therefore, the Corn Laws made it expensive to import grain, even when domestic grain was in very short supply. The laws were met by fierce opposition from the public and there were frequent riots against them. The Anti-Corn Law League, founded in 1839, campaigned to repeal the laws. The Corn Laws remained in place until 1846; despite strong opposition from his own political party, Conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel repealed them in 1846. Peel gives his reasons for doing so in a document here.

Compare the accounts as well as other evidence of Captain Cook’s death, to work out what happened when Cook died. Why is it important to consider a range of sources? What things influence how the historical narrative is set out? On 14 February 1779, Captain James Cook – the British navigator and explorer – was killed in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii in a confrontation with the indigenous Hawaiians (Kānaka Maoli). The story of his death, and his legacy, has been much explored and debated. Your job in this lesson is simple: use original sources to find out what really happened. Or maybe it’s not so simple? In this lesson, students will explore different accounts of Cook’s final moments. These accounts are based on the logs from different members of Cook’s crew. Students will then look at depictions of Cook’s death in art. None of these accounts come from the Hawaiian perspective – this is important to keep in mind as you go through the lesson.

Use this lesson to find out why children were sent abroad in the period 1869-1913. What was the justification for doing this? Suitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4 Old Bailey records reveal that thousands of children were transported to Australia as criminals between 1787 and 1868. However, from 1869-1930, 80,000 children were forced to migrate to Canada. Behind this forced migration were individuals such as Maria Rye, Annie Macpherson, and Thomas Barnardo, and institutions such as the poor law unions, local government board, and the Home Office.

In this lesson you will use different types of original medieval records from The National Archives to explore how Kenilworth Castle functioned in times of peace and war during the ‘Middle Ages’. It aims to help you understand what you can find out about castles from written records which archaeology cannot tell you. This activity will also help you to appreciate the physical nature of the buildings in a different way from the more recent visual sources on the castle used in the starter lesson. Therefore, before attempting this lesson it is important to complete the starter lesson on Kenilworth Castle first. Suitable for: Key stage 4

This starter lesson will introduce you to Kenilworth Castle using visual sources from more recent times. There is a postcard from 1903, a modern aerial photograph, a Victorian photograph and some modern plans of the castle which show change over time to its buildings. Once you have finished this activity, attempt our lesson on Kenilworth Castle which is based on original medieval documents. Suitable for: Key stage 4

There are quite a lot of things you need to watch out for when using photographs as sources. Just like documents they must be treated with caution. Seeing is not necessarily believing! Use the resources below to help develop your skills when using photographs as sources. Don’t miss our video tutorial as well. This resource is suitable for students in Key Stages 3-5.

There are certain things you need to watch out for when using cartoons as sources. Just like written documents, treat them with caution. Use the resources here to help develop your skills when using cartoons as sources. This resource is suitable for students in Key Stages 3-5.

Use this lesson to find out how the British civil and military authorities carried out the South African war in 1899-1902 and how the public responded to the conflict. Suitable for: Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5 For more than a century, some form of conflict had existed between Britain and the Boers in southern Africa, mainly over the amount of influence and expansionist ideas the former had in the area. In 1877, Britain had moved to annex the Transvaal Republic, bringing it under its control, and this eventually led to what is known as the First Boer War in 1880-1. After a number of defeats handed to the British, independence was restored but relations never recovered. Tensions remained for a number of reasons. The immigration of large numbers of uitlanders (foreigners), largely because of a diamond rush, meant that these, mainly English-speaking, individuals soon came close to outnumbering the Boer population. Britain supported the rights of these uilanders and confrontations were common. Britain also continued to be expansionist in its outlook as it looked to control gold mining in the region and continued to attempt to bring the Transvaal and the Orange Free State under British control. This eventually culminated in the failed Jameson Raid in 1895. Eventually, in 1899, Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary, demanded full voting rights for uilanders living in the Transvaal, and mobilised its military forces near the borders of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The President of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, issued an ultimatum which was rejected by the British government, leading to the declaration of war from Kruger and the Orange Free State.

This lesson shows us how we can use photographs, with examples from the Victorian period and more recent times, to uncover the past. Suitable for: Key stage 1, Key stage 2 The National Archives has over 5 million photographs in its collections. They have been taken for many different reasons by different people working for the government. They include photographs from the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, photos from the Foreign and Colonial Offices or those held in police files. The largest collection of photographs, however, can be found in a collection called COPY 1. This is a collection of photographs and pictures that artists and photographers have chosen to copyright. This means they have recorded their right to control the copying or sharing of their work. Use this lesson to see what you can discover about past lives from five different photographs from collections at The National Archives.

Use this lesson to explore sources relating to criminal activity based around railways. Suitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 4 In Victorian times, Britain’s railway network grew rapidly. In the 1840s ‘Railway Mania’ saw a frenzy of investment and speculation. £3 billion was spent on building the railways from 1845 to 1900. In 1870, 423 million passengers travelled on 16,000 miles of track, and by the end of Queen Victoria’s reign over 1100 million passengers were using trains. The railway system offered new chances for travel, holidays, transporting goods, developing businesses and the growth of towns and cities. The distance between town and countryside was erased. Dairy produce and fish could be delivered easily to different parts of the country within hours. Increased communication allowed for the spread of ideas and national newspapers. A standardized time was introduced across Britain as trains were timetabled. The mobility of labour and maintenance of law and order were made easier. Of course, the railway network also stimulated the coal and iron industries but led to the decline of the canal system. However, with more people and goods on the move, trains and railway stations arguably, offered new opportunities for crime. The first carriages were unlit and unconnected by corridors, so there were cases of lone travellers being robbed or attacked. Railway stations were often packed and busy which made theft easier. The first railway murder took place in 1864 on train travelling from Fenchurch Street towards Hackney on the North London Railway and caused a great deal of public concern about travel safety.

The two original sources in this lesson can used to find out more about the life of Walter Tull. Suitable for: Key stage 1, Key stage 2 Walter Tull was born on 28 April 1888 in Folkstone, Kent. His father was from Barbados and his mother from Kent. His parents died when he was aged 9 years old. Walter and his brother were brought up in an orphanage in Bethnal Green, East London. From 1908 he started to play football and was signed by Clapton FC, then the following year by Tottenham Hotspur F.C. He was the second person of African-Caribbean mixed heritage to play in the top division of the Football League. He later moved to Northampton Town F.C. in 1911 where he played half-back. At the start of the First World War Tull joined the 17th (1st Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment as a Lance-Corporal. In 1915 he served in France and was later placed in hospital for shell shock. In 1916, he returned to action in September and fought in the Battle of the Somme, afterwards attending officer training in Britain then going back to serve in the 23rd Battalion of the Middlesex regiment as a second lieutenant. Despite army rules which forbade a ‘person of colour’ being commissioned as an officer (a leader of men), Walter was promoted to lieutenant after officer training school at Gailes, Scotland. In 1917. Tull is widely considered the first African-Caribbean mixed heritage man to be commissioned as an infantry officer in the British Army. Walter Tull died aged 29 in 1918 while leading an attack on the Western front during the Second Battle of the Somme in March. The Commanding Officer of the 23rd Battalion recommended him for a Military Cross for bravery.

Use this lesson to explore extracts from Cook’s original journal with other documents to find out what happened. What was the impact of his voyage on Britain and on the Indigenous peoples of the places he arrived at? Suitable for: Key stage 1, Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5 In June 1769, James Cook opened an envelope containing secret instructions from King George III. Cook was in Tahiti, having led the expedition to observe the transit of Venus across the sun by astronomer Charles Green and others. These secret instructions revealed that there was a second mission: to find the mysterious alleged southern continent ‘Terra Australis’, and claim it for Britain. Cook set sail southward. From 1769 to 1770, he would reach and chart what are now New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. While he never found ‘Terra Australis’ – which was thought to cover the entire southern hemisphere – his voyage had long-lasting consequences for the places he visited and led to the formation of the modern countries Australia and New Zealand. Although they were inhabited, Cook charted and claimed the places he visited in the name of his country, which led to their occupation and colonisation by Great Britain. The first penal colony in Australia was established in 1788 in Botany Bay, a place originally named and described by Cook. Today, Australia and New Zealand are still part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The purpose of this lesson is to explore some extracts from the will of Samuel Pepys made in 1701 and later added to in 1703. You may have already ‘met’ Samuel Pepys whilst finding out about the Great Fire of London in 1666 and read his descriptions of the fire in his famous diary. Suitable for: Key stage 1, Key stage 2, Key stage 3 The National Archives has a huge collection of wills and they are important sources for finding out about people in the past. A will is a legal document in which a person records their wishes as to how their possessions and property are to be disposed of after their death. The document always names a particular person to ensure that people listed in the will receive what is due to them. Through this lesson you will discover more about Samuel Pepys and the different features that make up a will.

This lesson looks at what seals can tell us about what it was like to live in medieval England and Ireland. It also explores why people from a range of social backgrounds might need or want to have a seal of their own. Suitable for: Key stage 3 A medieval seal was used to prove that a document was really from the person or group that it said it was from. Not everyone sealed a document with their own personal seal. Seals have designs which show us what people wanted to say about themselves and the institutions that they were involved in.

Use this lesson to find out if the design of a board game can tell us anything about life in the past. Suitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 3 Many board games, not on sale today, were devised in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and some of their designs are held at The National Archives. The board games used in this lesson are very interesting as historical sources as they can reveal something about the society that made them. How did people in the past like to have fun? Were their games very different from ours? Board games were highly valued as a form of entertainment for Victorian or Edwardian children as they were not too physical or noisy, allowing them to be ‘seen and not heard’. They could be played at home with the whole family or a group of children under the watchful eye of a parent or governess. They offered a change from the usual ‘parlour games’ that the Victorians favoured such as ‘Charades’ or ‘Pin the tail on the donkey’.

In this lesson you will explore some original nineteenth century criminal petitions held by The National Archives. Suitable for: Key stage 4, Key stage 5 Petitions are formal written requests made to an authority such as a monarch or government department. Petitioning was a long-established right to appeal to a higher authority to ask for a favour or correct an injustice. Petitions could be made by anyone in society, but they were usually written by people who were less powerful or wealthy than those they petitioned. Despite their humble position, by asking for help, petitioners offered their obedience in exchange for valuable assistance from the monarch or government. Those who received petitions were obliged to listen and to respond. However, the outcome of the petition was not always successful. Although criminal petitions are usually about one individual they also are useful case studies to learn about wider changes in attitudes towards crime and punishment.

What were Cromwell’s main political and religious aims for the Commonwealth 1650-1660? This resource contains original sources written by people who observed and reported on the events during this time period. Their accounts contain clues about Cromwell’s main aims during this period, as well as the difficulties that he came up against trying to implement them. Suitable for: Key stage 3, Key stage 4

While the fight for votes for women has been long been regarded as a movement led and supported by women, it is important to recognize that men participated in the struggle, both in and outside Parliament. Use the sources in this lesson to investigate the role played by male supporters, or ‘suffragettes in trousers’ during the campaign for votes for women. Suitable for: Key stage 1, Key stage 3, Key stage 5

The first battles of the American Revolution took place on the 18 and 19 April 1775, at Lexington and Concord near Boston in Massachusetts, in what later became known as a ‘shot heard round the world’. Despite attempts at reconciliation by the colonists, conflict continued throughout 1775 and 1776. This lesson explores the skirmishes that happened before the Declaration of Independence was issued on 4 July 1776. Use documents from The National Archives’ collections to consider why war broke out in 1775 and why hostilities continued until the colonies declared independence from Great Britain.

This curated collection can be used to help students develop their own historical enquiries as well as to prepare and practice source-based exam questions. The collection includes a range of sources to encourage them to think more broadly about the reign of Charles II beyond the Great Fire. Teachers have the flexibility to download all documents and transcripts and simplified transcripts to create their own resources. Teachers may also prefer to use document extracts if the sources appear too long. With each document we have provided a caption about the content and 3-4 suggested prompt questions. We hope this will allow students to work independently if wished on any document, or within small class discussion groups, or to assist teachers in the development of their own questions. We hope too, that exposure to original source material may also foster further document research.