Will the British Empire inspire the young?

   The reform of History teaching that is being mooted by the Coalition Government will probably result in 'The History of the British Empire' being put into pride of place.  'Pride' would also be the operative word, as the Secretary of State for Education, Mr Gove, is keen that youngsters should acquire pride in their country's History by learning about the British Empire. 
   There are problems with this.  There is a growing gap between what Historians have discovered about the past and what the general public believe about it.  Most people's ideas are based on out-of-date information they learned at school.  On the whole only History teachers of AS/A2 and IB level keep up with what academic historians have found out. 
   The History of the British Empire has been re-written over the last 20 years, particularly by the historians of countries which Britain used to rule.  Modern British schoolchildren, far from being inspired by the whole enterprise of Empire, might well end up being disgusted and disillusioned.  They might well wonder what gives one people the right to invade and take over another.  I believe Mr Gove, himself a History lover, believes that the Royal Navy played an important part in ridding the world of the slave trade in the 19th Century.  There is some truth in that, but overall the biggest carrier of slaves across the Atlantic Ocean in the first place was Britain, and there is a very strong argument that Britain only changed its stance on the slave trade and on slavery itself as its economic value changed.  Wilberforce, whom I personally admire, was not quite the hero he is cracked up to be.
   I am not for one moment advocating that we abandon teaching of the British Empire.  But I  don't think the balance sheet comes out in the way that Mr Gove and some of his chosen curriculum reformers believe.  And crucially, if world history is to be taught as part of the History Curriculum, it is vital it is not taught through the distorting lens of Empire.
   'Mr Gove and ... his chosen curriculum reformers' are the heart of the matter.  British History is not one story, but many often competing stories, and historians argue with each other with their rival stories.  This reflects the reality of the state of our knowledge, and it would be intellectually dishonest to ignore it.  To re-write History as though there is only one story would also be very dangerous; children will be very quick to pick up on being fed one particular set of facts and not another and take their queries home to their parents.
   Mr Gove would be wise to have a few prominent historians of a different political hue join his committee.