British Colonial ‘Migrated’ Archives Teaching Resources

• These teaching resources aim to encourage secondary school students to explore the end of the British empire.
• They include sources about the ‘migrated’ archives, records that British authorities removed from colonised territories before they achieved independence.
• Focusing on a case study of Kenya, the resources encourage students to assess how and why British authorities removed archives, and to think about what this suggests about the end of the British empire.

This set of teaching resources encourages students to explore the end of the British empire by focusing on primary sources about the British colonial ‘migrated’ archives. The resources for three classes were co-created by a team of sixth formers, teachers, and academics in 2023. They are intended for Key Stage 5 students studying British decolonisation as part of courses including the AQA Making of Modern Britain depth study and OCR units Y113 (Britain 1930-97) and Y320 (the British empire 1857-1965). The resources could also be used as the basis for a standalone project, perhaps for students at the end of Year 12, or adapted for use with younger students.

The ‘migrated’ archives are a large collection of around 20,000 files that British authorities removed to the UK from 37 colonised territories before they achieved independence. These resources focus on a case study of the files removed from Kenya. Students consider how and why British authorities removed files from Kenya, the independent Kenyan government’s efforts to secure the return of the files, and the connections between British policies in Kenya and in Britain itself.

The removed colonial archives came to widespread public attention in 2011. Legal action brought by five Kenyans who had suffered horrific abuse from British forces during the 1950s forced the British government to produce files that had been taken from Kenya. Soon afterwards, the British government passed thousands of files that had been removed from formerly colonised territories to the National Archives in London, where they can now be studied by researchers. The British government also agreed to pay £19.9m in compensation to Kenyans who had been abused by British forces.

The resources assume students have some background knowledge about the British empire and how it ended. They include simple worksheets and PowerPoint slides. You will know what works best with your students, so please feel free to adapt these materials. Many of the activities could work well with students working in pairs or small groups.

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