A cura di Paola Della Valle 
 
 A historical overview of the largest empire of all time, from its origins to the decline and then the Commonwealth, through five stories from the five continents, told by: Joseph Conrad (An Outpost of Progress), keen observer of European colonialism in Africa; Rudyard Kipling (Lispeth, India); Henry Lawson (The Drover’s Wife, Australia); Henry Rider Haggard (Long Odds, South Africa); Gilbert Parker (A Man, A Famine and a Heathen Boy, Canada).
 Stimulating in-depth analyses enrich each story. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Transcripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Uno sguardo storico al più grande impero di tutti i tempi, dalle origini al declino e al Commonwealth con cinque storie per i cinque continenti narrate da: J. Conrad (An Outpost of Progress, acuto osservatore del colonialismo britannico in Africa); R. Kipling (Lispeth, India); H. Lawson (The Drover’s Wife, Australia); H. R. Haggard (Long Odds, Sudafrica); G. Parker (A Man, a Famine and a Heathen Boy, Canada).

History of the British Empire: Birth and Decline

Joseph Conrad

Story 1 – An Outpost of Progress

Extension – From Heart of Darkness to Apocalypse Now

History of the British Empire: Colonial India

Rudyard Kipling

Story 2 – Lispeth

Extension – The voice of non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi

History of the British Empire: Colonial Australia

Henry Lawson

Story 3 – The Drover’s Wife

Extension – Australian identity: the bush and the Aborigines

History of the British Empire: Colonial South Africa

Henry Rider Haggard

Story 4 – Long Odds

Extension – From lost worlds to psychoanalysis

History of the British Empire: Colonial Canada

Gilbert Parker

Story 5 – A Man, a Famine and a Heathen Boy

Extension – Canada’s indigenous peoples

Summing-up activities

Glossary

2  Lispeth Story BEFORE READING 1 The story is set in the valley of Kotgarh in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, which is coloured red below. Complete the map with the missing geographic names. Himalayas   China (Tibet)   Jammu and Kashmir   Pakistan   Nepal   Punjab   New Delhi   Mumbay (Bombay)   Arabian Sea   Bay of Bengal 2 How much do you know about Himachal Pradesh and the Kotgarh Valley? Choose the right options. Himachal Pradesh c Its capital is Kolkata (Calcutta) / Shimla. c Its altitude ranges from 350 to 7,000 m / from 0 to 2,000 m. c It is situated at the foot of the Himalayas / Andes. c Its has 2,500,000 / 6,500,000 inhabitants. c It is famous for its fruit orchards, pine forests and majestic mountains / beaches, palm trees and temples. c The literal meaning of its name is  region of many gods  /  region of snowy mountains . c Hima means  lake  /  snow  in Sanskrit. 32 

The British Lispeth Empire S Story 2 m She was the daughter of Sonoo, a Hill-man of the Himalayas, u and Jadéh. One year, the maize crop went bad, and two bears spent the night in their only opium poppy-field1 near the banks of the Sutlej; so, the next season, they turned Christian, and brought their baby to the Mission to be baptised. The Chaplain christened her Elizabeth, and  Lispeth  is the Hill or pahari2 pronunciation. Later, cholera came into the Kotgarh Valley and Sonoo and Jadéh died. Lispeth became half-servant, half-companion to the wife of the then Chaplain of Kotgarh. Whether Christianity improved Lispeth, or whether the gods of her own people would have done as much for her in the same circumstances, she grew very lovely. She was extremely tall for her race and of a pale ivory colour. She had a Greek face and wonderful eyes. If she had not been dressed in the horrible clothes provided by Missions, you would have thought, meeting her on the hillside unexpectedly, that she was the original Diana of the Romans, going out hunting. q Lispeth embraced Christianity readily and did not abandon it when she reached womanhood, as some Hill-girls do. Her own people hated her because she had become, as they said, a white woman and washed herself daily. The Chaplain s wife did not know what to do with her; one cannot ask a stately3 goddess, five feet ten tall, to clean plates and dishes. Lispeth played with the Chaplain s children, took classes in the Sunday School and read all the books in the house. She grew more and more beautiful, like the Princesses in fairy tales. The Chaplain s wife said that the girl should take service in Shimla as a nurse or something  genteel 4, but Lispeth did not want to take service. She was very m 1. poppy: a plant with a red flower and small black seeds. Opium is obtained from one type of poppy. 2. pahari: a group of Indic languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, from Nepal to Himachal Pradesh. The name also refers to the ethnic group living in that area. 3. stately: impressive in size or manner. 4. genteel: high-class. 33 

Una prospettiva storica sull'Impero britannico con cinque storie rappresentative dai cinque continenti: Africa, India, Australia, Sudafrica e Canada.

The British Empire - Collana Rainbows

Level B2 • Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The British Empire

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