The British Empire

Since the 1700s, British people had been exploring other countries and trading with them. They had begun colonising lands across the globe.

Britain the global superpower

By the 1800s, the British Empire controlled over a quarter of the Earth’s land and its population. It was a global superpower.

Moral responsibility

The British Empire believed it was morally responsible for guiding other countries – it gave guidance on how governments should be run and how countries should be ruled, how the military should work, the construction of railways, how to speak the English language correctly, and what it viewed as the correct form of education.

Savagery of other cultures

The British Empire viewed people from different cultures and societies as ‘savage’ and dangerous – in The Sign of the Four, Tonga is presented as the evil, uncivilised, thoughtless murderer.
Holmes even reads a section about people from the Andaman Islands, which suggests that the people hold ‘massacres’ which are ‘concluded by a cannibal feast’.

Treatment of other cultures

When exploring and controlling other countries, the native people and resources were not always treated properly – partly because a lot of the men who were sent to the colonies had their own selfish agendas and did not really care about the people in the countries they visited.

Colonisation of India

During the 18th and 19th centuries, many upper-class men (generally those who were not the oldest sons in families, and so would not receive the family title or fortune) travelled to India as officers in the British Army – there, they hoped to find riches and increase their wealth.
The British established its own form of government in India and refused to let Indians have full control.
India did not have full control over its own government until a campaign in 1947, which led to England giving independence to its colony there.

1Context

1.1Victorian England & British Empire

1.1.1Author Background

1.1.2Victorian Crime & Police

1.1.3Historical Context

1.1.4Victorian London

1.1.5Women

1.1.6The British Empire

1.1.7End of Topic Test - Author & Victorian Police

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Victorian London & Empire

2Plot Summary

2.1Chapter Summaries

2.1.1Chapter 1

2.1.2Chapter 2

2.1.3Chapter 3

2.1.4Chapter 4

2.1.5Chapter 5

2.1.6Chapter 6

2.1.7Chapter 7

2.1.8Chapter 8

2.1.9Chapter 9

2.1.10Chapter 10

2.1.11Chapter 11

2.1.12Chapter 12

2.1.13Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Stories

2.1.14End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-6

2.1.15End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-12

3Characters

3.1Key Characters

3.1.1Sherlock Holmes

3.1.2Sherlock Holmes: Quotations

3.1.3Dr John Watson

3.1.4Mary Morstan

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Key Characters

3.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Mary & Dr Watson

3.2Other Characters

3.2.1Thaddeus Sholto

3.2.2Jonathan Small

3.2.3End of Topic Test - Thaddeus and Jonathan Small

3.3Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.1Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.2Extract Analysis - Tonga

4Key Themes

4.1Key Themes

4.1.1Corruption

4.1.2Criminals & Victims

4.1.3Victorian Fear

4.1.4British Empire & Imperialism

4.1.5Duality

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes

5Writing Techniques

5.1Writing Techniques

5.1.1Narrative Voice

5.1.2Dialogue

5.1.3Structure

5.1.4Structure & Characters

5.1.5Pathetic Fallacy

5.1.6End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

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