03: Empire | Timelines

Black Peoples of the Americas: 01: The Atlantic Slave Trade | History File

The development of the triangular trade is described from its ancient origins, through the Europea...

A Scottish Soldier: A Lost Diary of WWI

Poet Jackie Kay tells the story of Arthur Roberts - one of thousands of black soldiers who fought in WWI. His diary provides a unique...

Episode 1 | Empire with David Olusoga

David Olusoga tells the story of the British Empire, from its origins under Elizabeth I to the establishment of colonies in America, th...

Episode 2 | Empire with David Olusoga

David Olusoga reveals how the loss of the American colonies led to the colonisation of Australia and how the Indian indenture system wa...

Mahatma Gandhi | Icons

Mahatma Gandhi employed non violent tactics of passive resistance in the face of the largest empire the world had ever known, he not only helped to se...

01: Profit and Loss | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

In 1834 Britain abolished slavery, a defining and celebrated moment in our national history. What has been largely for...

01: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian,...

01: Why Britain? | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

In this programme we learn about the origins of the British empire in the 17th century and how its foundations w...

03: The Jewel in the Crown | British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

Lucy explores how British history is a concoction of fibs. She debunks the fibs that surround t...

Episode 3 | Empire with David Olusoga

David Olusoga reveals how the Empire reached its maximum size after the First World War but within a generation had begun to collapse, ...

06: Age of Empire | Seven Ages of Britain

David Dimbleby travels through Britain, America and India, tracing the British Empire from 1750 to 1900.

Episode 1 | The Birth of Empire: The East India Company

Dan Snow travels through India in the footsteps of the company that revolutionised British lifestyles and laid the fo...

06: Freedom | Michael Wood: The Story of India

Michael Wood examines the British Raj and traces the events that led to the Partition of India in 1947.

20th Century World: 02: The British Empire | History File

The programme uses silhouette images and archive material to illustrate the life of the fictitious Grant family who...

Transportation of Convicts to Australia | Empire with David Olusoga

David explains how Britian sent their problem convicts abroad to the colonies for cheap labour, and many ...

02: Pirates | Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues

Sam Willis explores the golden age of piracy during the early 18th century and charts the devastating impact ...

05: Shot at Dawn | Not Forgotten

In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop uncovers the powerful stories of First World War soldiers from across the British Empir...

06: Empire for Sale | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

The fall of the British empire is usually attributed to nationalist groups fighting for independence, yet as ...

Episode 1 | My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947

Anita Rani marks the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India by exploring its impact on four British families, includi...

Learning Zone | The Birth of Empire: The East India Company

A compilation of short films made specially for schools on the rise and fall of the East India Company, which acc...