Synopsis
David Olusoga examines not whether the British Empire was a force for good or ill, but rather how it has been portrayed on British television.
- Programme: A Timewatch Guide
- Series: 3
- Episode: 04: British Empire: Heroes and Villains
- Channel: BBC Four
- Broadcast year: 2017
- History | Britain: Migration, empires and the people: c790 to the present day | The Impact of Empire on Britain 1688-c.1730 | English expansion and its impact on the British Isles c.1688-c.1730
Licence: ERA Licence required
Free to watch for UK schools, colleges and universities with an ERA Licence
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
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More clips from A Timewatch Guide
Anglo-Zulu War | A Timewatch Guide
Anglo-Zulu War | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga discusses the events of the Anglo-Zulu war and how it has been depicted in film.
Controversial argument for the benefits of the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
Controversial argument for the benefits of the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga discusses controversial argument in favour of British colonial rule in India...
Immigration from the former empire | A Timewatch Guide
Immigration from the former empire | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga explores the immigration of people from the empire to Britain.
Kitchener and British Empire Historiography | A Timewatch Guide
Kitchener and British Empire Historiography | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga explains how perceptions of empire have shifted throughout different generations.
Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga explains how historical perspectives of the British Empire have shifted through time.
The partition of India | A Timewatch Guide
The partition of India | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga investigates how the partition of India has been represented in film and television.
More resources about Empire and colonies
Episode 1 | Empire with David Olusoga
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
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...
01: Profit and Loss | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
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: Why Britain? | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
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...
Episode 3 | Empire with David Olusoga
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, ...
The Windrush Generation | Black and British: A Forgotten History
The Windrush Generation | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga discusses the Windrush Generation.
06: Age of Empire | Seven Ages of Britain
06: Age of Empire | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby travels through Britain, America and India, tracing the British Empire from 1750 to 1900.
Bunce Island | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Bunce Island | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga visits Bunce Island, where the first slave fortress was built in the 17th century.
Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga explains how historical perspectives of the British Empire have shifted through time.
Slave plantation system | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
Slave plantation system | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
David Olusoga discusses the slave plantation system in the Caribbean.
03: The Jewel in the Crown | British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
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...
Granville Sharp | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Granville Sharp | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga discusses Granville Sharpe and Jonathan Strong's roles in the abolition of slavery.
The beginnings of the British slave trade | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
The beginnings of the British slave trade | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
David Olusoga investigates the beginnings of the British slave trade in Barbados.
05: Maxim Force | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
05: Maxim Force | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
The 'scramble for Africa' by competing European nations during the last years of Queen Victoria's reign is the co...
Mississippi cotton | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Mississippi cotton | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga discusses the cotton industry in Mississippi and how it fuelled Britain's industrial revolution.
Transportation of Convicts to Australia | Empire with David Olusoga
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 ...
04: Heaven's Breed | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
04: Heaven's Breed | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
In this programme we discover how a few thousand British people ruled over India, a country of more than 250 m...
01: Adventure and Exploration | Britain and the Sea
01: Adventure and Exploration | Britain and the Sea
David Dimbleby sails the south west coast of England, exploring maritime art, architecture and history - including the st...
First English traders in West Africa | Black and British: A Forgotten History
First English traders in West Africa | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga investigates the first English traders in West Africa.
First slave society in Barbados | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
First slave society in Barbados | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
David Olusoga discusses the first slave society in Barbados.
More from David Olusoga
An abandoned baby | A House Through Time
An abandoned baby | A House Through Time
David Olusoga tells the sad story of a baby called Martha who was found on the doorstep of 10 Guinea Street.
Episode 1 | Empire with David Olusoga
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...
03: The Two Nations | Union with David Olusoga
03: The Two Nations | Union with David Olusoga
The 19th-century union appears secure, but beneath the surface run deep divisions, leading to the emergence of a new working-c...
The Scientists Using AI to find New Solutions to Antibiotic Resistance | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
The Scientists Using AI to find New Solutions to Antibiotic Resistance | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
How can the antibiotic resistance crisis be addressed? ...
The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files
The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files
How black immigrants who made Britain their home came face to face with the government's 'hostile environment'. David Olusoga exposes...
08: The Cult of Progress | Civilisations
08: The Cult of Progress | Civilisations
David Olusoga explores the artistic reaction to imperialism in the 19th century.
Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide
David Olusoga explains how historical perspectives of the British Empire have shifted through time.
Neil Kenlock - Photographing the black British experience | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Neil Kenlock - Photographing the black British experience | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga talks to Neil Kenlock about his photographs of the experienc...
West India Docks and the sugar economy | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
West India Docks and the sugar economy | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
David Olusoga visits the West India Docks in London and discusses the impact of slavery on the Brit...
French troops from Sub-Saharan West Africa | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
French troops from Sub-Saharan West Africa | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
David Olusoga investigates the WW1 experiences of French troops from Sub-Saharan W...