03: Empire | Timelines

03: Empire | Timelines

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2006 | 59'08''

An epic sweep through the social history of Britain, from the Norman Conquest to the Miners' Strike.

The Town That Thread Built

The Town That Thread Built

Art and Design | BBC Two | 2017 | 59'06''

Documentary telling the story of J & P Coats, initially a cotton mill opened in Paisley in 1826 that went on to become one of the world's three bi...

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 1998 | 28'51''

Gandhi did more than drive the British out of India using "passive resistance". He also fought for better conditions for workers, persu...

Impact of Scots Abroad | Scotland’s Finest: The Story of the Highland Games

Impact of Scots Abroad | Scotland’s Finest: The Story of the Highland Games

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC One Scotland | 2012 | 14'46''

How the Highlands Games served as an inspiration across the world through the migration of ...

S01E11: HHTV News: British Empire Report | Horrible Histories

S01E11: HHTV News: British Empire Report | Horrible Histories

Empire, Slavery and Race | CBBC | 2009 | 2'59''

Bob Hale gives a report on the British Empire.

S01E03: Robert Scott and the South Pole | Horrible Histories

S01E03: Robert Scott and the South Pole | Horrible Histories

Empire, Slavery and Race | CBBC | 2009 | 2'24''

Captain Robert Scott is well-prepared for his disastrous race to the South Pole.

Coolies – How Britain Re-invented Slavery

Coolies – How Britain Re-invented Slavery

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Four | 2002 | 58'36''

A documentary revealing a form of slavery - Indian indentured labour - that continued well into the 20th century with the sup...

01: Cutty Sark | Clydebuilt: The Ships That Made the Commonwealth

01: Cutty Sark | Clydebuilt: The Ships That Made the Commonwealth

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2014 | 59'10''

David Hayman travels to Australia to uncover the links Cutty Sark forged with this Commonwealth country, an...

06: Behind the Mask | Hidden Empire

06: Behind the Mask | Hidden Empire

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 1996 | 29'21''

It's 1896 and Oba Ovronramwen, the divine ruler of the independent West African kingdom of Benin, fears for his nation's future when he m...

S05E03: The Lost Colonists | Punt PI

S05E03: The Lost Colonists | Punt PI

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Radio 4 | 2012 | 27'41''

Punt is called on to examine a map which may hold clues to the mystery of the first English colonists to America who disappeared without...

America’s hidden histories | Assignment

America’s hidden histories | Assignment

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Radio 4 | 2023 | 26'28''

It’s more than 150 years since the end of the American Civil War. But the replacement of a monument dedicated to the Confederat...

09: Disaster at Roanoke | This Sceptred Isle: Empire

09: Disaster at Roanoke | This Sceptred Isle: Empire

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Radio 4 | 2005 | 13'26''

Christopher Lee's ground-breaking narrative history series telling the story of the growth of Britain's Empire: Disaster...

S08E12: Roanoke | Horrible Histories

S08E12: Roanoke | Horrible Histories

Empire, Slavery and Race | CBBC | 2020 | 2'35''

Queen Elizabeth I loses a colony.

02: HMS Warrior | National Treasures

02: HMS Warrior | National Treasures

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC One | 2011 | 29'01''

Dan Snow and Sian Williams celebrate the best in British history from the HMS Warrior in Portsmouth. They experience what life was like ...

Joint-Stock Companies | Empire with David Olusoga

Joint-Stock Companies | Empire with David Olusoga

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2025 | 5'00''

This clip discusses the joint-stock companies set up under Elizabeth I.

S05E11: Australia (Song) | Horrible Histories

S05E11: Australia (Song) | Horrible Histories

Empire, Slavery and Race | CBBC | 2013 | 2'42''

What a different place Australia was in Georgian times! Not the holiday paradise you expect. Australia (parody of I Should Be S...

03: Mapping the World | Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession

03: Mapping the World | Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Four | 2010 | 58'37''

Professor Jerry Brotton uncovers how maps are snapshots of a moment in history and offer visions of distant lands...

Mahatma Gandhi | Icons

Mahatma Gandhi | Icons

Civil rights movements | BBC Two | 2019 | 13'36''

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...

Empire Christmas Pudding | Hairy Bikers’ Best of British

Empire Christmas Pudding | Hairy Bikers’ Best of British

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2013 | 8'26''

Ivan Day explains a version of Christmas Pudding called the Empire Christmas Pudding that featured many ingred...

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

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

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 1999 | 19'14''

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

Episode 3 | Empire with David Olusoga

Episode 3 | Empire with David Olusoga

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2025 | 59'30''

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

Treatment of Aboriginals in Australia | Empire with David Olusoga

Treatment of Aboriginals in Australia | Empire with David Olusoga

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2025 | 15'35''

David explains the horrendous treatment of the Aboriginal peoples of Tasmania by the British.

Transportation of Convicts to Australia | Empire with David Olusoga

Transportation of Convicts to Australia | Empire with David Olusoga

Crime and Punishment | BBC Two | 2025 | 9'41''

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

Episode 2 | Empire with David Olusoga

Episode 2 | Empire with David Olusoga

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2025 | 59'27''

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

Episode 1 | Empire with David Olusoga

Episode 1 | Empire with David Olusoga

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2025 | 59'35''

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

02: The Golden Ocean | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

02: The Golden Ocean | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2010 | 58'02''

In a series on the Royal Navy's role in British history, Dan Snow shows how the country came ...

Amritsar 1919: Remembering a British Massacre

Amritsar 1919: Remembering a British Massacre

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Radio 4 | 2019 | 27'43''

A century on, historian Dr Zareer Masani reappraises the events and context of the Amritsar massacre in which hundreds of India...

03: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj

03: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2007 | 59'09''

Set against the backdrop of British India from the 1920s to Independence in 1947, this third and last programme in the series tell...

02: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj

02: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2007 | 58'39''

Raj society was based on a formal order of precedence, but behind the scenes there was a great deal of flirtation, fun, affai...

01: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj

01: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2007 | 58'50''

The first episode recreates the era of the 1930s, when British expatriates attempted to create an idyllic version of English life ...

06: Freedom | Michael Wood: The Story of India

06: Freedom | Michael Wood: The Story of India

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 2007 | 59'02''

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

The British in India | Timewatch

The British in India | Timewatch

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Two | 1998 | 47'17''

Tonight's programme follows historian Andrew Roberts across the Indian subcontinent as he argues that Britain should take pride in its imper...

Episode 2 | Empire State of Mind

Episode 2 | Empire State of Mind

Empire, Slavery and Race | Channel 4 | 2021 | 47'11''

Sathnam Sanghera goes on a very personal journey to unearth the roots that bind his country to its colonial past. Travelling across Britain ...

06: Always on Sunday | Rainbow City

06: Always on Sunday | Rainbow City

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC One | 1967 | 24'07''

Sixth episode of a groundbreaking BBC drama series from 1967 about the experience of the West Indian community in Birmingham, featuring E...

Postwar: E10: India and Empire | Politically

Postwar: E10: India and Empire | Politically

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC Radio 12 | 2025 | 13'38''

The question of self-government for India would have to be confronted when war was over.

07: Soldiers of Empire | Not Forgotten

07: Soldiers of Empire | Not Forgotten

Conflict and Warfare | Channel 4 | 2007 | 48'10''

In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop uncovers the overlooked stories of soldiers from across the British Empire who fo...

05: Shot at Dawn | Not Forgotten

05: Shot at Dawn | Not Forgotten

Conflict and Warfare | Channel 4 | 2007 | 48'06''

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

S12E08: Anita Rani | Who Do You Think You Are?

S12E08: Anita Rani | Who Do You Think You Are?

Empire, Slavery and Race | BBC One | 2015 | 58'54''

Journalist Anita Rani sets out to see if she can find out more about what happened to her grandfather during the Partition of ...

S02E06: Gurinder Chadha | Who Do You Think You Are?

S02E06: Gurinder Chadha | Who Do You Think You Are?

Decolonisation movements | BBC One | 2006 | 58'44''

Director Gurinder Chadha learns about her father's life in Kenya and her grandmother's experiences during the partition o...

01: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain

01: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2018 | 58'27''

Dr Yasmin Khan tracks down passengers who travelled from Mumbai to Britain in the 1930s on the luxurious P&O liner The Vicero...

Chinese Labour Corps | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Chinese Labour Corps | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Conflict and Warfare | BBC Two | 2014 | 4'01''

David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Chinese labour corp in WW1.

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

Conflict and Warfare | BBC Two | 2014 | 4'06''

David Olusoga investigates the WW1 experiences of French troops from Sub-Sah...

Battle of Neuve Chapelle | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Battle of Neuve Chapelle | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Conflict and Warfare | BBC Two | 2014 | 5'26''

David Olusoga discusses the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.

The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Conflict and Warfare | BBC Two | 2014 | 4'45''

David Olusoga discusses the Indian corp experiences of industrialised trench warfare.

Indian soldiers in Marseille | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Indian soldiers in Marseille | The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Conflict and Warfare | BBC Two | 2014 | 3'51''

David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Indian soldiers arriving in Marseille at th...

The Father of Australia

The Father of Australia

Empire and colonies | BBC Two | 2011 | 1'10'49''

Drama-documentary starring Clive Russell as Lachlan Macquarie, governor of the British penal colony that would eventually become Australia.

Episode 4 | Rebel Heart

Episode 4 | Rebel Heart

Empire and colonies | BBC One | 2001 | 49'07''

It's 1922 and Ernie and Ita are together at last, while Ireland is poised to win her independence.

Episode 3 | Rebel Heart

Episode 3 | Rebel Heart

Empire and colonies | BBC One | 2001 | 49'13''

Ernie is sent to the west of Ireland by Michael Collins to rally support but learns that Kelly and O'Toole are awaiting execution.