1: The Atlantic Slave Trade | History File

Duration: 19'07''

Synopsis

The development of the triangular trade is described from its ancient origins, through the European involvement in the 16th and 17th centuries, to its massive expansion by the British in the 18th century.

Further Information

More clips from Black Peoples of the Americas

2: Everyday Life on a Plantation Island | History File

2: Everyday Life on a Plantation Island | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'01''

The schools history series reconstructs the day-to-day experience of slavery for Betty Newton, a field hand on a Carib...

3: Resistance, Rebllion and Abolition | History File

3: Resistance, Rebllion and Abolition | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'10''

An overview of the methods used by the abolitionists, such as the famous poster of the slave ship 'Brookes'. The case of...

4: After Emancipation | History File

4: After Emancipation | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'02''

Schools programme which looks at how people moved from slavery to freedom. How did former slaves acquire land? Where did they go when th...

5: Civil Rights in the US | History File

5: Civil Rights in the US | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'07''

Drama documentary covering the history of civil rights in the USA in the 50's and 60's. Today's story is about the legacy of slavery...

2: Everyday Life on a Plantation Island | History File

2: Everyday Life on a Plantation Island | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'01''

The schools history series reconstructs the day-to-day experience of slavery for Betty Newton, a field hand on a Carib...

3: Resistance, Rebllion and Abolition | History File

3: Resistance, Rebllion and Abolition | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'10''

An overview of the methods used by the abolitionists, such as the famous poster of the slave ship 'Brookes'. The case of...

4: After Emancipation | History File

4: After Emancipation | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'02''

Schools programme which looks at how people moved from slavery to freedom. How did former slaves acquire land? Where did they go when th...

5: Civil Rights in the US | History File

5: Civil Rights in the US | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'07''

Drama documentary covering the history of civil rights in the USA in the 50's and 60's. Today's story is about the legacy of slavery...

More resources about The British empire

1: A People Stolen | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

1: A People Stolen | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

BBC Two | 2020 | 58'04''

Samuel L Jackson and a team of journalists and divers explore 400 years of slavery. What happened to the 12 million ensla...

1: A Taste of Power | Empire

1: A Taste of Power | Empire

BBC One | 2012 | 59'20''

Jeremy Paxman begins by asking how such a small country got such a big head and came to rule a quarter of the world.

1: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj

1: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj

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 i...

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

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

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'04''

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

1: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain

1: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain

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 Viceroy...

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

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

Channel 4 | 2003 | 48'27''

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

10: India: The Brightest Jewel | Twentieth Century History

10: India: The Brightest Jewel | Twentieth Century History

BBC One | 1978 | 19'54''

Programme covers events in India from the 1930s to Independence and Partition in 1947.

2: A Precious Cargo | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

2: A Precious Cargo | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

BBC Two | 2020 | 56'47''

Samuel L Jackson examines how, for over 400 years, the transatlantic slave trade became the greatest wealth-generating m...

2: Foreign Legions | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

2: Foreign Legions | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'00''

In part two, historian David Olusoga explains how the First World War spread far beyond the mud and trench...

2: Making Ourselves at Home | Empire

2: Making Ourselves at Home | Empire

BBC One | 2012 | 58'46''

Jeremy Paxman continues by examining how traders, conquerors and settlers spread the British way of doing things.

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

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

BBC Four | 2015 | 58'58''

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

2: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj

2: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj

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, affair...

2: White Plague | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

2: White Plague | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

Channel 4 | 2003 | 49'15''

The concept of 'plantation' is explored in this programme, referring not to crops but the settlement of British p...

2. On trial | The Compass

2. On trial | The Compass

BBC World Service | 2022 | 26'26''

Ken Saro Wiwa and Ledum Mittee come face to face with the power of the Nigerian state.

3: Playing the Game | Empire

3: Playing the Game | Empire

BBC One | 2012 | 58'45''

Jeremy Paxman continues by tracing the growth of a peculiarly British type of hero.

3: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj

3: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj

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 tells...

3: Resistance | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

3: Resistance | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

BBC Two | 2020 | 57'35''

Samuel L Jackson and the team travel through the US to tell the stories of those who resisted slavery, often making the danger...

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

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

BBC Four | 2017 | 59'11''

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

3: The Mission | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

3: The Mission | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

Channel 4 | 2003 | 49'06''

Following the religious revival that started in the late 18th century, missionaries began working in Africa and In...

3: The Two Nations | Union with David Olusoga

3: The Two Nations | Union with David Olusoga

BBC Two | 2023 | 59'09''

The 19th-century union appears secure, but beneath the surface run deep divisions, leading to the emergence of a new working-cl...