Synopsis
David Dimbleby travels through Britain, America and India, tracing the British Empire from 1750 to 1900.
- Programme: Seven Ages of Britain
- Episode: 6: Age of Empire
- Channel: BBC HD
- Broadcast year: 2010
- History
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
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More clips from Seven Ages of Britain
1: Age of Conquest | Seven Ages of Britain
1: Age of Conquest | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby charts the last 2,000 years of Britain through its art and treasure. The first part begins with the Roman invasion ...
2: Age of Worship | Seven Ages of Britain
2: Age of Worship | Seven Ages of Britain
This episode looks at the Middle Ages, from the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 to the death of Richard II in 1400.
3: Age of Power | Seven Ages of Britain
3: Age of Power | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby tells the story of Britain through its art and treasure, from Henry VIII's accession in 1509 to the premiere of Shakes...
4: Age of Revolution | Seven Ages of Britain
4: Age of Revolution | Seven Ages of Britain
In the 17th century the people of Britain learned to question everything, resulting in the Civil War.
5: Age of Money | Seven Ages of Britain
5: Age of Money | Seven Ages of Britain
The story of Britain through its art. In the 18th century, the triumph of commerce led to the emergence of a new 'middle' class, who ...
7: Age of Ambition | Seven Ages of Britain
7: Age of Ambition | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby looks at how the 20th century saw Britons upturn ancient power structures and class hierarchies.
The Bayeux Tapestry | Seven Ages of Britain
The Bayeux Tapestry | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby walks through the history depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, explaining each stage of the Norman conquest.
Tower of London | Seven Ages of Britain
Tower of London | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby visits the Tower of London, which was one of William the Conqueror's first statement buildings when in power.
William the Conqueror | Seven Ages of Britain
William the Conqueror | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby explores what kind of man William the Conqueror was, his interest in stone over culture and why his success in C...
More resources about The British empire
1: A Taste of Power | Empire
1: A Taste of Power | Empire
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: Betrayal | Suez: A Very British Crisis
1: Betrayal | Suez: A Very British Crisis
Archive material, interviews, and dramatisations provide an insight into to the Suez crisis of 1956; the Egyptian uprising that bro...
1: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj
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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
David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian, ...
1: The Atlantic Slave Trade | History File
1: The Atlantic Slave Trade | History File
The development of the triangular trade is described from its ancient origins, through the European involvement in the 16th and 17...
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1: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain
Dr Yasmin Khan tracks down passengers who travelled from Mumbai to Britain in the 1930s on the luxurious P&O liner The Viceroy...
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Programme covers events in India from the 1930s to Independence and Partition in 1947.
2: Foreign Legions | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
2: Foreign Legions | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
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
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
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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
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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
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The concept of 'plantation' is explored in this programme, referring not to crops but the settlement of British p...
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Ken Saro Wiwa and Ledum Mittee come face to face with the power of the Nigerian state.
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3: Lady Constance Lytton | Shoulder to Shoulder
1908: Constance Lytton: daughter of the Viceroy of India, she came from one of the leading families in the land. Almost any d...
3: Playing the Game | Empire
3: Playing the Game | Empire
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
Set against the backdrop of British India from the 1920s to Independence in 1947, this third and last programme in the series tells...
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
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
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Following the religious revival that started in the late 18th century, missionaries began working in Africa and In...
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The 19th-century union appears secure, but beneath the surface run deep divisions, leading to the emergence of a new working-cl...