Synopsis
David Olusoga explains how perceptions of empire have shifted throughout different generations.
- Programme: A Timewatch Guide
- Series: 3
- Episode: 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
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
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.
Cecil Rhodes | A Timewatch Guide
Cecil Rhodes | A Timewatch Guide
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.
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.
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
1: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain
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...
1: Why Britain? | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
1: 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 we...
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...
4: Having a Ball | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain
4: Having a Ball | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain
In the 1920s, Imperial Britannia slid from view and Britain saw a housing boom and the birth of radio broadcast...
4: Heaven's Breed | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
4: 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 mi...
4: The Homecoming | Black and British: A Forgotten History
4: The Homecoming | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Historian David Olusoga concludes his series with the three African kings who stood up to empire, an irresistible ...
4: The West: Putting on the Style | How We Built Britain
4: The West: Putting on the Style | How We Built Britain
David Dimbleby tours Britain to discover the buildings that have made us who we are. He travels west, where he finds...
5: Maxim Force | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
5: 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 com...
5: The North: Full Steam Ahead | How We Built Britain
5: The North: Full Steam Ahead | How We Built Britain
David Dimbleby tours Britain to discover the buildings that have made us who we are. Dimbleby travels north to the powe...
6: Age of Empire | Seven Ages of Britain
6: Age of Empire | Seven Ages of Britain
David Dimbleby travels through Britain, America and India, tracing the British Empire from 1750 to 1900.
African Roman soldiers in Northern England | Black and British: A Forgotten History
African Roman soldiers in Northern England | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga visits Hadrian's Wall and discusses the Roman history of black soldiers.
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.
Bechuanaland Chiefs | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Bechuanaland Chiefs | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga investigates the Bechuanaland Chiefs.
Bill Richmond | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Bill Richmond | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Davis Olusoga investigates the Bill Richmond black boxer who took Georgian Britain by storm.
Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
In 1834 Britain abolished slavery, a defining and celebrated moment in our national history. What has been largely forgotten is that aboliti...
British emigration to America | A House Through Time
British emigration to America | A House Through Time
In the late 1880's, thousands of people were passing through Liverpool and emigrating to America. David Olusoga investig...
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.
Cecil Rhodes | A Timewatch Guide
Cecil Rhodes | A Timewatch Guide
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.
Charles Wootton | Black and British: A Forgotten History
Charles Wootton | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga discusses racial violence in Liverpool.
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...
More from David Olusoga
10 Guinea Street | A House Through Time
10 Guinea Street | A House Through Time
David Olusoga reflects on the past, present and future of number 10 Guinea Street.
2: Creating Britishness | Union with David Olusoga
2: Creating Britishness | Union with David Olusoga
David Olusoga reveals how, in the 18th century, a new British identity was forged in the face of multiple threats from wit...
The Development of Anti-Viral Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
The Development of Anti-Viral Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
The story and science behind Gertrude Elion and George Hitching's development of a revolut...
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...
Benin Bronzes | Civilisations
Benin Bronzes | Civilisations
David Olusoga visits the Benin Bronzes at the British Museum.
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.
African Roman soldiers in Northern England | Black and British: A Forgotten History
African Roman soldiers in Northern England | Black and British: A Forgotten History
David Olusoga visits Hadrian's Wall and discusses the Roman history of black soldiers.
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...