A History of Britain S02E04 · The Wrong Empire (1750 - 1800)

Overview

How did a people who thought themselves free end up subjugating so much of the world, a nation with such a distrust of armies become the greatest military power on Earth, an empire of the free become an empire of slaves?Britons took the flag across the globe and created an empire built on ambition and slavery, exploration and daring. Trade flourished in the addictive commodities of tea, sugar and coffee, as did the deplorable trade in people. Taxation lost Britain the American colonies, but paved the way for dominance in India, as tax gatherers became administrators and merchants, emperors. The Wrong Empire is the exhilarating and terrible story of how one small group of islands came to dominate the world; a story of exploration and daring, but also one of exploitation and conflict.

Torrents

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Episodes

1. 1 1. The British Wars (1603 - 1649)2001-05-08 · 1h 0mThe turbulent civil wars of the early seventeenth century would culminate in two events unique to British history; the public execution of a king and the creation of a republic. Sc
2. 2 2. Revolutions (1649 - 1689)2001-05-15 · 1h 0mIn the aftermath of Civil War, Britain was a kingless republic led by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell ruled with an iron hand; when Parliament dared defy him, he marched in and closed it
3. 3 3. Britannia Incorporated (1690 - 1750)2001-05-22 · 1h 0mIn 1690s England, the victors of the Glorious Revolution celebrated the dawn of a new era under a new king - William III. In Scotland, the Jacobites still supported the deposed Kin
4. 4 4. The Wrong Empire (1750 - 1800)2001-05-29 · 1h 0mHow did a people who thought themselves free end up subjugating so much of the world, a nation with such a distrust of armies become the greatest military power on Earth, an empire