The British Empire

How it feels

This 13-part documentary series from 1972 examines the history of the British Empire. It was produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films and narrated by Robert Hardy. The series sparked debate in the House of Lords for its critical view of the empire.

informativeseriousretrospectivemeasuredhistoricalthoughtfulunbiased-in-toneslow-paced

What happens

The British Empire, Echoes of Britannia’s Rule was a 13-part British documentary television series produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films first broadcast in 1972. It was preceded by Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation in 1969, and followed by Alistair Cooke’s America: A Personal History of the United States in the same year, and Jacob Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man in 1973. It cost £500,000 to produce and was narrated by Robert Hardy. At the time, it provoked a debate in the House of Lords for its apparent bias against the Empire. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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