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A History of Britain Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
15 Episodes 2000 - 2002
Episode 1
Beginnings
Mon, Oct 30, 200055 mins
Simon Schama begins his history of Britain with a visit to the miraculously preserved Stone Age cottages of Skara Brae in Orkney and then moves all the way to the world of Anglo-Saxon England, newly converted to Christinanity, and plagued by Vikings. He describes how a nation was conceived by war, trade, migrations of peoples, religion, and an infatuation with Rome.
Episode 2
Conquest!
59 mins
In nine short hours, William the Conqueror triumphed at the Battle of Hastings - and England was changed forever. Simon Schama recounts the saga of blood, betrayal and ambition that led up to this pivotal battle and describes the profound consequences that followed.
Episode 3
Dynasty
57 mins
Henry II built one of the greatest empires the medieval world had seen - only to see his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his scheming sons tear it all to pieces. He also created the jury system and the first legal statute books, but is best remembered as the man who ordered the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, his best friend turned bitterest enemy.
Episode 4
Nations
59 mins
The British history series continues with the story of Edward I - known by many as the villainous king in the Hollywood film Braveheart - who tried to force English rule on Scotland and Wales, but found the resultant slaughter only served to inspire bold declarations of independence. When the king was eventually forced to listen to the parliament of his own people, England would also learn what it meant to be a nation.
Episode 5
King Death
58 mins
Simon Schama continues his look at British history with the Black Death, the horror of medieval Britain. Those it did not kill were condemned to suffer decades of anarchy and unrest, not least King Richard II. But it created an unlikely breed of survivor - the country gent.
Episode 6
Burning Convictions
59 mins
Simon Schama sets out to explain how Britain stopped being a Catholic country in just three generations. Henry VIII's passion for Anne Boleyn set in motion a tidal wave of religious upheaval that would claim the lives of thousands. Although Henry himself remained a Catholic all his life, his son Edward VI, a Protestant by conviction, made sure there would be no going back, despite Bloody Mary's last ditch attempt to hold back the Reformation.
Episode 7
The Body of The Queen
Mon, Oct 29, 200159 mins
Queen Elizabeth I was one of the country's most intelligent monarchs, ruling a Protestant rogue state in a Catholic world. But it was her long, tangled relationship with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots that would test her the most. Elizabeth never married. Mary married twice but it ruined her. A magnet for conspiracy and intrigue, Mary tormented Elizabeth until finally executed for treason. But it was Mary not Elizabeth who gave birth to an heir. Simon Schama asks if it was the politician Elizabeth, or the mother Mary, who won in the end.
Episode 8
The British Wars
Mon, Oct 29, 200159 mins
Simon Schama looks beyond the romantic stories of Cavaliers and Roundheads to the real story of the English Civil War, in which hundreds of thousands died, countless families were torn apart and the nation was divided. Two events unique within British history resulted: the public execution of the monarch, Charles I, and the creation of a republic.
Episode 9
Revolutions
59 mins
Simon Schama examines the turbulent years in Britain from 1649 to 1689, from Oliver Cromwell's republic to Charles II's restoration and James II's subsequent pro-Catholic rule from which he was quickly deposed. This is the dramatic story of the revolutionary period after the execution of Charles I, when Cromwell ruled with an iron hand and Charles II attempted to restore the luster of the monarchy.
Episode 10
Britannia Incorporated
59 mins
Simon Schama's epic history reaches the 18th century and the birth of modern Britain. Due to an economic explosion, the consumer society is born, agriculture becomes big business and London becomes the fastest growing city in Europe. However, many in Scotland are unhappy with the union of the Scottish and English parliaments. When Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army advance on London, the country's new-found peace and prosperity are threatened.
Episode 11
The Wrong Empire
59 mins
The British Empire was the largest, most enlightened and most liberal of its kind to ever exist on this earth. Simon Schama, however, looks into its history and finds its sad failings and most uncomfortable secrets. How it created the slave trade in the Caribbean. How it used its military against the 13 American colonies. How it helped a mega corporation to take over the Indian subcontinent.
Episode 12
Forces of Nature
59 mins
The French Revolution sent shock-waves through Britain. While some watched transfixed, others were horrified. Simon Schama explores why the British proved immune to the siren call of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Episode 13
Victoria and Her Sisters
59 mins
She began the century that bears her name a princess and ended it as an empress. Queen Victoria ruled one of the most powerful empires in world history during a century of staggering change - for both good and bad. But it was Victorian women who were at the forefront of the fight against its excesses and inequalities, who campaigned for the rights for ordinary people in marriage, education, medicine and the vote.
Episode 14
The Empire of Good Intentions
59 mins
Simon Schama looks at how the liberal politics and free-market economics of the British Empire in the 19th century unraveled, leading to the potato famine in Ireland and mutiny in India. By the early 20th century, nationalist movements around the globe had turned their back on the British 'workshop of the world'.
Episode 15
The Two Winstons
59 mins
Simon Schama tackles the 20th century through the lives of two men - Winston Churchill and George Orwell. Both men, so very different in almost every way, lived through and wrote about the key moments of British 20th-century life - the Depression, Empire, two world wars and the Cold War. What unites them, argues Schama, is one shared theme - forget history at your peril.