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End of Empire

End of Empire

1985•51m•Documentary
Similars

Chronicling the last days of British rule around the globe, through the remarkably candid reminiscences of both colonizers and the colonized.

Brian Lapping · Writer

StatusEnded
Runtime51m
LanguageEN
First Air DateApr 15, 1985

Episodes

Episode 1 - The Beginning of the EndE151m

The Beginning of the End

The fall of Singapore in 1942, and an examination of how the British Empire -- the largest in the history of the world -- had survived to that point.

Apr 15, 1985

Episode 2 - India: Engine of WarE251m

India: Engine of War

In 1939 Lord Linlithgow the Viceroy, declared India at war with Germany without consulting one Indian, and Winston Churchill expected India to provide soldiers without any reward. As a result, clashes began which lead to the partition of the subcontinent.

Apr 22, 1985

Episode 3 - India: The Muslim CardE350m

India: The Muslim Card

At Independence, Britain's achievement of bringing unity to India was destroyed, mainly due to Winston Churchill and the leader of India's 100 million Muslims, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Apr 29, 1985

Episode 4 - India: Divide and QuitE452m

India: Divide and Quit

By early 1947, British soldiers and officials could no longer control India. Their numbers had fallen and a frenzy of murder was spreading through the subcontinent. PM Attlee appointed Lord Louis Mountbatten to be Britain's last Viceroy. His job was to bully the Indian leaders into agreeing on arrangements for the succession and to ensure that Britain retreated with dignity. The murders in the Punjab -- estimates of those killed vary between 250,000 and a million -- became a terrible blot on the British withdrawal.

May 6, 1985

Episode 5 - MalayaE551m

Malaya

The British Army and Chinese Communists fought side-by-side against Japanese forces in the Malayan jungle in the 1940s. The Communists' leader, Chin Peng, was awarded the OBE by the grateful British Government. But the military alliance fell apart after Britain regained control in 1945.

May 13, 1985

Episode 6 - PalestineE651m

Palestine

In promising the Jewish people a home in a country which belonged to Arabs, the British were embarking on a policy which led to hatred and bloodshed. Britain's undignified departure left the Palestinian people dispossessed and an imposed Jewish state to fight for its life.

May 20, 1985

Episode 7 - IranE751m

Iran

In 1953 the British exercised imperialist muscle and toppled Iranian PM Mohammad Mosaddegh -- who had freed his country from foreign domination (particularly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) -- to restore the Shah to power.

May 27, 1985

Episode 8 - EgyptE852m

Egypt

Egypt was formally part of the empire from 1914 to 1922, but the Suez Canal zone remained central to imperial defence and trade for decades afterwards. The British invasion of Suez in November 1956 is generally accepted as a major turning point for the empire.

Jun 3, 1985

Episode 9 - AdenE952m

Aden

Britain thought it could hang on to Aden after giving independence to all its principal colonies in Asia and Africa. But the Egyptian-inspired Arabs proved fierce opponents, and the British made a hurried escape by helicopter.

Jun 10, 1985

Episode 10 - CyprusE1052m

Cyprus

Leading Cypriots petitioned twice to join Greece in a dominant Greek political state -- in 1830 upon the creation of the Kingdom of Greece and in 1878 when Britain took control of Cyprus. So when Archbishop Makarios forced the issue decades later, imperial officials did not recognize it as a revolutionary movement.

Jun 17, 1985

Episode 11 - The Gold CoastE1152m

The Gold Coast

Riots in Accra and other Gold Coast towns in 1948 tested Britain's post-India strategy of power sharing, moderate leaders, and voluntary concessions. Rather than exert firm repression, the Labour government sent a committee of inquiry which recommended self-government.

Jun 24, 1985

Episode 12 - KenyaE1251m

Kenya

Mau Mau -- depraved barbarians to the British, desperate nationalists in their own eyes -- waged a bloody and brutal rising. The trial and imprisonment of their "manager" Jomo Kenyatta led to even more bloodshed.

Jul 1, 1985

Episode 13 - The Rider and the HorseE1352m

The Rider and the Horse

In 1953 Britain launched a huge new state in Africa made up of the present Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. Its ideal was peaceful cooperation between black and white. It lasted only 10 years, and its collapse helped bring down PM Harold Macmillan.

Jul 8, 1985

Episode 14 - RhodesiaE1452m

Rhodesia

In a 15-year rebellion, white Rhodesians seized independence illegally and held it in the face of world opposition until weakened by African military force. Then, in a diplomatic coup, Lords Carrington and Soames bluffed them into peacefully transferring power to Robert Mugabe.

Jul 15, 1985

Actors

Robin Ellis

Robin Ellis

Self - Narrator (voice)

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Similars

Abroad Again in Britain
The Great Smog: Winter of '52
Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings
Inside Hampton Court Palace
Empire
Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency
My Grandparents' War
Seven Ages of Britain
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History of the World
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How the Victorians Built Britain
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The Race for Ancient Egypt in Colour
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The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family
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