Channel logo

Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

Season 1
When slavery was abolished in Britain, its government made the extraordinary choice of compensating slave-owners for their loss of ‘property’. Historian David Olusoga uncovers the untold story of Britain’s slave trade – and an empire founded on its profits.
20152 episodesTV-PG
Free trial of BBC Select

Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Episode 1
    July 14, 2015
    59min
    TV-PG
    Lifting the lid on the range and scale of the slavery business as it existed in Britain, historian David Olusoga examines the records and finds it wasn’t just the super-rich who exploited slave labour. Ordinary members of the middle-class, including widows, clergymen and shopkeepers, were also in on the act. Yet many never looked a slave in the eye or experienced the brutality of plantation life.
    Free trial of BBC Select
  2. S1 E2 - The Price of Freedom
    July 21, 2015
    59min
    TV-PG
    In 1834, Britain’s government made the extraordinary decision to compensate former slave-owners with the equivalent of $22 billion in today’s money. In the second part of this revealing documentary series, historian David Olusoga traces the bitter propaganda war waged between pro-slavers and abolitionists. But were these pay-offs, as was then believed, the only way to bring the system to an end?
    Free trial of BBC Select

Details

More info

Audio languages
English
Subtitles
English [CC]
Producers
Chris GranlundJames Van der Pool
Cast
David Olusoga
Studio
BBC
By clicking play, you agree to our Terms of Use.