Disc 3

THE BRITISH WARS - covering 1603-1649. The 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. Schama tells of the brutal war that tore the country in half and created a new Britain - divided by politics and religion and dominated by the first truly modern army, fighting for ideology, not individual leaders. REVOLUTIONS - covering 1649-1689. Political and religious revolutions racked Britain after Charles I's execution, when Britain was a joyless, kingless republic led by Oliver Cromwell. His rule became so unpopular that for many of it was a relief when the monarchy was restored after his death, but Cromwell was also a man of vision who brought about significant reforms. BRITANNIA INCORPORATED - covering 1690-1750. As the new century dawned, relations between Scotland and England had never been worse. Yet half a century later the two countries would be making a future together based on profit and interest. The new Britain was based on money, not God. THE WRONG EMPIRE - covering 1750-1800. The series is the exhilarating and terrible story of how the British Empire came into being through its early settlements - the Carribean through the sugar plantations (and helped by slavery), the land that later became the United States and India through the British East India Company - and how it eventually came to dominate the world. A story of exploration and daring, but also one of exploitation, conflict and loss.