00.00 – 02.20
An outline of how fighting the World Wars accelerated the collapse of the British empire.
02.21 – 10.30
How troops from Australia and New Zealand were used in Turkey during the First World War. The failure at Gallipoli.
10.31 – 13.39
TE Lawrence's story in the Arab world during the First World War. How the British Empire got even bigger after the war.
13.40 – 17.19
The 1924 Wembley exhibition to celebrate the empire. The cost of running the empire as the new territories cost more to govern than any profit they made.
17.20 – 24.44
Nationalist protests in Ireland and India. Gandhi's policy of non-violent protest and the massacre at Amritsar.
24.45 – 31.45
Japanese victory in Singapore in 1942 – the greatest military disaster in the history of the British empire. Niall visits Hell Fire Pass where prisoners of war were forced to work in horrendous conditions.
31.46 – 36.30
How huge British debts forced Winston Churchill to accept help from the USA.
36.31 – 39.17
The Suez crisis and how Britain lost Egypt due to its financial dependence on the USA.
39.18 – 41.46
Colony after colony gains independence in the post-war era.
41.47 – 47.43
A summary of the British empire and its legacy in the world today. A depiction of the USA as the modern empire-builders.
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