Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

Documentary · 2015 · 59 min BBC Select
Available on Prime Video, BritBox

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.

Documentary · 2015 · 59 min
Starring David Olusoga

Season 1

  • EPISODE 1

    Episode 1

    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.

    59 min · Jul 15, 2015
  • EPISODE 2

    The Price of Freedom

    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?

    59 min · Jul 22, 2015

Trailers

  • Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners Trailer

    Documentary · 3 min

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Cast & Crew

  • David Olusoga

    Host

About

Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

Documentary

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.

Information

Studio
BBC
Released
2015
Rated
TV-PG
Region of Origin
United Kingdom
© 2015 BBC

Languages

Original Audio
English (United Kingdom)
Audio and Subtitles
English (United Kingdom) (AAC, CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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