The British Empire

The British Empire was one of the most influential and far-reaching empires in history. Dan and his guest journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera remember school lessons on the small island that rose to global dominance. From the 16th century to the 20th century, the British Empire spanned continents, encompassing vast territories and diverse cultures, controlling a quarter of the planet. But, the way we've been taught about the Empire hasn't always been the full story and today historians are building a more complex and thorough picture of what the British Empire was. Sathnam sheds light on the darker aspects of the empire's history - colonisation, slavery and exploitation and Dan confronts some difficult truths about his own family's history. Together, they consider how we teach it to the next generation in a way that acknowledges everything- the good, the bad and the difficult.

Sathnam Sanghera's new children's book is called 'Stolen History'.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.