logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
36m 38s

Bottles in the Basement

ABC listen and CBC
About this episode

Deep in the cellars of one of England’s grandest country homes, covered in dirt and cobwebs, lay dozens of bottles of ancient rum.

Their discovery set off a frenzy among collectors vying to own the oldest rum in the world. 

But where did they come from and who produced them? Sealed inside was the story of an enslaved people in one of the first overseas colonies of the British Empire - Barbados.

This podcast is a co-production of ABC Australia and CBC Podcasts.

Up next
Aug 2023
The Girl Called Pocahontas
How do you uncover the true life of a woman whose existence is wrapped in myth, propaganda and a famous animated children’s movie?This is the true story of Matoaka - a young Powhatan girl who you probably know as Pocahontas. This is the mystery of a child, a hidden history and a ... Show More
33m 47s
Jul 2023
The Fever Tree Hunt
Most heists target gold, jewels or cash. This one targeted illegal seeds.As the British established their sprawling empire across the subcontinent and beyond, they encountered a formidable adversary — malaria. There was a cure — the bark of the Andean cinchona tree. The only prob ... Show More
30m 22s
Jul 2023
Zero Marks The Spot
It’s round. It has a hole in it. It symbolises nothing and yet it is the possibility of something... meet zero.The zero we know and love today is the foundation of our modern world. And we have India to thank for it; in particular one special Indian birch bark book — the Bakhshal ... Show More
35m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
The Boston Tea Party
On December 16th, 1773, a band of American patriots quietly boarded three ships in Boston Harbour, under the cover of night. Armed with axes and hatchets, they pried open the crates on board and poured their contents into the ocean. The crates contained tea; black-leaved Bohea an ... Show More
56m 27s
Dec 2022
The First Britons
67 million people currently inhabit the United Kingdom - but what do we know about the original, first Britons? It's no secret when looking back into pre-history that it was a time of mass migration for animals and people alike, but who were our early inhabitants, and what can we ... Show More
49m 20s
Aug 2023
The Pueblo Revolt
On August 10 1680, the Pueblo people began the most successful uprising against colonial power in North America. For 11 days, Spanish colonisers were driven out, taken prisoner or killed, their horses were stolen and Christian churches were burnt to the ground. They did not manag ... Show More
35m 32s
Mar 2022
The Enclosures
The enclosure of the commons was a centuries-long process. Gradually, through a combination of legal degrees and private acts, the land across Britain moved from a system of open field system to larger, enclosed farms. This was a transformative political, social and agricultural ... Show More
29m 53s
Mar 2022
The Demerara Uprising and Britain’s Legacy of Slavery
The Demerara Rebellion of 1823 was an uprising of over ten thousand enslaved people in the Crown colony of Demerara-Essequibo (now part of Guyana) on the coast of South America. Having grown tired of their servitude, the enslaved sought to resist in the most direct way they could ... Show More
26m 12s
Jan 2023
How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe
We have long been taught that modern global history began when the 'Old World' encountered the 'New', when Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America in 1492. But, in a groundbreaking new book, Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock conclusively shows that for tens of thousands of Aztecs, May ... Show More
44m 10s
Sep 2023
The Bones of Anglo Saxon England
It's the 13th of December, 1642, and Parliamentarian soldiers have just stormed the city of Winchester. They burst into the city's grand cathedral on horseback, and begin tearing it apart. The soldiers smash windows, burn tables and tapestries and steal anything of value. Stashed ... Show More
27m 14s
Jul 2021
Stuff the British Stole
Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today those objects are housed in genteel institutions across the UK and the world. They usually come with polite plaques. The ABC podcast Stuff the British Stole is a six episode series about the not-so-polite histor ... Show More
46m 17s
Jan 2023
Batavia: The Worst Shipwreck in History
In 1628, a Dutch East India flagship called Batavia set sail from the Netherlands, never to reach her destination. Eight months into the voyage, the ship was wrecked on coral reef off the western coast of Australia. What then befell her surviving crew and passengers was horrifyin ... Show More
26m 46s