Britain's Outlaws

History

Station:
BBC Four (GB)

Status:
Ended

Start:
2015-11-23

Rating:
0/10 from 0 users

Few figures in British history have captured the popular imagination as much as the outlaw. From gentleman highwaymen, via swashbuckling pirates to elusive urban thieves and rogues, the brazen escapades and the flamboyance of the outlaw made them the antihero of their time - feared by the rich, admired by the poor and celebrated by writers and artists.In this three-part series, historian Dr. Sam Willis travels the open roads, the high seas and urban alleyways to explore Britain's 17th- and 18th-century underworld of highwaymen, pirates and rogues, bringing the great age of the British outlaw vividly to life.Sam shows that, far from being 'outsiders', outlaws were very much a product of their time, shaped by powerful national events. In each episode, he focuses not just on a particular type of outlaw, but a particular era - the series as a whole offers a chronological portrait of the changing face of crime in the 17th and 18th centuries.Sam begins with the arrival of a new breed of gentleman criminal out of the ashes of the English Civil War - the highwayman. Heavily romanticised in literature, these glamorous gangsters became a social menace on the roads and a political thorn in the side of the creaking British state - threatening to steal our wallets and our hearts. But underneath the dashing image of stylish robbers on horseback lay a far darker reality.

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List of episodes

S1E1 - Knights of the Road: The Highwayman's Story

Series charting the age of the outlaw begins with the arrival of a new breed of gentleman criminal out of the ashes of the Civil War.

Air Date: 23 Nov 2015 15:00 (CDT)

S1E2 - Pirates

Sam Willis explores the golden age of piracy during the early 18th century and charts the devastating impact pirates had during an age of colonial expansion.

Air Date: 30 Nov 2015 15:00 (CDT)

S1E3 - Rogues Gallery

Sam Willis looks at urban crime, fraud and corruption in the 18th century, uncovering a fascinating rogues' gallery of charmers, fraudsters and villains.

Air Date: 07 Dec 2015 15:00 (CDT)