History
Station:
BBC iPlayer (GB)
Status:
To Be Determined
Start:
2023-10-02
Rating:
0/10 from 0 users
The future of the Union is today at greater threat than at any time in living memory. In this series David Olusoga uncovers the long history of union and disunion, tracing their origins back centuries.The fracture lines of our current division run along the borders between the 'home nations' but we are also disunited by social class and inequality, by England's north-south divide and the historic dominance of London. Our disunity can be told through the historic rise and fall of what are today called 'left-behind towns' and the long history of our rural-urban divide.David's own personal experience connect him to several regions of the UK, each with their own strong identities. He grew up in a working-class community in the North East of England, a politically independent region with an antipathy towards London. And as a mixed-race child who came Britain in the 1970s, he has seen for himself how complex and nuanced the relationship between the individual and the nations of the UK can be.
There is no Next Episode of Union with David Olusoga planned.
S1E1 - The Making of Britain
David Olusoga tells the story of attempts to form a united Britain in the 17th and early 18th centuries, a period defined by religious and cultural divisions.
Air Date: 02 Oct 2023 00:00 (CDT)
S1E2 - Creating Britishness
David Olusoga reveals how, in the 18th century, a new British identity was forged in the face of multiple threats from within - including the Jacobite rebellions in Scotland and an Irish revolution in 1798, and near-constant war with France.
Air Date: 02 Oct 2023 00:00 (CDT)
S1E3 - The Two Nations
The 19th-century union appears secure, but beneath the surface run deep divisions, leading to the emergence of a new working-class movement - and a catastrophic famine in Ireland.
Air Date: 02 Oct 2023 00:00 (CDT)
S1E4 - Union and Disunion
The 20th century sees partition in Ireland. A sense of national unity emerges in the aftermath of the Second World War, but economic challenges in the 1970s create new divisions and questions about the union's future.
Air Date: 02 Oct 2023 00:00 (CDT)