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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Living with the Empire

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MP and historian Kwasi Kwarteng on the legacy of Empire.

MP and historian Kwasi Kwarteng sets out to look for the British Empire in the UK's monuments, people - and in its contested memories.

Living with the Empire: Empire of the Seas

Empire of the Seas

BBC Radio 4 - Living with the Empire, Empire of the Seas

MP and historian Kwasi Kwarteng sets out to look for the British Empire in the UK’s monuments, people - and in its contested memories.

MP and historian Kwasi Kwarteng claims the British Empire is all around us today and in this series he sets out to look for it in the UK’s monuments, people - and in its contested memories. 

In ‘Empire of the Seas’, he’s in Bristol, where he believes the British Empire really began with the voyage of John Cabot 500 years ago. The explorer’s reputation in the city has gone up and down over the years as Bristol re-assesses its imperial past. Kwasi asks how people feel the presence of empire now, especially in the inner-city’s multi-ethnic communities. In Glasgow, ‘Second city of Empire’, Kwasi explains how it profited handsomely from imperial trade. He also discovers that Glasgow has been slower than other port-cities to question the origins of its imperial wealth. The industries connected with the colonies have long gone. But he does get to visit one workplace which continues the city’s nautical traditions.

Producer Gareth Jones for BBC Wales

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Living with the Empire

Empire of the Seas

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