User Reviews

end of empire was a series documentary by channel 4 TV (UK) from 1985. each week the series dealt with a particular country which formed part of the British empire and its consequent search for independence. THE SERIES NARRATOR was the excellent actor Robin ELLIS. Each week the series focused on a country and proceeded to analyse the make up of that country its roots its origins its peoples and the eventual colonisation by England in the name of the monarch,and then proceeded to historically and sequentially chart the fight for independence by its freedom fighter/terrorists/suppressed population or just its representatives. the series did not pull any punches was non partisan and plainly stated the facts as they happened. it was unbiased and remained true to history. since the series was made channel 4 have seen fit not to repeat the series and very little mention has been made of it,but i am sure that it will return as a definitive account of end of empire.

Very fair look at the decline and rapid withdrawal of the English empire. The early episodes emphasize how the end was coming long before world war II, as England's maritime power couldn't hold together the vast reaches of the empire. Being made in 1985 means that many people involved in the 50's were still alive and gave first-hand accounts of the decisions made.

The Iran episode was interesting in that I always blamed the US for the coup against Mossadec. England has its own responsibility.

The Palestinian episode, too, is fascinating and unbiased. Lots to learn.

This excellent series with the narration of eloquent standard English explains the last years of empire by each country. My favourite episodes were the ones about India, Cyprus and the Middle East.

The series deals with plain facts and does not take sides but is genuinely academic and makes the last years of empire intriguing and interesting to the viewer, with first hand witness accounts and very educational to a post empire generation.

We learn about were the empire ruled and its legacy in the present era and how this has effected the former territories along with its relations with Britain.

No series about empire can out do this in the present which is why it should be the value of gold and preserved for future generations as nowadays the tyranny of "Woke liberalism" rules and we have reactionaries such as Niall Ferguson preaching a romanticised narrative of empire - The polarisation of society as opposed to past civility and common sense with high standards as epitomised in this series.

For anyone who's interested in the current state of geopolitics and where this mess originated from, this is arguably one of the best into's. There for sure are omissions here. For example, in the episode about Iran- Norman Darbyshire was interviewed in depth for some key information. But (allegedly) the CIA (and possibly others) demanded he be removed entirely, which he was.

Transcripts of Darbyshire's interviews still exist and were used in a new documentary called Coup 53 (2019), which details those and other omissions to the Iran episode.

In short, the series was for sure censored for one reason or another, but still is a fantastic introduction for the masses on the current state of world affairs, and why things are the way they are.