Slavery Business, The (2 Parts)

Synopsis: The full story of Britain’s slave empire has been hidden for almost two centuries. These programmes tell of how slavery was brought to an end by the British people taking on the slave dynasties and winning.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2005
Year of production: 2005
Availability: Out of distribution
Notes: Broadcast on BBC2 on 10/8/2005 and 17/8/2005
Subjects: History
Keywords: British Empire; slavery; social history; social reform; Wilberforce, William (1759-1833)

Title: Sugar Dynasty
Synopsis: A drama-documentary telling the story of the Beckford dynasty, one of the wealthiest of the families who ran Britain’s first global business - slavery. Using a unique set of family records, this video shows how the Beckfords ruthlessly ran their sugar plantations in Jamaica to wring vast profits out of their thousands of slaves. It also tells the story of how lavishly they spent their money back in Britain, in an attempt to join the aristocracy and how they eventually became embroiled in the sexual and financial scandals that would destroy them.
Duration: 60 mins
Distributors ref: XA012/01V
Title: Breaking the Chains
Synopsis: This video tells the story of how slavery came to an end. William Wilberforce, the man who ended the slave trade is considered a hero today, but there’s another story that’s been hidden for 200 years. Although opposed to the slave trade, Wilberforce believed that the 800,000 slaves owned by the British should remain in chains. He regarded them as unfit for freedom. This programme uncovers the real heroes of the battle against slavery. They were radical political activists, many of them women; fiery evangelical preachers who worked amongst the slaves; and thousands of slaves themselves, who rose up in rebellion to break the chains of their own bondage.
Duration: 60 mins
Distributors ref: XA012/02V

Name: Canny Store
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Notes: NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk

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