High Street Durbars [audio 15min]

"Empire" 85th of 90: After WWI, the colour coding of the globe changed. The Ottoman Empire was dismantled and the rich cultural and economic swathe that stretched from Turkey down through the Levant, Syria, Mesopotamia - what is now Iraq - Palestine, Jordan to the Persian Gulf, was no longer Turkish. The British seemed more conscious than ever that 440 million people were part of the widest spread and most powerful empire the world had seen. Colonies were places from which the British could import goods at a profit and to which they could export. Globalization had started with the British Empire. In Britain, in the 1920s and 30s this was reflected in every high street. There were hundreds of high street promotions with titles such as, Empire Shopping Week. An Empire Marketing Board, sold Empire to the people. The message was simple: buy Empire produce and make our kith and kin and ourselves strong. "This Sceptred Isle: Empire" is a narrative history of the British Empire from Ireland in the 12th century to the independence of India in the 20th, told in 90 programmes written by historian Christopher Lee and narrated by actor Juliet Stevenson. ~Visit website to listen again to 5 most recent episodes, plus interactive maps and timeline, biographical dictionary, image galleries, quizzes, sources, resources, listeners' comments.