Simon Schama

Sequel to 'History of Britain: Volume 2' (6260). An account of how the British shaped much of the modern world. Based not on the experiences of the great and the good, but a social history of the urban poor, women, the oppressed and the people of the Empire.

In the first of three volumes spanning the history of Britain, Simon Schama chronicles the events that changed the country between 3000 BC and AD1603. The great, the good and the wicked are here along with records of many more ordinary lives.

Sequel to 'History of Britain: Volume 1' (6175). In this book, Simon Schama concentrates on two centuries which saw the transformation of every facet of British life. Beginning with the reign of the Stuarts, through to the foundations of the British Empire.

During the American War of Independence thousands of African-American slaves fled the plantations to fight behind British lines. Those who served the Crown were betrayed at the end of the war when they failed to receive land promised to them, so many became actively involved in the British abolitionist movement.