1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,390 I just have to explain how all this has come about, and why I'm in Ghana. 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,113 Don't worry, it's not for charity. It's a proper programme. 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,470 Somebody came to me with this idea that I should go to all the places in the world 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,353 named after Queen Victoria, because I was named after her. 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:14,753 Even I could see that link. 6 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,756 But when I started to think about it, 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:21,590 I thought just going round the world looking at monuments named after Queen Victoria, 8 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,997 that's not actually a television programme, that's just some very expensive holiday slides. 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:31,239 But then they thought that the fact that these places had had their original names taken away 10 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,999 and replaced with the name of a British monarch, 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,830 was actually very symbolic of the breadth and strength of the British Empire 12 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,269 in the middle of Victoria's reign. 13 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,359 So then the programme was going to be a look at the empire in the 19th century. 14 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:51,032 But then, we started to think, actually, the roots of the empire go back hundreds of years, 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,959 and not, actually, as I was led to understand as a child in the '50s, 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,596 some benevolent arrangement by which happy natives brought us cocoa and bananas, 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,596 and we gave them Christianity and scouting. 18 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:06,430 It is all about commerce, testosterone and addiction. 19 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,239 Queen Victoria never went anywhere, never went further than the Isle of Wight. 20 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,999 She didn't need to - her image was all over the world. 21 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:55,353 Her statue, her portrait, her name. You can't move round the world for Victorias. 22 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,993 I've been to India, which we seemed to have acquired by accident, 23 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,032 Hong Kong, which we only had till the Chinese said, 24 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:05,559 "Can we have our island back?" 25 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:11,031 and Borneo, where we grew the sago that's ruined many a child's school dinner,; 26 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,833 the land of the orchid, the head-hunter... 27 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,034 and the orang-utans who can't be bothered to walk anywhere. 28 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:21,231 And now we're off to Africa. 29 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,788 This is Africa. This is the west coast. That's where our journey continues. 30 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:54,193 We're in Ghana because this seems to be the start of the British Empire as we understand it. 31 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,279 It's difficult to get to grips with, everybody we've met has told us a different story. 32 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,517 But it seems that the British came over to the Gold Coast 33 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,358 and took over a trade that was already up and running, 34 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,914 and by sheer arrogance and entrepreneurial flair, 35 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,633 exploited it and became the best in the world at it. 36 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:13,989 That trade was the slave trade. 37 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,830 We've come to Ghana because this is where most of the trade with Britain was carried on. 38 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,468 This is Accra, the capital of Ghana. 39 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,557 It's not a bit of Africa I've ever been to before. 40 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,114 I can't really tell you what I think it's like. 41 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,754 It looks like very relaxed chaos to me. 42 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:34,711 I think there are roads and pavements, 43 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,558 but I don't think people much care which is which. 44 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,715 It's teeming with people. You'd never see this many people on the street at home, 45 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,194 unless a fire alarm had gone off in an office block. 46 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,357 Absolutely boiling 47 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,790 I wouldn't advise anyone planning a menopause to come here. 48 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:02,399 I've been in hot places like Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, but this is different. 49 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,956 It's soggy heat. You feel like a complimentary hand towel in an Indian restaurant. 50 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:09,911 Ghana is a Christian country, 51 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,112 and it's quite stable, compared to neighbouring countries like Nigeria. 52 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,469 What else do I know? Men do the ironing and... 53 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:18,875 oh, you can't urinate there 54 00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:24,796 My taxi driver says Ghana should be wealthy because of its gold and minerals, 55 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,513 but the government are corrupt and keep all the money. 56 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,233 But then, taxi drivers always say that. 57 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:33,158 At least he won't moan about there being too many black people. 58 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,910 This heat. It's not just me, loads of people are just sitting about. 59 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,428 It saps the life out of you. 60 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,955 This is Assin Manso, a visitor centre run by Ajukoli. 61 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,514 He told me the slave trade story from the African perspective, 62 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,676 how, from the time and place they were captured, 63 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,678 they were on a march of no return. 64 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,790 This mural tells the slaves' story, 65 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:18,391 how people all over Africa, farmers, soldiers, women, children, 66 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,115 were taken, either as prisoners of war or just as kidnap victims, 67 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,993 and how they were sold off, often to Arab traders, 68 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,272 whipped, beaten, manacled, branded sometimes, 69 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,914 and marched in chains, mile after mile, 70 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,155 down to trading posts like Assin Manso. 71 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,271 Ajukoli took me down to the river, 72 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,232 walking the same route the captured Africans were forced to walk, 73 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,669 as they were brought down here to be washed. 74 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,359 And when they came as far as here, 75 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,709 how long would they have been walking for? 76 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,757 - Over 300 miles. - Walking, in chains? 77 00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:59,995 Yes, many days and many miles. 78 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,271 - Children and women, as well?. - Children, women. 79 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:08,519 You know, men, children around ten years, and so on and so forth, were brought here. 80 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,189 - Right. - This was the largest market in the country. 81 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,517 The bathing in the river was not for the benefit of the captives. 82 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,553 It was a pragmatic practice, to make them more appealing to the purchaser. 83 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:28,355 Their skin would be oiled to make them more attractive, and any grey hair would be dyed. 84 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,951 They never knew what was going to happen to them. They had no idea. 85 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,913 If you dream of a white woman, 86 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,678 or a white man, 87 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:44,272 if in your dream you see white people, it's a sign of witchcraft. 88 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,791 They thought that is what was happening. The Europeans were eating them up. 89 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:52,992 When they brought them here, they chained them to the tree, 90 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:54,871 and washed them in batches. 91 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,833 They treated those that they captured according to their size, their strength. 92 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:03,032 So, somebody who is taller and more heavily built than myself, 93 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,596 wouldn't have chains around his hands and legs. 94 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,633 - They would put a yoke. - Around his neck? 95 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:16,071 Yes. But then some of them were able to escape. 96 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:17,758 - From here? - Yes. 97 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,794 And those that were caught later on were killed to serve as a deterrent 98 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,400 to those who were trying to escape. 99 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:26,555 And many killings took place here. 100 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,509 0f course, the British had a huge involvement in the slave trade. 101 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,836 We didn't invent it. It had been going on in Africa for hundreds of years. 102 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:40,351 But we exploited it, and with British efficiency, very much expanded it. 103 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:42,792 By the time it was abolished, 104 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:48,039 more than 11 million Africans had been delivered to European-owned plantations. 105 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,436 And we don't know how many more millions died along the way. 106 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,711 What they're trying to do at Assin Manso is not just to tell the story of slavery, 107 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,594 but to try and link up that part of Africa's past with the present. 108 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,428 For any black American, say, who knows that they are descended from slaves, 109 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,234 even if they don't know exactly what bit of Africa that slave came from, 110 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,033 they can make a symbolic return, at least. 111 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,514 The name of their ancestors will never be known, 112 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,439 but they can bring their own name back to Ghana, back to Africa. 113 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,954 We are following in the footsteps of the captured Africans, 114 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,673 as they were taken from Slave River at Assin Manso, 115 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,713 and marched the 40 miles to this coastal town, Cape Coast. 116 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:41,151 This would be the last time their feet would feel the soil of their own country. 117 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:45,518 It's a very pretty town, actually, about the size of Barnsley, 118 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:48,120 or Bath, for those of you who've never been to Barnsley. 119 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,357 It's got a university, but its main industry is fishing. 120 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,834 This is where the slaves were brought. 121 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,634 They would be bought at Slave River, and if they'd been purchased by a British company, 122 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,434 they would be marched down here to Cape Coast and held in a fortification 123 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:06,076 until the slave ships arrived from England to take them to the sugar plantations. 124 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:10,312 That fort is Elmina. 125 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,033 It's got a romantic, Foreign Legion look about it, 126 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,756 and there were 27 forts like Elmina up and down this coast, all built as trading posts, 127 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,509 all fiercely squabbled over by Europeans trying to get a toehold in Africa, 128 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:24,279 fighting amongst themselves for a piece of the gold trade, 129 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,880 the timber business, the slave trade. 130 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,031 This one, Cape Coast castle, was originally Portuguese. 131 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,868 The Dutch took it off them, the Scandinavians took it off the Dutch, 132 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,388 and it ended up in the hands of the British, who moved in, 133 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,590 built on and opened for business. 134 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,512 Cape Coast is a huge castle, built to a British design by local Africans. 135 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:50,313 No, actually by slaves who belonged to local Africans. 136 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,955 It's impressive in a way, the old pompous thing plonked on the shore. 137 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,195 In England, it would be turned into luxury flats, 138 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,518 but here they acknowledge what it really was, a warehouse. 139 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,476 There were about 300 soldiers here. 140 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:07,988 It had to be one of the worst jobs in the army, 141 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,635 although running a concentration camp can never be very life enhancing. 142 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,111 It was big business, the slave business. 143 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,835 You needed these guns in case anybody muscled in and took the merchandise. 144 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,077 So this is where the slaves spent their last days in Africa, 145 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,793 in a dungeon, under a Christian chapel. 146 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,753 So the British obviously had no difficulty in reconciling the two activities, 147 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,588 cramming frightened people into a filthy hole and singing to Jesus. 148 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,310 This is a very small space. 149 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,715 How many men would have been held in here? 150 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:48,151 About 300 men. They were kind of packed together. They were huddled together. 151 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,839 You and I can move our limbs around, but they couldn't. 152 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,589 They were kind of packed in the room under very horrible conditions. 153 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,154 That's the only source of ventilation they had, 154 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,431 streaks of sunlight coming through those holes over there. 155 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,597 - They always had soldiers watching over them. - From there? 156 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,393 - Yes. - How long would they have been kept in here? 157 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,795 As long as when the next slave ship was available. 158 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,070 Days, weeks, and sometimes even months. 159 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,793 And they were all separated from their wives and children? 160 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,719 Yes, there's another part of the building where the female slaves were kept. 161 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,070 And what happened when the ships came back? 162 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,111 They went into the slave ships. 163 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,594 - Onto different ships? - Into different ships. 164 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:29,679 You would be cut off from your family, you know, for the rest of your life. 165 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:35,192 It must be very hard for you to work here. It must be very upsetting. 166 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,390 It is upsetting, sometimes very depressing, 167 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,477 but it's part of my job as a public historian in a museum 168 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,717 to tell that story, however unkind it seems. 169 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,228 It is part of history and there's nothing we can do. 170 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,794 We can't hide that part of history. 171 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,991 Do you think it helps people like African-Americans to come back here? 172 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,749 Yes, it helps them to link up with their roots. 173 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:57,791 - For some of them, it's healing. - Yes. 174 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,277 They find some healing. For the Ghanaians, it helps us to learn about our history. 175 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,472 For the Europeans, also. It's world history, not only Ghanaian history. 176 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,876 And we as British people, we have to deal with this. 177 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,276 A lot of our heritage is based on the profits. 178 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:21,120 They couldn't know why they were being put into boats. 179 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:25,870 They couldn't have known it was all in aid of providing the British with cheap sugar. 180 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,357 They wouldn't have known the life expectancy of a plantation slave was eight years. 181 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,598 But they must have known on some level they would never come back home. 182 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,390 It isn't kept as a shrine here at all. 183 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,228 You come out of the Door 0f No Return and bang, you're back in the present. 184 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:44,748 The castle's there, the story's been told. 185 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,872 0utside, it's business as usual, and that's fishing. 186 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:52,232 These Ghanaians aren't descendants of anyone who was put on the slave ships. 187 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,990 Their ancestors were the ones that weren't snatched, that weren't sold, who stayed put, 188 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,396 just living their normal lives as free people. 189 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,431 Which is not much to ask. 190 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:14,071 The conditions were so disgusting, you could smell the slave ships ten miles away. 191 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,476 The slaves were stacked, like the commodities they were, on shelves, 192 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,954 chained in twos at their hands and feet. 193 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,992 Some died of dysentery, some jumped overboard. 194 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,554 Some in despair starved themselves to death. 195 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:27,591 They often did try and resist. 196 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,950 0n one voyage, 20 of them managed to break their chains. 197 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,879 But the sailors had guns and they could usually quash any rebellion. 198 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,153 We've certainly had our money's worth out of Ghana, 199 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,590 buying their stolen people and working them to death for profit. 200 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:53,555 Then generations later, expecting Ghanaians to die on our battlefields in two world wars. 201 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,113 Which they did. 202 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,357 The Royal West African Frontier Force was disbanded at independence, 203 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:02,279 but they were there, in Abyssinia and Burma, fighting our corner. 204 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,754 People say events cast a shadow on a place. I don't think that's true. 205 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,677 Well, I don't sense it. 206 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,518 If you didn't know what went on here, you wouldn't pick it up. 207 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:20,551 It's just a beautiful bit of coast. 208 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:27,398 This is the kitchen of the restaurant where I'm going to dinner. 209 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,557 It's lovely and calm, nobody swearing, nobody throwing knives. 210 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,512 Nobody standing outside in checked trousers, having a fag. 211 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,708 All sitting down, I like that in a kitchen. 212 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,433 (Victoria) OK? (Cab driver) Yeah. 213 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,951 I suppose it's too late to say I'm actually not hungry, it's too late and too hot. 214 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,032 0oh, some microphone cable trapped in the car door 215 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,717 I'm having dinner with Fritz, a well-known stand-up comedian in Ghana, 216 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,911 but unusually for a comedian, quite pleasant and cheerful. 217 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,269 And it's not that it's Ghanaian, I like porridge. 218 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,471 I don't mind food that looks like you could wallpaper with it. 219 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,990 It's just the humidity. I can't be bothered to chew. 220 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:22,678 Ah! Thank you. 221 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:24,995 Don't want it. Not hungry. 222 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:29,033 - Is that yours? - No, no, we're sharing it. 223 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:30,877 0h, I might have one of those. 224 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:32,797 Am I fighting you for this? 225 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,035 - Oh, no, there's more coming. - There's more. 226 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,356 - Beautiful. OK. - OK. 227 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,358 - Tell me what these are. - Now, this is banku. 228 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,676 - Yeah? - Now, banku is steamed corn dough. 229 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,076 - Milled corn. Cornflour. - Yes. 230 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,509 And then it's stirred till it comes to this. 231 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,875 - It's really nice stuff. - Let's have it. 232 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:56,911 - Yeah, OK. - Right. 233 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:01,636 - All right, then. And what's this? - This is okra stew. 234 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,478 Right, it draws a bit, but it's nice stuff. 235 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:09,036 With vegetables, you know, tomatoes... 236 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,638 - Oh, it's nice! - It's nice, yes. 237 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:19,151 - When I say nice, it's got quite a bite to it. - It's got a bite to it, yeah. 238 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,476 - (Coughs) It's really hot! - Yeah. 239 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,910 I always said I wasn't going to come here and apologise for the slave trade, 240 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:27,791 cos I didn't really think it was my fault. 241 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:32,277 But when I was at Slave River, and looking at those paintings, 242 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:33,992 that tell the story of the slave trade, 243 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,511 and there's these very evil looking white people who are whipping the Africans. 244 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,199 And I did feel, suddenly, you know, 245 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:46,712 that I was part of this terrible, shameful white thing that had happened. 246 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:53,552 And it made me feel uncomfortable, to be a white person in the place where that happened. 247 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,479 Well, it's good that you're feeling a little guilty about it. 248 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,433 - I'm not going to do anything about it. - Well, the thing is... 249 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:05,632 what Europe served was external stimuli. 250 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,911 And that's where you're to blame. 251 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,635 Because it led to the feeding frenzy. 252 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:14,477 - What, of Africa? - Yeah. 253 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,433 Africans got involved, and it led to a breakdown in our society, 254 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,391 because greed took over. 255 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:27,630 The blame on Europe is that it stimulated it, because they made the demands for slaves. 256 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,752 - So when did Britain leave... - 1957. 257 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,598 1957? That's not long ago, is it, really? 258 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,074 It's almost 50 years. 259 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:39,078 Have you thrown off those shackles, do you think? 260 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,475 Well, by 1960, they'd all gone. 261 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:43,715 Switching the light off and leaving? 262 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,558 No, they'd left people who could run the show. 263 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,115 The idea was that these people could run the show for Britain, 264 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,799 and be inclined to Britain. 265 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,152 We have this relationship, the relationship that can never be broken. 266 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:58,599 We're part of the Commonwealth. 267 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,677 Informally, most Ghanaians now look to the States. 268 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,156 Do they? How dare they? When we've given them so much! 269 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,997 They don't want to come to a small, filthy, grey country? 270 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,079 - No, no, all right, I won't say that. - That's all right, I'll say it for you. 271 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:15,554 But erm... It's a light attitude. 272 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,434 When Britain was a little more stodgy, it's not... 273 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,074 Don't give me this and then say the word "stodgy"! 274 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,470 Yeah, well, it's like visiting your old school headmaster. 275 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:31,958 So you want to go and visit a favourite uncle. That's why Ghanaians now favour the States. 276 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:46,998 I'm on my way to meet two people, African-Americans, New Yorkers, 277 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,077 who felt so strongly that Ghana was their ancestral home 278 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,749 that they sold their house, left their jobs, gave up their life in New York, 279 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,314 left everything behind, including their family, 280 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:58,351 and they've built this. 281 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,439 It's a sort of upmarket B&B-cum-education centre. 282 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:11,397 The only thing that happened is that I was removed and transplanted to another place. 283 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:14,159 Does that mean that my connection is totally broken? 284 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:15,997 No, it doesn't. 285 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,874 Some don't want to come. Some may never leave the Western world, 286 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,878 and return to Africa, and that's totally their choice. 287 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,480 But there are some of us that deep down inside, 288 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,308 there's a yearning and a burning to go see this place called Africa, 289 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,397 to go see this place that you were told that you come from, 290 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:34,396 and to make that connection. 291 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,274 There's a lot of what they call "roots tourism" here, 292 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,869 and African-Americans want to come and stand where their ancestors stood, 293 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,152 to come back through the Door 0f No Return and to stand in the dungeons. 294 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,397 But that can be a painful experience. 295 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,998 When I went into the women's dungeon, I hurt. 296 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:00,191 I had pain like you would not believe. 297 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,118 But then I got this comforting feeling 298 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,913 of all these people that were around me, 299 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:11,637 that were assuring me that, "It's OK, it's all right, you're home now." 300 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,275 And I knew, as I walked out of that dungeon, 301 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:19,632 that I was going to live the rest of my life in Africa, 302 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:24,276 doing something as an African person coming home. 303 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,312 You must have had to make a huge emotional adjustment, 304 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:29,954 to live so far from your original home. 305 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,956 The adjustment was... 306 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:38,348 making the announcement to my immediate family, my children, 307 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:44,077 that unless God Almighty tells me to return to America, my work is in Ghana. 308 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:46,509 They were mad, they were mad. 309 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,278 Believe me, they were mad. 310 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,915 No letters, no phone calls, no communication. 311 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:58,798 So my biggest emotional adjustment was the settlement in my spirit of things, 312 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:03,516 that unless the children came, I'd probably never see them again. 313 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,673 I understand intellectually that need to connect with the people you're descended from. 314 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,039 I don't have it myself. 315 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,311 I've never wanted to trace my roots any more than I've wanted to collect thimbles, 316 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,110 but I get it, I can see why if your ancestors were snatched from their home, 317 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:26,392 you would want to make a pilgrimage and make a symbolic return on their behalf. 318 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,273 But to risk never seeing your own living family, 319 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,029 for the sake of reuniting with some unknown, unknowable dead family, 320 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:37,915 that is some powerful drive that I respect, but I don't get it. 321 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:39,552 You can come back to Ghana, but... 322 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,593 you can't come back to the Ghana that the slaves were taken away from. 323 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,197 God's everywhere in Ghana. 324 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,391 He's overseeing the haircuts, the fish shop, 325 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:01,431 all-seeing, all-tailoring. 326 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:06,349 They're more comfortable, I would say, with their Christianity than we are in Britain. 327 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,790 And you might think their Africanness might inform their hymn singing, 328 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:15,039 but no, it's the same rather earnest, plodding choir practice we're used to in our own land. 329 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,553 There's a lot of ladies trying to pretend they're not late, 330 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,558 but with a big dress and a spiral staircase, there's no chance. 331 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,990 Come on, hutch up. There you are, it's a Ghanaian wave. 332 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,109 0oh, nearly 333 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,797 This could be any church in Britain. 334 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,354 There's no nod to African architecture at all. 335 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,153 It's only the ladies' clothes that give it away. 336 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,510 It's a very solid vestige of empire in Ghana. 337 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:02,835 There's not may others, actually, here. 338 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,149 Belgrave Memorial Hall. 339 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:09,760 You can see that on many a windswept English corner. 340 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,475 Why is it empty? Did we only bring Christianity? Not bingo? 341 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,319 This house seemed to sum up the old days of colonialism, 342 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:27,638 but really what it summed up were my own stupid assumptions. 343 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,671 As the house looked like it must be empty, 344 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:31,955 I thought it was OK just to go and peer in. 345 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,355 It was actually the home of a Ghanaian family. 346 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,517 Instead of telling me to get lost, which they had every right to do, 347 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,155 the children came out and said, very politely, "Can we help you?" 348 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,716 I think that was the arrogance of being with a film crew, rather than being British, 349 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:47,751 but I couldn't swear to it. 350 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,797 For every church and memorial hall, there's a fortification. 351 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,559 We didn't come to convert, we came to make money. 352 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,795 And once we made it, we had to protect it. 353 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:34,831 Victoria Park. 354 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,269 Victoria Park, Ghana. 355 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:40,038 Now, unlike our own dear queen, 356 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,595 who did used to turn up at the odd cup final and shake the lads' hands, 357 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,349 I don't think Queen Victoria had much to do with the beautiful game. 358 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,231 This is Victoria Park in Cape Coast, 359 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,477 and this park was the birthplace of football in Ghana. 360 00:24:55,360 --> 00:25:00,070 The students at the government boys' school had read about football in British newspapers, 361 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:04,796 and in 1903, 22 pupils started to train secretly in this park, 362 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,276 which was usually used for official ceremonies, at night. 363 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:18,913 They formed a team and started to play matches with sailors and white civil servants. 364 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,111 And last year, Ghana qualified for the World Cup. 365 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,869 They beat the Czech Republic before losing to Brazil in the second round. 366 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,911 Can you tell I'm reading that bit? 367 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,872 This is the first football I've seen since 1966. 368 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:39,597 Africa's most expensive player is Michael Essien from Ghana, who plays for Chelsea. 369 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,840 Don't ask me what position. I have no idea. 370 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:45,599 These teams we're watching now 371 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,394 are trained by Kofi, a local teacher who works with these boys in his spare time, 372 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:54,434 helping children from difficult backgrounds to find an alternative to life on the streets. 373 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,509 Guess how old Kofi is? No, wrong He's 50. I know 374 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,154 She must be somebody's girlfriend. Bored. 375 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:05,952 Kofi, how long have you been a coach? 376 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:11,597 I've been a coach since 1996, when I realised I had the potential to teach kids. 377 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:18,398 I realised the only thing that I can very much get into them is through sports. 378 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,750 - So your big boys are what? 17? - Yes, 17. 379 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,588 - And that's when they stop? - After 17 years, they stop. 380 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:28,154 They look for things for their future. 381 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,237 If their future is in football, they go after it. 382 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,909 And has any of them ever gone into professional football?. 383 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,032 - They are not ripe, yet. - But they're coming up? 384 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,789 - Yes, there are talents there. - You must be very proud. 385 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,718 Even though I am not getting money for all these things, 386 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,834 I am only happy that these boys are not street children any more. 387 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:54,431 They are not thugs, they are not fighting on the street, but they are here. 388 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,756 - Where did you get the money for uniforms? - The uniforms? I am a teacher by profession. 389 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,075 The little that I have, I save. 390 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,793 - Then... - Kofi! 391 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,719 - You are such a lovely person. - Yes, you can say that one again. 392 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:16,712 They're very polite. 393 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,548 My football career has never really taken off, but they let me hold the ball. 394 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,072 (All) Cheese! 395 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,911 Cheese! 396 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,115 I can't imagine a similar bunch of British boys 397 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,835 just happily singing to a middle-aged woman they've only met five minutes before. 398 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,871 They do have fantastic manners. 399 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,637 Cheer up, Queenie, we haven't ruined the place. 400 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,719 We haven't quite left it as you'd wish to find it, but they don't seem to bear us any grudge. 401 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,718 They haven't toppled your statue or changed the name of the park. 402 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,751 Go on, crack a smile 403 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:25,033 So, the ships left England with their cargo of guns, cloth and brandy. 404 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:27,230 0n the west coast of Africa they unloaded, 405 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,078 loaded up with slaves, or people, as I prefer to call them, 406 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:32,395 and sailed on to Jamaica, unloaded the slaves, 407 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,159 took on rum and sugar, and back to Blighty. 408 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:40,558 That's the slave triangle, and that's why our journey takes us from Ghana to Jamaica. 409 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,517 This is Montego Bay. 410 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,231 And this is a sugar plantation. 411 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:33,440 Before we colonised these Caribbean islands, sugar was an expensive luxury item. 412 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:35,869 Sugar cane will only grow in particular conditions, 413 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,388 and harvesting it is very labour intensive. 414 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,037 But Jamaica had the ideal climate, 415 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,913 and once we had the slave manpower to cut and process it, 416 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:45,951 it became an affordable habit. 417 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,719 0nce the British workers tasted it, they couldn't get enough. 418 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,991 They wanted it in their tea, in biscuits, in chocolate. 419 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,271 It's an addictive substance, and they were hooked. 420 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,596 Soon, the sugar business was bringing in huge profits. 421 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,958 So you had the demand, and to supply that demand you had your slaves, 422 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,639 the idea being that once you'd bought your first lot, 423 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:19,558 they would breed, you would have a limitless workforce, 424 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:24,037 you'd sit back in your lovely plantation house and count your money. 425 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,595 But, as Alrick Joseph, the Jamaican historian, explained to me, 426 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:31,315 the problem with slaves was, if they weren't dying or rebelling, 427 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,352 they were finding ways not to reproduce themselves. 428 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:41,509 The idea was that they would reproduce and you'd have a constant labour force. 429 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:43,596 Yes, you wouldn't have to keep buying. 430 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,679 - They didn't reproduce to a massive extent. - No, no. 431 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,190 One of the reasons why the slave trade was prolonged 432 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,708 was because of the constant import. 433 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:55,557 There are several positions on it - 434 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:59,309 that they deliberately sought not to reproduce 435 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,636 because by law, their children would become slaves. 436 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:04,511 They would take the status of the mother. 437 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:09,998 And they had the skills, it is believed, to practise abortion. 438 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:15,910 Midwives were women very skilled in the healing art of Africa, 439 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:20,112 and they helped in infanticide when the children were born. 440 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:25,473 And it is also believed that the harshness of conditions on the plantations 441 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,829 naturally prevented them getting pregnant. 442 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,553 There are records of slaves rebelling. 443 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:34,639 When there was a slave rebellion, the whole plantation could go up in flames. 444 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,990 They'd burn the cane fields, sometimes the great house and so on. 445 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:43,273 This was not only open rebellion, it was a constant sabotage that the slaves practised. 446 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:46,278 They deliberately worked slow. 447 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,596 They pretended that they couldn't understand instructions. 448 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,757 They would kill the animals on the plantation, 449 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,794 sabotage the mill house, damage equipment which would need replacing from England. 450 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,274 And if that happened, then the master would lose. 451 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,073 - There it is. - We're coming around the corner to it. 452 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,193 We're driving up into the Jamaican rain forest to Accompong. 453 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,994 I know we're going somewhere that's got something to do with escaped slaves 454 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:29,792 but I don't really know. 455 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:31,637 Nobody's saying. 456 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:35,070 This is the curse of making a documentary and being a bit shy. 457 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,157 In any other situation, if you were being led up to the hills 458 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:40,111 by a lot of silent, dope-smoking men, 459 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:44,915 you'd perhaps ask a few questions, but, what the heck, we're in Jamaica. 460 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:46,791 Let's go with the flow. 461 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:50,958 See the ladies in the checked skirts? They've all got mobile phones attached to their belts. 462 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,118 In fact, they were much quicker at videoing us than we were at filming them. 463 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,754 By the time we had our camera on its tripod, 464 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,791 we were already on You Tube. 465 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:34,392 Well, of course, the words "Dad's Army" did pop into my head, but all will become clear. 466 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,352 On behalf of the Colonel and the people of Accompong, 467 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,960 we say welcome to our family tree. 468 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,275 This is known as the Kindah Tree, 469 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:49,633 and the meaning of the word, this kindah, we are a family. 470 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:02,150 The Kindah Tree, up in the Blue Mountains, is of huge significance to this community, 471 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,031 who are called the Maroons. 472 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,594 The Maroons were originally runaway slaves, 473 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,916 who escaped from the estates and lived up here amongst the trees, 474 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,111 waging guerrilla warfare against the British soldiers. 475 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:17,676 They were so clever at camouflage, using skills they'd learnt in the bush in Africa, 476 00:34:17,720 --> 00:34:22,794 they could stand still amongst the trees while a regiment passed by and never be seen. 477 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:25,715 Fighting them was so costly to the army 478 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:29,878 that eventually they signed a treaty with the Maroons, under the tree, 479 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,878 granting them their freedom, giving them land and self rule, 480 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:36,151 in return for help protecting the government against any invaders. 481 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:47,318 We are direct descendants from Africa, chiefly from West Africa. 482 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:52,275 And we owe our allegiance to Ghana. 483 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,675 That's where the Ashanti tribes came from. 484 00:34:54,720 --> 00:34:58,349 - Do you feel like a Ghanaian or a Jamaican? - Well, both. 485 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:01,790 You feel like both? How do you feel about the British now? 486 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:06,516 Well, I have no grievance against them, nothing against them. 487 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,199 No hate, nothing like that. 488 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:15,429 Because they did what they thought they were doing and did, 489 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,075 certain that it was right, in the beginning, anyway. 490 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:25,195 After a time, they realised that they were doing wrong and they changed their habits, 491 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:29,631 so I am not carrying any grievance or grudge or hate against them. 492 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,310 I travelled to England and I lived there for 33 years. 493 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,830 I lived in London. The plan was to spend just five years. 494 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:39,757 Yeah. 495 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:41,950 But when you get there, things isn't that way, 496 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,993 because going, you're planning that you're going to save money. 497 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,032 So you think you're going to save enough in five years to come back. 498 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,675 But when you get there, no, you don't get that money at all, 499 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:55,393 so you find that you go to ten, 500 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,796 then fifteen, then twenty, then forty years, 501 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:02,515 and some of my friends that went there are still there. 502 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,269 - You weren't welcomed, were you? - In England? 503 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:09,039 No, not really. No, I wasn't welcomed. 504 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:12,470 We had problems in getting a place to live. 505 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:16,069 Until other Jamaicans started to buy their houses. 506 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:18,950 Then you could live there. 507 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:24,757 So you find that you have to live rough, you know, until you get your own houses. 508 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,472 The slaves were freed on the 1st of August 1834. 509 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:33,398 Well, all the slaves under six were freed. 510 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:37,274 The others had to work an apprenticeship for between four and six years. 511 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:39,788 They had to work for their master for 40 hours a week. 512 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,513 For the other 13 hours a week, they could work for wages, 513 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,518 to try and save enough to buy themselves out early. 514 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:48,358 Things weren't perfect, but at least they were emancipated. 515 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:52,712 It was here in Victoria Town that they finally had a chance of real independence. 516 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,513 This is where missionaries bought land to give to the slaves, 517 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:58,233 so they could build houses for themselves, grow food 518 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:00,111 and start a new, proper, free life. 519 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,434 They had a hard road ahead, but they did celebrate their freedom. 520 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,756 This is the Bruckins Dance, a dance of gratitude to Queen Victoria, 521 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,109 who they saw as freeing them from slavery. 522 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,230 Though really, she didn't have much to do with it. 523 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,236 They're always dressed in red and blue, 524 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,272 and the dancers are representing figures of the royal court, 525 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:56,517 kings and queens and princes and soldiers. 526 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:59,154 It's a sort of dance-off between the two sides, 527 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:03,318 and it's a mixture of formal court dance and African rhythm and movement. 528 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,797 It isn't sugar in Jamaica that earns money now. It's tourism. 529 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,310 They have around one and a half million visitors staying here every year, 530 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,193 and about a million more visiting from the cruise ships. 531 00:38:57,240 --> 00:39:01,313 There are more than 250,000 Jamaicans working in the tourist industry. 532 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:07,160 But the features that attract people here, the beaches, the coral reefs and the wildlife, 533 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:09,873 are under threat from over-use and pollution. 534 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:17,993 The more people come, the more the ecology's damaged. 535 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,316 It's a small island, already struggling to cope with water shortages 536 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:24,318 and pollution from sewage and plastic litter. 537 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,909 0h, do we have to feel guilty about everything? Probably. 538 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,197 This is Lovers Leap, supposedly named after two slaves 539 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,959 who leapt to their death rather than be separated. 540 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,629 But somebody said to me there's no way they'd ever have named anything after slaves, 541 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:47,151 and also, looking over here, it's only about eight foot before you'd fall into a cactus. 542 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:50,476 Which is painful, not tragic. 543 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,512 - Hi. Are you Freddie? - Hello, you must be Victoria. 544 00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,313 - Pleased to meet you. Hello. - Welcome to Jamaica. 545 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:05,351 - Thank you. - Enjoying yourself? 546 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:07,755 The whole world knows Jamaica for its music. 547 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:11,076 And this is reggae icon, Freddie McGregor. 548 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,237 He's Grammy nominated, he does concerts all over the world, 549 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:16,396 he's a singer, songwriter, producer. 550 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:18,799 Those are his big mangoes. 551 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:23,072 He had a huge reggae hit in 1981 with his own song, Big Ship, 552 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:26,430 so if anyone's going to be able to explain reggae, it's him. 553 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:28,996 # Hear me now again 554 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,998 # Right now I'm ready, you must hold on steady 555 00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:35,635 # I'm moving off at lightning speed, yes 556 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:38,752 # Take a seat, just wait till I'm ready 557 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:41,872 # Just for the day, so hold on steady 558 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:47,031 # And then the big ship sailin' on the ocean from Ghana 559 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,230 # We don't need no commotion 560 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:52,795 # And then the big ship sailing on the ocean # 561 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:57,355 Reggae is a music from Jamaica. 562 00:40:57,400 --> 00:40:59,789 Like Trinidad, the one we call Soca. 563 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:02,718 It's fast and different, but it's exciting. 564 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:07,629 Reggae just happens to be this one-drop groove that we inherited. 565 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:09,477 It's a beat, you know. 566 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:14,071 And people seem to respond to it in a way that sometimes surprises me, too. 567 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:18,511 So that's really unique, and Africa is where it all started, I'm quite sure. 568 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:24,188 Which leads me to believe now that different people from different islands 569 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:26,196 were from different parts of Africa. 570 00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:30,199 I would think Jamaican people are from West Africa. 571 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:34,199 - I feel West African. - Do you? You feel that link? 572 00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:39,792 When they came over from Ghana or wherever they came over from to here, 573 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:41,956 they weren't allowed to play music, were they? 574 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:46,278 No, I think what happened was when we started working on the plantations, 575 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:50,632 we had to find a way to release our stress, and while we worked, we sang. 576 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:53,240 Just like I grew up seeing my parents do. 577 00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:57,239 If she's washing clothes, she's singing. If she's cleaning the house, she's singing. 578 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:58,872 These people love to sing. 579 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:02,230 And so it's something very traditional. 580 00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:05,158 All the people who live here, or most of the people, 581 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:09,637 are descended from people taken from their own lands and brought here. 582 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:15,710 And yet there doesn't seem to be that oppressive or depressive stain on the place, 583 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:17,398 which you do feel in Ghana. 584 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:19,590 We work hard to have changed that, you see. 585 00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:24,475 We're one of the countries throughout the world who really fought hard, 586 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:26,636 even during the time of slavery. 587 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:29,956 You know, we had some of the most rebellious people here. 588 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,231 And we fought for the freedom that we wanted. 589 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:38,718 And luckily, today, coming back from 400 years ago, 590 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:44,710 I could say my foreparents have done a great job in fighting for our freedom today. 591 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,672 # I'm a-longing to see you 592 00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:51,235 # I want to know how you've been today 593 00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:54,078 # Over yonder 594 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:58,869 # Mm-hm, mmm 595 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:02,239 # I'm gonna catch this flight 596 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:05,636 # And when I reach my destination 597 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:08,399 # I hope you'll be smilin' 598 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,033 # Longing to see me 599 00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:17,036 # I thought you'd drop me a line 600 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,311 # Just to say "Hello, my dear 601 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:23,272 # "I'm doing fine" 602 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,596 # Mmm, yeah 603 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:28,756 # Oh, well 604 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:31,473 # It doesn't matter anyway now 605 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:36,958 # Cos my love for you will never change # 606 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:43,271 I felt quite low when I was in Ghana. 607 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:47,515 I mean, quite rightly they are keeping the story of slavery alive, 608 00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:49,835 but there's not really a light-hearted angle to it. 609 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:53,509 I don't know whether it was that or the weather, but it did feel quite oppressive. 610 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:57,712 But in Jamaica, it feels different. It's quite optimistic, it's quite cheerful. 611 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:01,912 That could be the weather, cos it's not so humid here, or it could be the marijuana. 612 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:06,112 But I like to think, really, that the gene pool here in Jamaica 613 00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:11,917 comes from all those people who managed to survive a march across the desert in shackles, 614 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:14,520 being kept in a dungeon in the dark for months, 615 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,358 being taken across the sea in a small ship, 616 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:19,914 when some of them had never even seen the sea. 617 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:24,556 Those people had the strength of spirit and body to survive that. 618 00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:27,433 I mean, it's not exactly a happy ending to the story, 619 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,233 but it's quite an ancestry. 620 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:55,749 This is St John's in Newfoundland. 621 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:59,839 Such an annoying pronunciation. I keep wanting to say New-found-land. 622 00:44:59,880 --> 00:45:01,552 It's a big rock, really. 623 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:03,875 It comes with fog as a side order. 624 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:05,433 I'll tell you why we're here. 625 00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:11,669 0n the 16th of August 1858, President Buchanan received a message from Queen Victoria. 626 00:45:11,720 --> 00:45:14,598 No big deal in itself. She was always firing off notes. 627 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:16,631 But this was a telegraph message, 628 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:18,910 and it had travelled by the underwater cable 629 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:23,317 that had just been laid from Ireland across the seabed to St John's. 630 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:25,555 That was very modern of Queen Victoria. 631 00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:28,717 That would be like our queen taking photos of her bottom with her mobile 632 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:30,352 and texting them to the White House. 633 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:35,955 Actually, Newfoundland is a bit of a one-stop-shop for the empire story. 634 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:38,992 People have been baggsying it for Britain since 1497, 635 00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:43,079 and in 1610, a Bristol merchant, John Guy, started a settlement here. 636 00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:47,036 He sailed over and planted some crops. Then he went "0ops, forgot something," 637 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:51,198 nipped back and came back with something crucial if you were starting a colony. Ladies. 638 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,277 I don't mind the fog. I'm happy to be somewhere cool. 639 00:45:57,320 --> 00:46:00,232 I've been carrying this jacket around since Ghana. 640 00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:02,191 I love the houses and the colours, 641 00:46:02,240 --> 00:46:06,756 and actually, it's quite nice to be somewhere and not have to feel guilty. 642 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:10,998 I know we came and killed a lot of cod, but you can't worry about everything. 643 00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:26,155 Look, you know we're supposed to go to all these places named after Victoria? 644 00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:30,352 This is Victoria Park, but honestly, I think it's not very interesting. 645 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,918 If you want to know what it's like, find a really dull park near where you live, and go there. 646 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:40,078 But I think we should all go somewhere more entertaining. OK? 647 00:47:01,120 --> 00:47:03,076 Talking to people on this journey, 648 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:07,398 it seems like when you leave a country or you're forced to go to another country, 649 00:47:07,440 --> 00:47:10,318 your culture becomes really important to you. 650 00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:15,275 because it's a precious part of your identity and you can't afford to be casual about it. 651 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:20,235 Whereas if you just live somewhere, like I live in England, I don't think about my Englishness, 652 00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:25,308 but when I find myself in a strange land I suddenly become very Marmite and teabags. 653 00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:34,236 Newfoundland has been described as the most Irish place in the world outside of Ireland. 654 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:39,798 They reckon 80 per cent of the population can claim Irish ancestry on one or both sides. 655 00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:42,912 Hundreds of thousands of destitute Irish people came to Canada 656 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,679 after the potato famine in the middle of the 19th century, 657 00:47:45,720 --> 00:47:49,235 because it was a lower fare than those to America or Australia. 658 00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:51,990 And Australians now sound Australian, 659 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:53,632 and Americans sound American, 660 00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:56,797 but people from Newfoundland sound Irish. 661 00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:00,879 - Hi. - (Irish accent) We're going right up there. 662 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:02,911 Oh, OK. 663 00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:06,560 - Hi. I'm Victoria. - Well, how are you, Victoria? 664 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:09,398 - I'm OK. - My God, you're lovely people. 665 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:12,591 - I guarantee you that. There's no doubt. - OK. 666 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,957 - Well, now, we'll go in this direction here. - Uh-huh. 667 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:19,116 And some of them believe in fairies. 668 00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:22,872 Oh, yes, this was scary, up on top of that hill. 669 00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:25,551 Whoo! 670 00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,515 I'm not sure I should be coming with you. 671 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:32,949 - I've changed my mind. - Now, don't get your feet wet. 672 00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:35,878 So, Mike, do fairies exist? 673 00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:40,630 Well, there's some strange stories told here on the southern shore, all over the shore, actually, 674 00:48:40,680 --> 00:48:42,955 regarding fairies. 675 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:46,390 If you went in the woods without a bit of bread in your pocket, 676 00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:49,000 there's ten chances to one the fairy would get you. 677 00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:51,508 My mother wouldn't let me go in the woods without bread. 678 00:48:51,560 --> 00:48:54,313 But if you had bread in your pocket, you didn't have to worry. 679 00:48:54,360 --> 00:48:57,875 There was one particular man, he went in the woods one day. 680 00:48:57,920 --> 00:49:02,550 Somebody sang out to him, "Boy, don't go in there without a bit of bread in your pocket." 681 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:05,828 And he laughed. He said, "There's no fairies." 682 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,393 Went in and looked for him. 683 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:12,309 He was about a mile and a half in, he had fallen asleep, 684 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:14,510 he had no boots and he had no coat. 685 00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:19,599 - He'd been mugged? - Yes, it sounds like the fairies mugged him. 686 00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:21,790 But they're only small, you know. 687 00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:25,389 But anyway, he swore he never walked in. 688 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:28,432 He said something just lifted him and brought him away. 689 00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:30,471 What do they look like? 690 00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:32,875 - Well, they're... - They sound massive. 691 00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:37,118 Well, there's a little bit of hair down over the back. 692 00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:39,833 And they're that high. Now that's what I was told. 693 00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:42,474 Yeah? That's really scary. 694 00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:46,672 - Did you ever hear tell of the fairies? - Well, I've heard of fairies, yeah. 695 00:49:46,720 --> 00:49:50,395 - But you were never involved with them? - Well, no, not intimately. 696 00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:54,433 In England, they're like this high. They're this high and they don't exist. 697 00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:57,472 So have you actually got bread in your pocket now? 698 00:49:57,520 --> 00:49:59,158 Well, I certainly have. 699 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:03,674 Look. Wrapped up in a bit of paper. 700 00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:06,951 - Nobody has thought of it, I bet you. - We've got one scone. 701 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:08,638 That's lovely. 702 00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:11,478 Doesn't anybody go in the woods, then, now? 703 00:50:11,520 --> 00:50:13,750 No, it's not like it was before. 704 00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:19,432 Now, even the children... My gosh, parents used to worry to death about fairies. 705 00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:22,438 I mean, you'd hear a little whisper, right? 706 00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:24,277 They usually whisper, you know. 707 00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:34,070 I'm on my way to meet a monarchist. 708 00:50:34,120 --> 00:50:37,908 I don't know what I think of the Royal Family. I think the Queen does a good job. 709 00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:40,030 Princess Margaret had some jaunty swimwear. 710 00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:42,071 But, a bit like a soap on the telly, 711 00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:44,998 you lose track when there's too many young people. 712 00:50:45,040 --> 00:50:47,838 I've been told Carla collects Royal Family dolls, 713 00:50:47,880 --> 00:50:52,317 so I'm rather dreading being surrounded by a load of woolly Queen Mothers...or bears 714 00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:55,875 0h, crikey, please let them not be bears in tiaras. 715 00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:06,559 I take it all back. Not a crocheted Princess Anne in sight. 716 00:51:06,600 --> 00:51:09,910 It's like a tiny, perfect little museum, beautifully laid out, 717 00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:15,080 really interesting things dating back from at least the young Queen Victoria, if not before. 718 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:23,630 0h, and these must be the dolls. 719 00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:25,671 That's George V, I think. 720 00:51:25,720 --> 00:51:26,914 Isn't he the one who said, 721 00:51:26,960 --> 00:51:31,078 "I was scared of my father, I'm going to make damn sure my children are scared of me"? 722 00:51:31,120 --> 00:51:35,511 Queen Mother. Not too sure who that is. Batchelor gentleman, possibly. 723 00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:40,509 What makes people collect royal memorabilia, 724 00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,552 as opposed to old tram tickets or paperweights? 725 00:51:43,600 --> 00:51:48,355 Carla, your house is like a shrine. What is it that drives you to collect all these things? 726 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:52,678 Is it the love of royalty, or is it the love of these individual people? 727 00:51:52,720 --> 00:51:58,431 It's the history that's there, rather than a particular love of. 728 00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:00,471 I mean, a great respect for. 729 00:52:00,520 --> 00:52:07,790 And in no way do I consider myself a zealot or anything like that. 730 00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:10,354 She's a bit too sane, isn't she, for a documentary? 731 00:52:10,400 --> 00:52:16,509 If I talk to her any longer, she'll say she didn't collect it and can't stand the Royal Family. 732 00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:19,597 ..and just seeing how things have evolved over time. 733 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,154 Who is your favourite monarch, and why? 734 00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:25,192 I think probably George V. 735 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:30,473 When you think of the fact that Czar Nicholas, with the Russian Revolution, he was captured, 736 00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:32,636 and their lives were at peril. 737 00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:38,312 - I mean, this was the Royal Court, and they... - He was the cousin of George V? 738 00:52:38,360 --> 00:52:40,794 He was the cousin, yes, and they were very alike. 739 00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:45,038 In pictures, they look almost like twins, they were so alike. 740 00:52:45,080 --> 00:52:48,959 And making that kind of decision, "Will we go in?" 741 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:50,718 - And rescue them? - And rescue them. 742 00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:52,751 Or will we not go in and rescue them? 743 00:52:52,800 --> 00:52:55,997 And as we know, no rescue came. 744 00:52:56,040 --> 00:53:00,238 - When they were all assassinated. - They were, yes. 745 00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:02,635 What you can never say to people when you're filming is, 746 00:53:02,680 --> 00:53:06,593 "Can you talk a bit quicker as we have to be somewhere else now?" 747 00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:10,156 We had arranged to go to a big barbecue 748 00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:14,910 and film this shindig with Irish music and dancing and local food, something a bit jolly. 749 00:53:14,960 --> 00:53:16,359 By the time we got there, 750 00:53:16,400 --> 00:53:19,597 there was no food, it was chucking it down, nearly everyone had gone. 751 00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:23,269 But amongst those who stayed, there was something of the empire spirit. 752 00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:27,996 If there's one thing we have taught the world, it is to see things through to the bitter end, 753 00:53:28,040 --> 00:53:31,715 no matter how wet, cold and miserable we might be. 754 00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:33,273 (Thunder) 755 00:54:04,920 --> 00:54:07,718 Well, it's cold, it's wet, you can't see anything. 756 00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:11,594 I'm in the car. All I need is my parents arguing in the front seat, 757 00:54:11,640 --> 00:54:14,200 and it'll be like every holiday I've ever been on. 758 00:54:14,240 --> 00:54:16,231 I'm going for an ice cream. 759 00:54:23,120 --> 00:54:27,113 After I've had my ice cream, I'm going to find out about the telegraph, 760 00:54:27,160 --> 00:54:29,754 the technological marvel of the 19th century, 761 00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:35,397 the wire that only reached at first from Euston Square Station to Camden Town Station, 762 00:54:35,440 --> 00:54:39,115 then crossed a whole ocean and shrank the British empire, 763 00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:41,151 so we could run the world from home. 764 00:54:42,040 --> 00:54:46,716 Before the telegraph, what was the quickest way of getting a message from Britain to here? 765 00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:48,318 - By ship. - How long did that take? 766 00:54:48,360 --> 00:54:51,875 Two weeks, or maybe nine days if you had favourable winds. 767 00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:55,708 It's easier going from here to there than from Britain to Newfoundland. 768 00:54:55,760 --> 00:54:58,877 The cable was brought in 1858, 769 00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:01,753 but unfortunately that cable only worked for 27 days. 770 00:55:01,800 --> 00:55:06,590 But it was long enough for Victoria to send a message to President Buchanan in the States. 771 00:55:06,640 --> 00:55:09,712 They used Morse code with a Morse code key. 772 00:55:09,760 --> 00:55:11,990 - This is an early one. - Oh, yeah? 773 00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:14,634 You can have a go, sure. Send your name. 774 00:55:14,680 --> 00:55:17,797 Dit dit dit daa. V for Victoria. 775 00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:20,434 Dit dit dit daa. That's it, you can tell you're a musician. 776 00:55:21,240 --> 00:55:26,075 And it took sixteen and a half hours to send a message of only 500 words. 777 00:55:26,120 --> 00:55:30,272 - You must have had repetitive strain injury. - No kidding, yeah. 778 00:55:30,320 --> 00:55:33,551 So, to bring the cable over, they brought it over on the Great Eastern, 779 00:55:33,600 --> 00:55:36,558 and it's sitting on a big drum on the side of the ship. 780 00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:38,397 So how much cable is that? 781 00:55:38,440 --> 00:55:41,591 Well, it's a long, long way, so they had about 21,000 tons of cable. 782 00:55:41,640 --> 00:55:43,949 - Didn't the ship just go...? - One continuous piece. 783 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:47,356 It was the largest manmade moving object until they built the Titanic. 784 00:55:47,400 --> 00:55:48,958 So it was a huge, huge ship. 785 00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:54,154 In 1865, they tried the first time, and it broke 600 miles before it got to Newfoundland. 786 00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:58,955 They lost the end. It fell off the back of the ship as it sank down into 14,000 feet of water. 787 00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:01,992 - And could they go down and get it? - They did go back the next year. 788 00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:04,190 And they actually found it. Incredible. 789 00:56:04,240 --> 00:56:06,196 They fished out the end, made a splice, 790 00:56:06,240 --> 00:56:12,315 and then they had two wires going all the way between Britain and Newfoundland. 791 00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:14,794 - What did it look like, the cable? - I can show you. 792 00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:18,913 We have a piece of the original 1858 cable right here. 793 00:56:18,960 --> 00:56:21,349 - It's miniature. - Yes, it's only a small cable. 794 00:56:21,400 --> 00:56:24,517 It did only last 27 days before it broke, of course. 795 00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:27,199 You could plug in a hair dryer and it wouldn't last that long. 796 00:56:27,240 --> 00:56:29,231 Jeez! 797 00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:39,430 So, there was no more waiting for letters. 798 00:56:39,480 --> 00:56:44,076 London could have almost instantaneous contact with her colonies and dominions. 799 00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:49,274 By 1890, only places like Tobago and the Falkland Islands had no cable at all. 800 00:56:49,320 --> 00:56:51,880 Britain had a very tight grip on its empire. 801 00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:58,159 So that's Ghana, Jamaica, Newfoundland, 802 00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:00,873 three completely different countries. 803 00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:03,388 Ghana feels like walking around with a wet blanket on your head. 804 00:57:03,440 --> 00:57:06,000 Jamaica's fresh, people have a real spirit, 805 00:57:06,040 --> 00:57:08,474 and Newfoundland is just freezing. 806 00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:12,989 It seems so odd to think that those three completely different countries 807 00:57:13,040 --> 00:57:18,637 ever belonged to that tiny, wet little island of Great Britain. 808 00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:22,271 That's bonkers.