Seven Ages of Britain

Bettany Hughes provides an insight into how British inhabitants evolved over 8,000 years, beginning with the story of man's battle with the environment in 6,000 BC, when global warming transformed Britain into an island covered by dense, impenetrable forest

Bettany Hughes explores the period from 1500 BC to 43 AD, comprising the Bronze and Iron Ages, which saw Britain engulfed by widespread flooding and the hunter-gatherers forced to abandon their homes and learn new skills. Tribes came into existence and people gave themselves names, picked rulers, used simple coinage, and became traders with their continental neighbours.

Historian Bettany Hughes explores the third age of Britain, from 43 to 410 AD, when the Romans arrived and took control of the island, consolidating their burgeoning empire's position as a great world power. The programme reveals how the country became vulnerable to invaders when the rulers ran out of money

Bettany Hughes considers the fourth age, between 410 and 1066 AD, a period of change that led to the disintegration of Britannia following the gradual collapse of the Roman Empire and an invasion by Scandinavians and northern Europeans, hungry for power and land. Out of the upheaval and chaos came the gradual development of a wealthy, independent England, which many would recognise today in areas of language, law, religion and economy.

Bettany Hughes considers the fifth age of Britain, from 1066 to 1350, charting the period between two shattering historical events - the invasion of William the Conqueror and the Black Death. She looks for evidence of the effects of the Norman conquest, from the castles that sprang up to the soaring cathedral vaults that marked the peak of medieval exuberance.

Bettany Hughes considers the sixth age of Britain, from 1350 to 1530AD, a period which saw Henry VIII provide land for the country's peasantry and begin the dissolution of the monasteries. The programme reveals how the power of the old nobility was weakened as new aspirational groups emerged - capital farmers in the countryside and merchant adventurers in the cities.

Bettany Hughes provides an insight into the seventh age of Britain between 1530 and 1700, from the Elizabethan era to the eve of the agricultural and industrial revolutions. The documentary chronicles the emergence of many characteristics of the modern nation, such as political rights, secular entertainment, capitalism and the creation of the middle class.