Best Podcasts on the British Empire and Decolonisation

For over three centuries the British Empire shaped the fate of hundreds of millions of people across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. These Explaining History podcasts trace the full arc of imperial power — from the carving up of Ottoman lands after the First World War, through the colonial mobilisations of the Second World War, to the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the twilight of British global power. Browse by era below, or explore our complete topic collection for more history podcast recommendations.

The Mandate System and the Middle East (1918–1939)

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France divided the Middle East between them through the League of Nations mandate system — a mechanism that created the modern states of Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine while planting the seeds of conflicts that endure today.

The Mandate System, Palestine, Syria and Iraq

At the end of the First World War the Ottoman Empire was carved up between Britain and France. Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq went to Britain; Syria and Lebanon to France. This podcast explores the creation of the modern Middle East through the mandate system and the tensions that immediately emerged between imperial ambition and local nationalism.

Britain, France and the Creation of Iraq 1919–21

When the mandate system was created at the Paris Peace Conference, it became a powerful tool for Britain and France to divide the Middle East. This episode explores the creation of the Iraqi state, the rivalry between London and Paris, and Britain’s desperate search for a form of self-governance that would limit the costs of empire in Mesopotamia.

Britain, America and Palestine 1939–42

During the Second World War, the fate of British and French mandates in the Middle East was a constant pressure on wartime diplomacy and American domestic politics. The legacies of the Anglo-French carve-up of the Middle East gave Jewish nationalism and American political ambition new opportunities to challenge British imperial authority.

Empire at War: India and the Middle East (1914–1945)

The British Empire’s survival in two world wars depended heavily on the military and economic contributions of its colonial subjects — particularly India. Yet the war years also accelerated the nationalist movements that would ultimately bring the empire down.

Indian Soldiers and the Defence of Egypt 1914–15

At the start of the First World War, Egypt and the Suez Canal were vital to the functioning of the British Empire. It was Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu soldiers from a British India riven with nationalist politics who were deployed to hold the canal against the Ottoman offensive. This episode explores the paradox of empire — the colonised defending the colonisers’ most strategic asset.

Asian Nationalism and the End of the British Empire 1945

By 1945, Britain’s war-exhausted empire faced the irresistible rise of Asian nationalism. The Japanese occupation of British territories had shattered the myth of white imperial invincibility, and independence movements across South and Southeast Asia were demanding an end to colonial rule. This episode explores how the Second World War became the catalyst for the end of British power in Asia.

Palestine, India and Britain: Two Partitions and the End of Empire

In 1947 and 1948 Britain presided over two of the most consequential withdrawals in imperial history — the partition of India and the end of the Palestine mandate. This episode explores the connections between these two catastrophic departures and what they reveal about Britain’s capacity and willingness to manage the end of empire.

The Suez Crisis: Imperial Humiliation (1952–1956)

The Suez Crisis of 1956 was the moment Britain’s imperial pretensions finally collapsed. When Colonel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal and Britain and France launched their ill-fated invasion — only to be forced into humiliating retreat by American pressure — it was clear that the era of British global power was over.

Britain, France and the Middle East – 1956

During the 1950s, Britain, France, the USA, and the USSR all competed to court and undermine rising nationalist movements in Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, and beyond. This episode explores the wider context of great power rivalry in the Middle East and the collision of interests that culminated in the Suez Crisis.

The Dulles Brothers and Eisenhower – 1954

John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles shaped American foreign policy in the crucial years before Suez. Their backgrounds, the key events of the Eisenhower administration, and the growing American determination to replace British influence in the Middle East form the essential context for understanding why Washington ultimately pulled the plug on the Suez invasion.

France, Britain and the Road to Suez 1952–56

In the mid-1950s, Anthony Eden and Guy Mollet — Britain and France’s respective prime ministers — showed little initial determination to overthrow Nasser. This episode explores how mounting French problems in Algeria and Britain’s dependence on maintaining its Middle Eastern position led two exhausted empires into a catastrophic conspiracy against Egypt.

The Long Term Causes of the Suez Crisis

In 1956, Britain suffered her greatest post-war humiliation following Nasser’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal. This videocast explores the long-term reasons behind the crisis and the foreign policy disaster that cost Anthony Eden his prime ministership — and Britain its last illusions of global power.

Britain After Empire

After Suez, Britain’s relationship with the world was fundamentally transformed. With the empire gone, British prime ministers found themselves with little choice but to follow America’s lead — a dependency that has shaped British foreign policy ever since.

The Demise of Britain’s Post-War Foreign Policy

In the aftermath of the Second World War, as Britain’s empire faded, British prime ministers had few choices but to take their lead from America. Following the disaster of Suez, Britain abandoned any pretence of an independent foreign policy and operated as an arm of American power — a status that persists to the present day.

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Related Collections

• India: Partition & Independence
• The Arab-Israeli Conflict
• The Ottoman Empire
• Africa: Colonialism & Independence
• World War Two
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