The concept of 'plantation' is explored in this programme, yet presenter Niall Ferguson is not referring to crops but the settlement of British people into the colonies. Without this mass white emigration there would have been no empire. Visiting Northern Ireland, the USA and Australia, we explore how the first colonies of the British empire developed.

In contrast to the Spanish, the British viewed the colonies as a way to gain land to settle on and use, rather than just conquest and plunder. The east coast of the USA was first settled by puritans wanting religious freedom, including those who sailed on the famous ship 'The Mayflower' in 1620. The combination of cheap land and abundant natural resources made this an ideal location for sugar and tobacco plantations. Niall goes on to describe the American War of Independence a century and a half later.

The fall of the British empire is usually attributed to Nationalist groups fighting for independence, yet as Niall Ferguson argues in this final programme of the series, it was really due to the crippling cost of running the empire and financing the two World Wars. He reflects on the achievements and problems of the empire and concludes that in its twilight years Britain did more good than harm in fighting two far worse empires, namely Japan and Germany. Visiting some of the hot spots of the two World Wars and of the campaigns for independence that followed, such as Gallipoli, Istanbul, Suez, Amritsar and Singapore, presenter Niall Ferguson gives us a vivid picture of an empire on its last legs.