A Taste for Power

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How did an island on the fringe of Europe come to rule over one quarter of the planet? How did so small a country get such a big head? This program shows how spectacular displays of imperial power were employed to dazzle Britain's subjugated peoples and helped develop the image of British royalty into an object of awe and admiration. The film travels to India, where local soldiers and maharajahs aided a handful of British traders in taking over vast areas of land, and to Egypt, where Britain's temporary "peace-keeping" mission turned into a 70-year occupation. In the Arabian desert, viewers learn how T. E. Lawrence brought a touch of romance to the grim struggle of the First World War, while the "triumphant" conquest of Palestine by imperial troops is now recognized as an event that haunts the Middle East to this day.