A brief French view of the history of the British Empire, made up mainly of maps and diagrams.

The British Isles look geographically inconsequential, yet are the densely populated hub of a huge Empire: how so ? The British are the result of a succession of immigrations ending with the Normans, who gave England a French commitment which was finally severed by the end of the Hundred Years War; thus Britain was coincidentally free when the first imperial discoveries were made by Spain and Portugal. British piracy precipitated the Armada, whose defeat made possible the great naval power Britain attained and retains. Naval supremacy, and avoidance of European problems with careful manipulation of the power balance, enabled Britain to cultivate an Empire, whose history is sketched from early acquisitions through rivalry with France in India and America, and the US breakaway, to the Great Victorian expansion. Contemporary scenes in the Port and City of London suggest the continuing wealth Britain owes her Empire; a map illustration shows "le plus vaste et le plus solide Empire du monde" as a garland round the British crown.

Notes

Remarks: a novel view, of curiosity value even if not very respectable historically! Film is also admirably compact, apart from a rather hurried end.