BRITAIN’S OUTLAWS: HIGHWAYMEN, PIRATES & ROGUES
Few figures in British history have captured the popular imagination as much as the outlaw. From gentleman highwaymen, via swashbuckling pirates to elusive urban thieves and rogues, the brazen escapades and the flamboyance of the outlaw made them the anti-hero of their time - feared by the rich, admired by the poor and celebrated by writers and artists.
In this three-part series, historian Dr Sam Willis travels the open roads, the high seas and urban alleyways to explore Britain's 17th and 18th-century underworld of highwaymen, pirates and rogues, bringing the great age of the British outlaw vividly to life.
Directors; Matt Thomas, Andy Hall Gerry Dawson
Series Producer William Naylor
BBC TV 3x 60mins 2015
Historian Dr Sam Willis
BRITAINS OUTLAWS PROGRAMME INFO
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qn3lr
Episode 1: Knights of the Road: The Highwayman's Story
Sam begins with the arrival of a new breed of gentleman criminal out of the ashes of the English Civil War - the highwayman.
Episode 2: Pirates
Sam charts the devastating impact of pirates in the golden age of piracy during an era of colonial expansion and how, by plundering the vast network of seaborne trade, they became the most wanted outlaws in the world.
Episode 3: Rogues Gallery
In the final episode, Sam looks at urban crime, fraud and corruption in the 18th century, uncovering a fascinating rogues gallery of charmers, fraudsters and villains. Charmers like thief and serial escaper Jack Sheppard, so notorious that almost a quarter of a million people turned up to witness his hanging.