Simon Schama traces 'A History of Britain'

Simon Schama is currently working on Volume III of his "History of Britain."

By Todd Leopold
CNN

(CNN) -- When the BBC first came to historian Simon Schama and asked if he would help put together a TV series on the history of Great Britain, Schama had a two-word answer.

"God, no!" Schama, 56, said in an interview, remembering his reaction.

"I'd done TV before," recalled the Columbia University professor from his home in New York, referring to a pair of Rembrandt programs he calls "unsatisfying." A history of Britain, he thought, would be a lot of work in not enough time. Besides, the art history specialist "hadn't taught British history in a long time," he said. He suggested they find someone else.

Nevertheless, a couple years later the BBC came back. The network wanted someone who wasn't an expert on British history, and they liked the fact that Schama had spent more than two decades in America.

"I was brought up short by the gutsiness of that," Schama said. That -- and the fact that this series wouldn't be done on a shoestring -- prompted him to reverse his initial decision. The ensuing programs, the multi-part "A History of Britain," have since appeared on the History Channel. Schama has also published two companion volumes, also titled "A History of Britain" (Talk Miramax). Volume I came out in late 2000; Volume II was released in October.

Religious and political strife

The books and TV programs went hand in hand, Schama says, but sometimes one has gotten in the way of the other.

"I didn't want to produce books from just the scripts," he said. But, given the "exigencies of time," he admits, the first book mostly did just that. For Volume II, however, he had time to write the book first. "That was great for the book, but it held up production a lot," he chuckled.

Volume I traced the history of Britain to 1603, when Elizabeth I died and was replaced by James VI of Scotland, who became England's James I. The second volume ends in the late 18th century, when Britain -- having become an empire and great naval power -- lost its American colonies but was consolidating its power in India.

But much of the story of the richly illustrated Volume II concerns Britain's own religious and political strife. During the 17th century, the country was racked by battles between Parliament and the Crown, the English Civil War, the rule of the Cromwells, and finally the overthrow of James II with the Glorious Revolution. Though the country had a somewhat calmer time in the 18th century, it still had to deal with Scottish and Irish protests, as well as the price of colonization thousands of miles from London.

British history provided Schama some unfortunate food for thought in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In Britain, comparisons were made between the loss of life in the World Trade Center and the losses during the Blitz and the English Civil War.

"But it struck me," said Schama, "that the extreme violence and cruelty of the English Civil War had gone understated."

From the 1640s to 1660, he points out in the book, at least 250,000 people died on the island of Great Britain; perhaps another 200,000, at minimum, died in Ireland, as the effects of the Reformation ripped apart the fabric of British religion and British political leadership. At the time, the two islands only had a population of 5 million.

It was a time of "religious fury," says Schama.

'The story of our Atlantic democracies'

Great Britain, though, managed to pull out of its cycle of carnage.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was so called because of its bloodlessness. James II, who had created a standing army and put Catholics in positions of prominence -- much to the anger of Parliament -- was forced out of power by William of Orange, invited over from Holland by James' opponents. Parliament was now in charge; the country's focus turned to materialism and it resumed its rise on the world stage.

"It was a conscious decision by (Sir Robert) Walpole and others to replace religion with making money. Elections replaced battles, and the fights were over party politics," says Schama.

Despite the colonial wars to come, Britain's home front was largely peaceful, and has remained so ever since. Schama is currently working on part three of the TV series and Volume III of the book series, which will continue the story through the peak of the British Empire during the Victorian era and on to the present day. Both book and TV series are expected to be released in fall 2002.

Schama finds hope in the story of Britain when thinking about the world today, embroiled in wars fostered by extremist religious beliefs.

In Britain, the shift from religion to commerce "becomes the story of our Atlantic democracies," he said. Despite the American Revolutionary War, the two nations became friends; in the 20th and 21st centuries, they have been staunch allies.

The political systems within each country have promoted dialogue, not bloodshed, Schama says. "We find a way (in each country) to contain our differences of opinion without annihilating one another."