Nelson's Caribbean Hellhole: An 18th-Century Navy Graveyard Uncovered
As archaeologists excavate a mass grave of British sailors, Sam Willis explores Antigua's ruins and sees how the Caribbean's sugar islands were a kind of hell in Nelson's time.
Human bones found on an idyllic beach in Antigua trigger an investigation by naval historian Sam Willis into one of the darkest chapters of Britain's imperial past. As archaeologists excavate a mass grave of British sailors, Willis explores Antigua's ruins and discovers how the sugar islands of the Caribbean were a kind of hell in the age of Nelson.
Sun, sea, war, tropical diseases and poisoned rum.
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Sam Willis at a beach side excavation site
Duration: 01:25
麻豆社 Four Archaeology Season
Nelson's Caribbean Hell-Hole听is part of 麻豆社 Four鈥檚 season of programmes exploring our fascination with uncovering the past. Find out more about the other programmes in the season below鈥�
听
-听Dr Richard Miles seeks out ancient treasures and explores our relationship with the past.
听
-听Ben Robinson conducts aerial surveys of ancient sites to reveal new evidence of lost civilisations.
听
-听Julian Richards discovers how science, conservation and new finds have changed our understanding of history.
The - Robin Lane Fox explores the 麻豆社's first ventures into archaeology programming.
-听Peter Barton investigates the military mining that played a big part in the tactics of both sides during WWI.
Find out more
There are lots of features, articles and quizzes covering archaeology - and the treasures that have been uncovered - in 麻豆社 History鈥檚 Archaeology section.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Sam Willis |
| Producer | Rupert Edwards |
| Director | Rupert Edwards |
| Executive Producer | Tim Green |
Broadcasts
- Wed 1 May 2013 21:00
- Thu 2 May 2013 02:45
- Mon 6 May 2013 19:30
- Sat 13 Jul 2013 20:00
- Sun 14 Jul 2013 01:35
- Wed 17 Jul 2013 00:00
- Thu 12 Sep 2013 20:00
- Wed 30 Oct 2013 20:00
- Thu 31 Oct 2013 01:00
- Sun 19 Jan 2014 23:20
- Thu 4 Sep 2014 22:40
- Mon 27 Jul 2015 20:00
- Tue 28 Jul 2015 01:30
- Fri 7 Aug 2015 03:00
- Sat 13 Feb 2016 20:00
- Mon 20 Feb 2017 00:35
- Mon 7 Aug 2017 22:00
- Tue 8 Aug 2017 03:00
- Tue 29 May 2018 00:05
- Mon 23 Sep 2019 20:00
- Thu 26 Sep 2019 01:55
- Wed 16 Nov 2022 21:00
- Fri 18 Nov 2022 02:50
- Tue 29 Jul 2025 21:00
- Wed 30 Jul 2025 02:30
