Fortune favours the British
ONE MAN’S QUEST TO UNCOVER THE MYSTERIES BEHIND JEWELS
Was the precious diamond at the heart of the famous Crown Jewels really stolen from a child by the British Empire? That’s just one of the mysteries journalist Marc Fennell seeks to uncover in his new six-part documentary series Stuff the British Stole.
Based on Fennell’s awardwinning podcast of the same name, Stuff The British Stole examines the stories behind some of the world’s greatest treasures and how they came to be in the possession of the British Empire.
Fennell’s latest adventure takes him on a quest for answers around the world, where he channels “Indiana Jones in reverse” to uncover the mystery behind precious artefacts. But unlike Harrison Ford’s Fedora-wearing archaeologist, Fennell questions why they were “stolen” in the first place.
“Indiana Jones goes around and says it belongs to the museum.
And then I come along and go, ‘does it though?’” Fennell says.
“It’s not really a series about the past. It’s a series about today and how we ended up with our world, and I think that was probably the thing that suddenly ... made it bigger than just this sort of treasure hunt.”
From the precious Koh-i-noor diamond, which India and
Pakistan claim as their own, to an ancient Scottish relic King Charles III will use at his coronation, Fennell digs up the dirt on how these priceless objects ended up in Britain.
But, he says, the real treasures are the stories behind the artefacts.
“You’ll see, as the show progresses, we got to go to amazing places, palaces and deserts and all this kind of stuff, but honestly, some of the most amazing moments were just about people,” Fennell explains.
“I think part of what was really important to me was to bring the humanity to the history.
“The objects are a doorway, no question, but it’s really a story about people.”
Fennell says he never expected to be emotionally moved by the stories he uncovers – his historical journeys always begin with curiosity, but this time they ended with laughter and even some tears.
“The things that happen to those who had stuff taken from them is emotional. It is heartbreaking and, sometimes, in the case of the Scottish episode, it’s also quite funny.
“History is a very big tapestry. And I and you and everybody watching, we are one thread. But if you pull on that one thread, you get to see the impact on a very large history. Just think about it. Thinking about yourself in those times is really humbling, but also profound.”
Fennell has always loved talking to people and learning about their stories – the original podcast came to fruition after he struck up a conversation with a historian in London.
“She just told me all these incredible stories about things that were taken from all around the world. And I was like, ‘oh my God, there’s absolutely a series in this’, because it’s mysteries. It’s basically taking history and unfolding it as a mystery,” he says.
“One of the things we actually did when we started the podcast, we just set up an email address for people to email us – if you’ve ever been to a museum or a gallery, and you’ve wondered where stuff came from.
“It’s basically people emailing us, from Australia and around the world, going, ‘hey, I saw this thing – how did it get there? Can you tell the story?’”
Fennell still can’t believe the success of the podcast, which shot to the top of the Apple itunes charts and was the No. 1 historical podcast in multiple countries last year.
“I think part of the fascination for me is it is genuinely a discovery to me. I think it’s the difference between having the show hosted by a historian or by an expert in ancestries.
“For me, I genuinely like discovering, learning and meeting people, and learning what it all means to them,” he says.
To critics who may think the series is “picking on the British Empire”, Fennell says the show is “not about hating on the British” but examining how we ended up with the world today.
“The British Empire at its peak, it commanded a quarter of the world’s population and land, right? That’s a huge, huge, huge, worlddefining impact,” Fennell says.
“I mean, I wouldn’t exist without the British Empire. I’m half Indian, I’m half Irish, I grew up in Australia. These things are all influenced by the British Empire.
“It hits different when the story of the Empire is told from the colonised, not just the colonisers.”