0:00:10 > 0:00:14This is Coast, or "Bienvenue sur Coast".
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Two languages linked by a mighty stretch of water - the Channel.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Funnelling between England and France, the narrow and
0:00:25 > 0:00:31surprisingly shallow channel plays a starring role in our island's story.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36One sea separating two nations.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41I'll be occupying what was once enemy territory -
0:00:41 > 0:00:43the shores of France.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53From the white cliffs of Normandy to the white cliffs of Dover,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57the rest of the team are flying the flag in England.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Mark reveals how the distance between the British
0:01:02 > 0:01:05and the French brought us closer together.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'm in Dover to discover how measuring across the Channel
0:01:10 > 0:01:15led to the creation of Britain's most famous map, the Ordnance Survey.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Miranda's mission is to shadow the force that polices
0:01:20 > 0:01:22the Channel's fisherman.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25The HMS Mersey cruises up and down the Channel
0:01:25 > 0:01:30ready to stop and search any fishing vessel she fancies.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35And Neil uncovers a forgotten ship of lost souls.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40When she sank to the sea bed that cold February night,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43she took 647 men with her -
0:01:43 > 0:01:46still one of the worst losses the English Channel has ever seen.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51This is the Channel Coast.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23It narrows to just 21 miles wide,
0:02:23 > 0:02:28yet the English Channel is the world's busiest seaway.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36Some 400 ships surge past Dover every day.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43The Channel has carried both friend and foe,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46it's brought opportunity and disaster
0:02:46 > 0:02:49and it's been our defensive barrier.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55And along its opposing shores, millions make their home.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03I'm on French sands to explore our shared story.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11My journey begins in Normandy, at Mont Saint-Michel.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Its distinctive outline dominates the land and seascape.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Pilgrims set foot on this holy isle over a thousand years ago,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32searching for the sacred.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Legend has it that a warrior archangel who battled Lucifer
0:03:37 > 0:03:41appeared here. That archangel, Saint-Michel, gave his name to
0:03:41 > 0:03:45this glorious mount, but St Michael, as we know him,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49didn't limit his divine presence to this side of the Channel.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Here in Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel stands alone.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59But cross the water to Cornwall,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and a feeling of deja vu washes over you.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06This is St Michael's Mount.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11The Archangel Michael apparently appeared here, too.
0:04:12 > 0:04:20Connections across the Channel, two shores divided by a remarkable sea.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27I discovered on my last visit to France that only 600,000 years ago,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31I could have walked to England over chalk downs.
0:04:33 > 0:04:40The downs formed a land bridge, holding back a vast melt-water lake.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45When it gave way, the Channel burst into existence...
0:04:47 > 0:04:50..in a catastrophic mega-flood.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55And the power of this sea can still be experienced today in its tides.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05Very soon now, where I'm standing is going to be deep under water.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I can see the leading edge of the tide coming in now,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and that wave is going to push across the lowest points
0:05:10 > 0:05:12on these mud and sand flats,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16and then the tide behind is just going to completely swamp them.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I'd better move.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Many lives have been claimed out here,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24victims tragically unaware of the tide's deceptive danger.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I'm having to run to keep ahead of it.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Only ten minutes ago, I was way out there on land
0:05:35 > 0:05:40surrounded by tidal streams and wading sea birds. Now it's just sea.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50This tidal surge at Mont Saint-Michel
0:05:50 > 0:05:53also impacts our Channel coast.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57How do two countries share the power of the sea?
0:05:57 > 0:06:03It's easy to think of the tide as something local, a rise
0:06:03 > 0:06:08and fall of water at a specific place at a specific time.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13In reality the tide is one immense body of water,
0:06:13 > 0:06:19a pulsating bulge, and as it moves from west to east, its power
0:06:19 > 0:06:24and its influence is felt in turn along the entire Channel.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Right now we're close to high tide here at Mont Saint-Michel,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30but this moving hump of high water was felt near the mouth
0:06:30 > 0:06:34of the Channel here at Polperro in Cornwall
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and at Perros-Guirec in Brittany about 20 minutes ago.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45One body of water swirling along two different shores.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49The beaches of Brittany's pink granite coast share high tide
0:06:49 > 0:06:54with the harbours in rocky Cornish coves.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Ten minutes later, the tidal wave reaches Plymouth,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01where the rising waters provide passage
0:07:01 > 0:07:06from Western Europe's largest operational naval base.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Next, the high water will hit the Channel Islands
0:07:10 > 0:07:14where it turns low-lying land into sea.
0:07:15 > 0:07:21Jersey's Seymour Tower is cut off completely as the tide peaks.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27In just under two hours' time, the high waters will envelope
0:07:27 > 0:07:30the Isle of Wight.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Here the tidal waters circle back on themselves,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35creating four tides a day, double the normal number,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39which lends a helping hand to deep-hulled cargo ships
0:07:39 > 0:07:41entering the port at Southampton.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45When the high tide passes Hastings in five hours' time, it will be the
0:07:45 > 0:07:51fishermen's friend, allowing them to float their boats off the beach.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Finally, the tide passes the famous ferry ports of Dover
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and Calais at the far eastern end of the Channel.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09As the sea retreats, the land breathes out.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Sands expand,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18until two countries across the Channel can almost hold hands.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24No wonder ideas have winged over the water for centuries.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32Norman conquerors taught us to construct stone castles.
0:08:34 > 0:08:35But the French have made
0:08:35 > 0:08:38an even more permanent mark on our landscape.
0:08:38 > 0:08:45Our maps of Britain owe much to cross-Channel co-operation at Dover.
0:08:47 > 0:08:54Mark's going back over two centuries to the birth of our Ordnance Survey.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Don't tell anybody but the great British institution
0:08:57 > 0:09:02the Ordnance Survey only came into existence thanks to
0:09:02 > 0:09:09the scientific endeavours of our once-sworn enemy, the French.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16Today, our isles are accurately mapped in minute detail.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19By comparison, this 18th-century view of Dover
0:09:19 > 0:09:23is little more than a sketch.
0:09:26 > 0:09:32But back then, remarkable map-makers were busy across the Channel.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40During the 1750s, work began on a remarkable project -
0:09:40 > 0:09:45to map and survey every corner of France.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It took nearly 40 years, and this is how they completed it -
0:09:49 > 0:09:53by drawing triangles all over France.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57How did this massive grid of triangles
0:09:57 > 0:10:01create more accurate maps than ours?
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Using the triangle created by Dover's lighthouses,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11let's think like an 18th-century Frenchman.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21If they knew the distance between lighthouse B and C,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25by simply measuring two angles, map-makers could work out
0:10:25 > 0:10:29the distance to lighthouse A.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34# Tra-la-la-la, triangle
0:10:34 > 0:10:36# My life's in such a tangle... #
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Triangles give you angles,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47and with angles you can map locations accurately.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54Having triangulated their way to the Channel coast, the French
0:10:54 > 0:10:59surveyors wanted to extend their mapping over the sea into Britain.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Impossible!
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Until 1783, and a brief period of peace.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14It was just enough time for scientists on both sides
0:11:14 > 0:11:21of the Channel to join forces and to conduct a novel experiment.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Measuring across the Channel,
0:11:23 > 0:11:31they wanted to know exactly where Britain was in relation to France.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35This great cross-Channel collaboration would use
0:11:35 > 0:11:41the French method of triangulation on a hitherto unseen scale.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46But which country's surveying equipment
0:11:46 > 0:11:49would be trusted to measure the angles?
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Mapping historian Daniel Schelstraete
0:11:55 > 0:11:58has made the crossing to Dover.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Hi, Daniel!
0:12:01 > 0:12:02Hi, Mark, are you all right?
0:12:02 > 0:12:04A bit of a climb, I'm afraid.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09The French favoured their tried-and-tested instrument,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13the repeating circle.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Daniel, this is it!
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Yes, this instrument is a new instrument, so the interest is,
0:12:20 > 0:12:27it's possible to measure horizontal angle for triangulation.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30So where do you actually measure the angle?
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Oh, just here, with Vemier.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I can see, I can see the angle measurements.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38The repeating circle is positioned between two fixed points.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43You set one telescope to look at one landmark
0:12:43 > 0:12:48and a second telescope to look at the other.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52A scale on the instrument reads out the angle between them,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56but you don't just do it once.
0:12:56 > 0:13:03Upper, lower, together, etc, ten times, 20 times, 100 times,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and only at the end you have the good angle.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08So that is why it's called the repeating circle?
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Yes.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14French map-makers were well-equipped and ready to go.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21But how about us, on the British side of the Channel?
0:13:21 > 0:13:25I'm with historian Rachel Hewitt.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Britain did not have an accurate national map at this time.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33France had begun their map based on a national triangulation
0:13:33 > 0:13:37100 years before the British, and had a much more sophisticated
0:13:37 > 0:13:40sense of the use of maps in military defence.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Britain's military couldn't afford to be outdone.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51We needed a survey instrument of our own.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57King George III provided £2,000 from the Royal coffers,
0:13:57 > 0:14:02and the British spent three years to perfect...this!
0:14:06 > 0:14:09The "Great Theodolite" was ready
0:14:09 > 0:14:14just weeks before the cross-Channel mapping experiment in 1787.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20It was the first survey instrument with a measuring scale
0:14:20 > 0:14:26cut by machine, making it incredibly accurate.
0:14:26 > 0:14:32The French repeating circle relied on hand-etched measuring scales.
0:14:32 > 0:14:39To cancel out human error, repeated measurements had to be made.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Which country's technology would triumph in the challenge
0:14:43 > 0:14:46to map across the Channel?
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The English surveying team went to Dover Castle
0:14:51 > 0:14:54and to Fairlight Head near Hastings.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Right, and where did the French go?
0:14:56 > 0:15:02In France it was four stations - Mont Lambert, Cap Blanc Nez,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Calais and Dunkirk.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08So they already knew the distance between these stations on land,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11so they then had to look across the Channel?
0:15:11 > 0:15:15And by measuring the angles between these points
0:15:15 > 0:15:18they could then work out the distances.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20And the battle between the Great Theodolite
0:15:20 > 0:15:22and the repeating circle?
0:15:22 > 0:15:27Well, both instruments came up with almost identical measurements.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33With the precise distance across the Channel mapped,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38the new British theodolite had proved its worth to our military.
0:15:38 > 0:15:45It gave them the impetus to create the Ordnance Survey in 1791.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54The Ordnance Survey began to map the south coast in great detail.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00Ten years later, Napoleon was on the verge of invading Britain.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06New, accurate maps helped to plan our defence.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11So there's actually a bit of an irony here
0:16:11 > 0:16:16that this Anglo-French collaboration actually enabled the British
0:16:16 > 0:16:21to create cartography to defend ourselves against a French invasion.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24The Ordnance Survey, when it's founded in 1791,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27is built on the back of this cross-Channel triangulation.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31That was a military map to defend Britain against the French.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33HE LAUGHS
0:16:35 > 0:16:41Theodolites went on to map Britain's Empire.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Taking on India and the Himalayas.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Even Mount Everest was surveyed.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55This experiment in cross-Channel mathematics from here in Dover
0:16:55 > 0:17:00helped launch the greatest mapping project that Britain had ever seen.
0:17:00 > 0:17:07The Ordnance Survey put us on the global map.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Partners or potential invaders?
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Over centuries, the English
0:17:26 > 0:17:30and French have looked to their Channel horizon with mixed emotions.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36We're looking along the edge for the connections that unite
0:17:36 > 0:17:39sea-washed neighbours.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45This is the story of two coasts.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51Two coasts that sometimes look surprisingly similar.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I'm at Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy,
0:17:54 > 0:18:00the spitting image of St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05These cousins across the Channel have lived parallel lives.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11In 1548, Henry VIII put an end to the monks on St Michael's Mount.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Monks remained at Mont Saint-Michel more than two centuries longer,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19until revolution rocked France.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Today, life on the islands is very different.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29St Michael's Mount is a haven of calm.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34Mont Saint-Michel hosts over a million visitors each year.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Yet the Mont also has a secret life.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Amelie Saint James is one of a permanent population
0:18:46 > 0:18:50of just 20 living on this holy isle.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53So Amelie, how would you characterise Mont Saint-Michel,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55how would you describe it, what is it like?
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Depends on the time of the year.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59If it's summer it's very crowded,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02you are hoping winter comes quite quickly,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05and when it's winter, it's totally empty
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and you're quite wishing the tourist will arrive again.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It's a real tourist throng today.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13So Amelie has agreed to take me
0:19:13 > 0:19:17to one of Mont Saint-Michel's quieter corners.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Her home.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24There are 162 steps to get to my threshold,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27so that's quite a job. Then you're rewarded by beauty.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31I mean, when I wake up in the morning I have the bay around me.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36I have a 14th-century house, I have an Abbey on top. I mean,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40this is not given to everybody, so it's definitely worth it.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42The main street can be like the metro in Tokyo.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Sometimes people just open the door and they see my panties,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and they ask, "Well, is it private?"
0:19:49 > 0:19:51"No, no, of course not."
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Privacy is hard to come by on Mont Saint-Michel.
0:20:02 > 0:20:09Those pursuing a sacred life on-high compete with crowds below.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13After Benedictine monks returned here in 1969,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Father Andre Fournier followed them.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19What were the contrasts between life at the top in the abbey
0:20:19 > 0:20:23and life down below where humanity mills around?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Modern-day pilgrims who make the climb are rewarded with
0:21:12 > 0:21:16a timeless haven, sitting betwixt sea and sky.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32This is an ancient scene utterly removed from the commercial hubbub
0:21:32 > 0:21:38further down the Mount, a place of calm
0:21:38 > 0:21:45and contemplation, suspended above the human ant hill.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13Further along Normandy's shore, granite gives way to sand.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20And spiritual life makes way for beach life.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27England's Channel coast is a playground, too.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35But 70 years ago, fun was in short supply.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42In a time of war, beaches became battlefields.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45As they can't forget at Arromanches.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Mysterious black shadows that mark
0:22:55 > 0:23:00the Channel's darkest moment, D-Day.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Memorials to sacrifice.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Artists Jamie Wardley
0:23:09 > 0:23:14and Andy Moss are sculpting a tribute in the sand to the fallen.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21We have hundreds of people making 9,000 stencils of people
0:23:21 > 0:23:24that lost their lives in this area during the D-Day landings.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28A visual impression of how many people actually died.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31There's a lady who made a stencil that represents her father,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33she drew out the stencil and then she wrote
0:23:33 > 0:23:39her father's name on the stencil, and then it really was very moving.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49After the landings began on June 6, 1944, D-Day's wounded
0:23:49 > 0:23:54and dying were treated on both sides of the Channel.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59The memory of those who fell is etched in the mind of Andre Heintz,
0:23:59 > 0:24:04a resistance fighter who became a stretcher bearer on D-Day.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12I was part of the French Resistance. I had been told never to tell anyone
0:24:12 > 0:24:16that I was part of it, even my parents.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22Across the Channel in Portsmouth, Mary Verrier was a junior nurse,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26just 19 years old, treating casualties shipped to Britain.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31I was only a young girl then, just an ordinary girl.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Divided by the Channel, united in their struggle,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40this is their story of the fallen.
0:24:44 > 0:24:50Mary watched the soldiers leave the relative safety of British shores.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Well, we knew something was up, because we were
0:24:53 > 0:24:57confined to the hospital a week before, no leave, and I'm sure
0:24:57 > 0:25:02quite a few of them knew that they would not be coming back.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09On D-Day, I joined the Red Cross.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15I had to bring British parachutists to the hospital.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19It was full of people that had been wounded
0:25:19 > 0:25:22and couldn't be operated yet.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27There was hundreds of men pouring in, walking wounded,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29stretcher wounded.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36You must control your emotions, you must not be shown to be weak,
0:25:36 > 0:25:41you must be shown to be positive and caring.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Very difficult to do when your heart is breaking.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52You must realise how dreadful it was.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56One of my friends called me by my name, he was in bed.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04Well, it was not easy because I could not recognise him.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I had to ask him his name.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14One of the German boys, about 19, he was terribly burnt.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16We shouldn't have had him,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19really, he should have gone to the padre cos he was going to die,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and I put my hand on his knee
0:26:21 > 0:26:24so that he knew that somebody was there,
0:26:24 > 0:26:30and then I suddenly realised that he was going to slip away,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33so I stood up and put my arm under the pillow
0:26:33 > 0:26:38and put his poor burnt head and face on my shoulder,
0:26:38 > 0:26:45and I think he tried to say, "Kiss me, auf wiedersehen."
0:26:45 > 0:26:49I kissed him just on the forehead there, all the rest was burnt,
0:26:49 > 0:26:56and he died and that was my Achilles heel. Of all I'd been through,
0:26:56 > 0:27:01that brought me right down to my knees.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14I did all I could for my children,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18so that they won't keep the hatred I had,
0:27:18 > 0:27:24and I must say that I probably succeeded too well,
0:27:24 > 0:27:29because my oldest son married a German girl.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Finally the guns fell silent.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02From the ruins of war came a peace which has persisted along this sea.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08And at times of peace, the Channel can get to work.
0:28:08 > 0:28:14Cargo on the move, holiday-makers in a hurry.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19And the sea's hunters stalking their prey.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26On both sides of the Channel, fishing boats put to sea.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34But when two fleets are pursuing the same prize, tensions can arise.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38To explore why fishermen stopped being friends,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I've arrived at Erquy.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50The Breton fishing town of Erquy has grown into one of Europe's
0:28:50 > 0:28:56most important ports for a delicacy prized on both sides of the Channel.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Right now, this is a picture of tranquillity,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06but the tide is coming in, and when the water's deep enough,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10a fleet of ships is going to sail into port.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28This is the first catch of the season.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31They've been waiting five months for this.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37At Erquy, scallops are catch of the day,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41a favourite for discerning palates in France and the UK.
0:29:41 > 0:29:47Restaurants in Paris and London shell out big money for scallops.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51It was the pursuit of this much-loved mollusc
0:29:51 > 0:29:54that put peace in peril.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Just look at these headlines.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00"British fisherman call on Royal Navy."
0:30:00 > 0:30:02"Fisherman await the next salvo."
0:30:02 > 0:30:06"French attack our boats with rocks in battle over shellfish."
0:30:06 > 0:30:08"Scallop Wars."
0:30:08 > 0:30:14In 2012, British scallop trawlers were surrounded by French boats.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Insults were traded.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19THEY SHOUT IN FRENCH
0:30:21 > 0:30:24What provoked the Frenchmen's anger?
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Time for me to hit the front line.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32I've never seen as many scallops in one place at the same time.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50The Entente Cordiale was strained by a high-takes standoff,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53and maybe it's not surprising.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Scallops are big business, the appetite for them
0:30:56 > 0:31:00seems endless, but the Channel's stocks aren't.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02With so much demand
0:31:02 > 0:31:07and a limited supply, the scales seemed weighted against the scallop.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Here on the French side of the Channel, they decided to redress
0:31:10 > 0:31:14the balance. They put a limit on the length of the fishing season.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17For the French fishermen,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21scallop fishing was banned from mid-May to October.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23Not so for the British,
0:31:23 > 0:31:29who used wider EU rules to continue fishing legally all year round.
0:31:29 > 0:31:34But when the Brits dropped their nets close to the French coast,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36the locals cried foul play.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42The Scallop Wars rumbled on for a year before the two sides
0:31:42 > 0:31:45finally brokered a deal.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49In exchange for agreed fishing days,
0:31:49 > 0:31:54the British put restrictions on when and where they catch scallops.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59A deal sufficiently complex to keep everyone, and no-one, content.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04At close of play on day one of the season,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07is there optimism that peace will prevail?
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Do you feel a bond with your fellow English fishermen
0:32:16 > 0:32:18on the other side of the Channel?
0:32:38 > 0:32:42A glimmer of hope, then, that two nations who share a sea
0:32:42 > 0:32:44can happily share its bounty.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58It's not only the French and the British who fish the Channel.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03They're joined by hundreds of vessels from other EU nations.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08The rules to protect the Channel's fish stocks come from Brussels.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13But the job of ensuring nothing fishy goes on
0:33:13 > 0:33:16falls to France and to Britain.
0:33:20 > 0:33:25On our side, it's a challenge that's brought Miranda to Shoreham.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Today I'm signing on for a tour of duty with
0:33:30 > 0:33:33the Marine Management Organisation, the MMO.
0:33:33 > 0:33:34Working together with the Royal Navy,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36they're the referees of our seas.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Morning, chaps.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48Fishing quotas in the Channel are set by the EU.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53In British waters it's the MMO, or Marine Management Organisation,
0:33:53 > 0:33:54who enforce them.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57But it's no easy task.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02Back-up is required in the shape of the Royal Navy and HMS Mersey.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Like a police patrol car, the HMS Mersey cruises up and down
0:34:10 > 0:34:15the Channel ready to stop and search any fishing vessel she fancies.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17When you get a lift with the Royal Navy,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20you aren't winched aboard, the whole boat is!
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Ho-ho-ho...that feels pretty weird, we're going up.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36HMS Mersey is a nerve centre.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39They must monitor every large fishing vessel in the Channel.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Sights are set on a nearby British trawler.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49So it's our intention to send a routine inspection team to you,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52they'll be with you in the next 30 minutes.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55MUFFLED INSTRUCTIONS
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Right, last one on.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09MMO inspectors have a short time
0:35:09 > 0:35:15to ensure fishing methods match complex EU rules.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Does what the skipper says he's caught tally with
0:35:17 > 0:35:19what's in the hold?
0:35:21 > 0:35:24While his colleagues chase the paperwork,
0:35:24 > 0:35:29the MMO's Paul Johnson casts an expert eye on the latest haul.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32From an inspection point of view you can see this net is operating
0:35:32 > 0:35:36in a reasonable manner, you know, there isn't a lot of juvenile fish,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39there's no indications in this catch to me that there's been
0:35:39 > 0:35:43any sort of adjustments to the net to decrease the mesh sizes.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45So, as the net's been dragged through the water,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48- the juvenile fish are actually able to escape?- Exactly.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54So you've got a bit of cod here,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57so he's got about 40kg which is about a box, so I'm happy with that.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Inspections must be swift and accurate -
0:36:00 > 0:36:03livelihoods are in the balance.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06For rule breaches, crews can be ordered to port.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Fines may run into millions.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Everything appears in order,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14but there are plenty more trawlers in the Channel.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21HMS Mersey is one of three vessels
0:36:21 > 0:36:26patrolling 80,000 square miles of British waters.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Isolated at sea, the crew spend their days
0:36:31 > 0:36:34looking after fish stocks.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37How are they looked after on their floating home?
0:36:43 > 0:36:45It's quite cosy.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49But you've got to think they're here for maybe four weeks at a time.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Look at this! It's a gym!
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Of course you need exercise when you're on a ship,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57this is where they work out.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00And the Navy can't sail on an empty stomach.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03It's Mexican tonight.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06But there's very little rest for the team.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Straight after tea, it's back to sea.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Inspections run around the clock.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14Now our target's a huge Dutch trawler,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17which is more like a floating fish factory.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19MUSIC: "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26They can look to the documents, and after that they are ready.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Yeah, brilliant.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Boarding team safely embarked, proceeding.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35This boat's hold is packed. In just two days at sea
0:37:35 > 0:37:40they've caught and sorted nearly five tonnes of fish.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Lots of different species. Cod is required to be stowed
0:37:45 > 0:37:48separately, we're in what we call the cod recovery zone.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52And if we found cod hidden in there, that would be a problem.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Even in the middle of the night, Paul has to keep alert.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00What you'll see is that nearly all these species are non-quota,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03apart from the mackerel and the cod.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05- Right, so they can catch as many as they like?- As many as they like.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Are you worried about it?
0:38:07 > 0:38:08It's my job to worry about it.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11There are caps on the number of days people can fish,
0:38:11 > 0:38:13those sort of things, that does keep a lid on things.
0:38:13 > 0:38:19Whether it's a big enough lid, that's for scientists to answer and not me.
0:38:19 > 0:38:25The team are heading back for some rest, but the Channel never sleeps.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28All year round the hunt for fish goes on,
0:38:28 > 0:38:31and the sea's police must patrol.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47British naval power has always been crucial in the Channel,
0:38:47 > 0:38:53where our nearest neighbours haven't always been our closest friends.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58But our Navy alone wasn't sufficient guarantee against invasion.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04Along the south coast, there's a line of fortifications.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08Stony reminders of centuries of suspicion,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11when England eyed France nervously.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15But fear cut both ways -
0:39:15 > 0:39:19the French too looked anxiously across the Channel.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21By the close of the 17th century,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24they needed their own chain of forts.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29I'm in France on a Channel journey that's brought me
0:39:29 > 0:39:33to a town that turned fortification into an art form.
0:39:33 > 0:39:34Saint-Malo.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Medieval ramparts encircle Saint-Malo,
0:39:42 > 0:39:48a salt-stained shield recalling the threat of invasion.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53But with the growth of English sea power, walls weren't enough.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57To make Saint-Malo impregnable, the French king enlisted
0:39:57 > 0:40:02the formidable Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08Vauban is revered as one of the greatest military engineers
0:40:08 > 0:40:15of all time, and in Saint-Malo he used nature to spectacular effect.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Here in the bay, a network of tiny islands, reefs,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23rocky outcrops offered perfect foundations
0:40:23 > 0:40:27for an extraordinary network of coastal forts.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31Forming a jaw-shaped arch offshore,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Vauban's forts were cleverly designed
0:40:34 > 0:40:37so they combined to foil enemy ships.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45To discover the secrets of their success,
0:40:45 > 0:40:52I'm heading out with one of their custodians, Monsieur Marcel.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57For English sailors, these strongholds
0:40:57 > 0:41:00must have seemed unassailable.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04How many guns in this fort here?
0:41:04 > 0:41:0820, and 160 men.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Vauban was a fabulous engineer
0:41:11 > 0:41:15and when it was finished it was impossible to catch Saint-Malo.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Sited by the channels into Saint-Malo, Vauban's forts caught
0:41:20 > 0:41:27enemy ships in a hail of deadly crossfire, keeping the port secure.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34Now it's my chance to venture where our sailors never succeeded.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Time for an English invasion.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Monsieur Marcel has agreed to show me round
0:41:41 > 0:41:45one of Vauban's masterpieces, Fort Le Petit B.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Do you have help to re-build the port?
0:41:48 > 0:41:54Mm, sometimes, but it's very difficult to find good workers.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58This is a beautiful door, is this your door? You made this?
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Yes, it's a new door, I make it myself, yes.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Fantastic.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06It's like being in a ship.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Exactly like a ship.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11It's got a pointed prow pointing out to sea.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Yes. Only this place, 19 guns.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17So this is the last line of defence before the land?
0:42:17 > 0:42:20The last before the walls of Saint-Malo.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23And so if an English ship was the other side of these walls,
0:42:23 > 0:42:27would it have been possible to sail past and escape the guns?
0:42:27 > 0:42:29It's impossible to pass.
0:42:29 > 0:42:36In 1693, an English ship was wrecked by the guns of the Petit B.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- It was sunk by the guns from this fort?- Yes, yes.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Oh, those poor English soldiers, you must feel very sad for them?
0:42:42 > 0:42:47Yes...but, er, perhaps they swim to Saint-Malo.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49HE LAUGHS
0:42:49 > 0:42:54The defenders' deadly cannon power relied on manpower.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Surrounded by sea water,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01lack of fresh water could be the fort's undoing.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07Vauban dug deep for a solution.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Ah, so this is a well?
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Yes, is a well.
0:43:13 > 0:43:14Wow.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19'Rainwater was caught, then filtered twice through sand
0:43:19 > 0:43:22'before being drawn.'
0:43:24 > 0:43:27So this is good water for the soldiers to drink?
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Very good water, no problem.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31- It's crystal clear!- Very clear.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Wow!
0:43:33 > 0:43:38'Vauban clearly put his men's needs at the heart of his designs.'
0:43:38 > 0:43:39That IS good water.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42HE LAUGHS
0:43:42 > 0:43:46Standing strong, Vauban's stone guardians defied the Royal Navy
0:43:46 > 0:43:49and kept Saint-Malo safe.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57As Britain looked beyond the Channel to farther-flung territories,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00wars with France faded into history.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06When a new threat arose at the start of the 20th century,
0:44:06 > 0:44:10the two countries joined in a united purpose.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16In 1914, the British Empire and France
0:44:16 > 0:44:19stood shoulder-to-shoulder across the sea.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22For the first time, the world was at war.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27And the Channel once more became a battleground.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Now Neil's heading into the fray.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36There's a mystery surrounding soldiers from a British dominion
0:44:36 > 0:44:40who a century ago sailed here to serve a motherland
0:44:40 > 0:44:42they'd never known.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47We've crossed our narrow sea once more,
0:44:47 > 0:44:51arriving off the Isle of Wight.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00In the early hours of 21 February, 1917,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03the Channel witnessed a tragedy unfold.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06A troop ship was sinking off the Isle of Wight.
0:45:06 > 0:45:12Within 25 minutes, the ship and soldiers were beneath the waves.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18When she sank to the sea bed that cold February night,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21she took 647 men with her -
0:45:21 > 0:45:25still one of the worst losses the English Channel has ever seen.
0:45:26 > 0:45:33Hidden from view, the troop ship and her story were forgotten.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38'Then, in 1974, a local diver was investigating a wreck.'
0:45:38 > 0:45:41And then he found this.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Now, it's not the most glamorous or exciting bit of sunken treasure,
0:45:45 > 0:45:49you might think, however this saucer is stamped B&ASN.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53That's British & African Steam Navigation Company.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55That meant that this saucer
0:45:55 > 0:45:59had to have come from one ship and one ship only - the SS Mendi.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03Over 600 lives lost in the Channel,
0:46:03 > 0:46:07yet the Mendi is a name most people in Britain have never heard of.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12But 6,000 miles away, there's a country that can't forget her.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Over there on that boat is a film crew from Cape Town.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20This South African expedition is diving the wreck of the Mendi,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23trying to piece together the events of her fatal sinking.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30But why does a wreck in the Channel concern a crew from Cape Town?
0:46:31 > 0:46:35The men aboard the Mendi were black South Africans.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41In President Mandela's South Africa, the Mendi's mysterious loss
0:46:41 > 0:46:44became wove into the new nation's consciousness.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50How did Britain's great war touch the heart of South Africa?
0:46:58 > 0:47:00When World War I broke out, it wasn't just Britain
0:47:00 > 0:47:03that went to war, but her Empire.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06One fifth of the world's population
0:47:06 > 0:47:10swore allegiance to the British king.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13The Empire was expected to do its duty.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17For South Africa, that meant providing
0:47:17 > 0:47:20nearly 230,000 men for the war effort.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Over 90,000 of these were black troops.
0:47:26 > 0:47:31They came from tribal homelands across South Africa.
0:47:31 > 0:47:37Why would they choose to travel over 6,000 miles to fight in Europe?
0:47:39 > 0:47:43Zwai Mgijima is part of the South African team diving the wreck.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49What sort of lives did those men have back in Africa?
0:47:49 > 0:47:54To be honest with you, their life then was...was not good at all.
0:47:54 > 0:48:00People who volunteered to go to war were the strong men, the young men.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04There was an understanding of that if these men go to that war,
0:48:04 > 0:48:09in return the British would help us to defeat the Afrikaners.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16Oppressed in their homeland by Dutch and British settlers, many black
0:48:16 > 0:48:21South Africans saw world war as an opportunity to empower themselves.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27But the South African Government insisted none of their black troops
0:48:27 > 0:48:29should fight on the front line.
0:48:32 > 0:48:38Forbidden from bearing arms, they carried, chopped and cooked.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Was there a dishonour in being in an army
0:48:41 > 0:48:45but not expected to take part in the fight?
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Men, they took pride in fighting in a war,
0:48:48 > 0:48:50it was an honour to them to fight in the war,
0:48:50 > 0:48:55but not to come and dig trenches and man the stretchers
0:48:55 > 0:48:57and even cook for other men.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02Definitely it wasn't an honourable thing to do, but they had to do it.
0:49:05 > 0:49:10But the black Africans aboard the SS Mendi would never get to France.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14How did over 600 men come to perish in the Channel?
0:49:16 > 0:49:20I need to go back to February, 1917.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25After nearly a month at sea the Mendi,
0:49:25 > 0:49:30laden with South African troops, had just arrived in the Channel.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38Archaeologist John Gribble takes up the story.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42Her last stop before going to France was in Plymouth,
0:49:42 > 0:49:45and she stopped there to pick up an escort.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48HMS Brisk was a destroyer that was to escort her across the final leg.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51The Channel was a fairly dangerous place at the time.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53German U-Boats had wreaked havoc
0:49:53 > 0:49:55with British shipping over the last couple of years.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Really, the men ought to have been reassured
0:49:57 > 0:49:59because they had cover from an ally.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Yeah, yeah, absolutely, you'd imagine so.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06But it wasn't a U-Boat that would seal the SS Mendi's fate.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10As Britain struggled through one of our coldest winters,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12the Mendi and her escort the Brisk
0:50:12 > 0:50:18were crawling at a snail's pace in a Channel thick with fog.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24At the same time, a large British cargo ship, the Darro,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27was steaming toward the unsuspecting Mendi at speed.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33While more than 800 men slept below, the second officer kept watch,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37but the fog was too thick to see any approaching threat.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41By the time he could hear a vessel heading their way, it was too late.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48The Darro ploughed into the side of the Mendi,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50almost carving her in two.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58The words of a survivor recount the horror the men faced.
0:51:00 > 0:51:05"As soon as I left holding the boat with my hands I went down into
0:51:05 > 0:51:12"the sea, I swallowed some water and then came up to the surface."
0:51:15 > 0:51:17The Mendi had ample life jackets,
0:51:17 > 0:51:23so how could so many men die with other boats nearby?
0:51:23 > 0:51:25The Darrow obviously knew she'd been in a collision.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27Her captain put her engines into reverse,
0:51:27 > 0:51:29pulled away, and then just sat.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Nothing came or was heard from the Darrow for the entire incident.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36The captain, a guy by the name of Captain Stump,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40was found to be at fault, and in fact, there's a..
0:51:40 > 0:51:45this is a copy of part of the Board of Enquiry.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49"Summary of Report for the SS Mendi."
0:51:49 > 0:51:52So, Ackland, so is he the lawyer investigating,
0:51:52 > 0:51:54- asking Stump what he's doing?- Yes.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57So, "What steps did you take to save lives?"
0:51:57 > 0:52:02"Stump: I took no immediate steps. Ackland: why not?"
0:52:02 > 0:52:04"Stump: I considered my own ship
0:52:04 > 0:52:06"was in dangerous of sinking." Was that...?
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Not after the first few minutes. She was actually fine,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11she wasn't in imminent danger.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13"Did you hear anybody singing out?"
0:52:13 > 0:52:15"Stump: I heard some shouting out.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19"Ackland: It's now being suggested that you wanted to leave
0:52:19 > 0:52:21"the men who you knew were in the water to drown."
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Is there, I mean, is there malicious intent?
0:52:24 > 0:52:25It's so hard to know
0:52:25 > 0:52:29because Stump refused to really answer those questions.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32There was never a proper answer given by him at that Board
0:52:32 > 0:52:37of Trade Enquiry as to why he had not gone out and saved lives.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Is it conceivable that he had a problem with the fact that
0:52:40 > 0:52:43the men in the water were black Africans?
0:52:43 > 0:52:45It's one of the suggestions that has been made,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49but I don't think so, I can't see that as being the real reason.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52There was a suggestion that perhaps he was under the influence.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54- Alcohol?- Yes, given his previous actions - he was on the bridge
0:52:54 > 0:52:58when it took place, and got people to go forward and check for damage,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01it makes you think he was well in control, he knew what was going on.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04It's inexplicable that he did not do anything at all.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08We'll never know what was in Captain Stump's mind.
0:53:08 > 0:53:13Perhaps it was incompetence, perhaps he froze in the moment.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16But we do know that his penalty was lenient.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19His licence was suspended for just 12 months.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Whatever the reasons for Captain Stump's inaction,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28in South Africa the tragedy of the Mendi has come to symbolise
0:53:28 > 0:53:30the injustice of racial segregation.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38The sinking has become the stuff of legend.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44It's said as the Mendi went down, the troops confronted their fate
0:53:44 > 0:53:48like warriors. Removing their boots on deck, they performed
0:53:48 > 0:53:53a death dance, accompanied by the rousing words of their priest.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59"Be quiet and calm, my countrymen.
0:54:01 > 0:54:07"For what is taking place now is exactly what you came to do.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10"You are going to die.
0:54:12 > 0:54:18"We die like brothers. We are the sons of Africa.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21"Raise your war cries, brothers,
0:54:21 > 0:54:27"for though they made us leave our weapons at our home,
0:54:27 > 0:54:31"our voices are left with our bodies."
0:54:41 > 0:54:45The hand of history has dealt the Channel its share of human drama.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Now there's time for one last tale.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57A story of pillage and booty from the seas, for Saint-Malo is
0:54:57 > 0:55:04a city that made heroes of legalised pirates, the notorious corsairs.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11This is Saint-Malo's most famous corsair, Robert Surcouf,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15celebrated for menacing the English fleet,
0:55:15 > 0:55:20and for killing, single-handedly, 11 enemy soldiers in a duel.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25Apparently he spared the 12th so that he could live to tell the tale.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28That's the story, anyway.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Corsairs were traders turned buccaneers.
0:55:34 > 0:55:39In times of war, a letter from the king was all they needed to arm
0:55:39 > 0:55:43their ships and take whatever they could, usually from the English.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48'Some 200 years ago, Domenique de Beaucoudrey's ancestor was
0:55:48 > 0:55:51'a Saint-Malo corsair.'
0:55:51 > 0:55:53How was the cargo divided up?
0:55:53 > 0:55:56There was something like one-third for the state,
0:55:56 > 0:55:58one-third for the ship owner
0:55:58 > 0:56:02and the remaining third was shared between the captain and the crew.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06Now, trade was more important, though, really, than war.
0:56:06 > 0:56:07If trade was more important,
0:56:07 > 0:56:09why was your ancestor carrying guns on his ship?
0:56:09 > 0:56:12They were only fighting the bloody English
0:56:12 > 0:56:14because they were blocking all the harbour...
0:56:14 > 0:56:16HE LAUGHS
0:56:16 > 0:56:18It was all the English's fault, was it?
0:56:18 > 0:56:19Trying to bring back merchandise
0:56:19 > 0:56:21was the only way we were fighting them.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24The Royal papers carried by Dominique's forebears
0:56:24 > 0:56:26sanctioned piracy.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29On our side of the Channel, it looks like daylight robbery.
0:56:29 > 0:56:35To the French, the corsairs were simply taking care of business.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39Do you think any of your ancestors took any English goods?
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Yes, he did, yeah, of course, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Do you think the French would give those goods back to the English now?
0:56:46 > 0:56:48HE LAUGHS
0:56:48 > 0:56:50The French never give back anything.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54Domenique isn't alone.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57Saint-Malo's corsair descendants
0:56:57 > 0:57:02regularly celebrate their pirate heritage with a light luncheon.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06'I can't resist entering their lair to pose one last question.'
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Were the corsairs perhaps criminals?
0:57:10 > 0:57:12- No.- No.
0:57:12 > 0:57:18A letter of marque from his king to make war on behalf of the king...
0:57:18 > 0:57:21If you say a corsair is a criminal,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24you would say a soldier is a criminal.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Their toast isn't to criminals, but heroes.
0:57:29 > 0:57:35Heroes conjured up with a song from the era of raids on English ships.
0:57:48 > 0:57:49THEY LAUGH
0:57:54 > 0:57:58In Saint-Malo, they still celebrate Channel conflicts
0:57:58 > 0:58:01the British have chosen to forget.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05From opposing shores, the land reaches out
0:58:05 > 0:58:07as if to lay claim to the water.
0:58:07 > 0:58:13'But ultimately this narrow sea belongs to no-one and everyone,
0:58:13 > 0:58:16'eternally dividing and uniting.'
0:58:17 > 0:58:19Over long centuries,
0:58:19 > 0:58:23these waters have witnessed many remarkable stories.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25But in the ebb and flow of changing times,
0:58:25 > 0:58:30the Channel remains awash with possibility.