History

Video documentaries about history of the world

Civilization: Is the West History episode 1

Civilization: Is the West History episode 1

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Civilization: Is the West History episode 1: The first programme in the series begins in 1420 when Ming China had a credible claim to be the most advanced civilization in the world: ‘All Under Heaven’. England on the eve of the Wars of the Roses would have seemed quite primitive by contrast. Yet the lead that China had established in technology was not to be translated into sustained economic growth. In China a monolithic empire stifled colonial expansion and economic innovation. In Europe political division bred competition. The question for our own time is whether or not we have lost […]

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Filthy Cities episode 3 - Industrial New York

Filthy Cities episode 3 – Industrial New York

History / 9 minutes of reading / / By

Filthy Cities Episode 3: Industrial New York – A Journey Through Manhattan’s Darkest Hour In Episode 3 of Filthy Cities, historian Dan Snow takes us back to a Manhattan most of us would hardly recognize. The gleaming skyscrapers and vibrant streets of today’s New York City were once the stuff of dreams, clouded by the dense smog of industrialization and stained by the grime of poverty. As the Industrial Revolution gripped the world, New York found itself at the epicenter of change – but not all of it was for the better. In the 19th century, millions fled Europe, escaping

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Filthy Cities episode 2 - Revolutionary Paris

Filthy Cities episode 2 – Revolutionary Paris

History / 9 minutes of reading / / By

Filthy Cities episode 2 – Revolutionary Paris: A City of Filth and Fury Just two centuries ago, Paris was far from the romantic city we know today. In fact, it was notorious for being one of the dirtiest, foulest-smelling places in Europe. In episode two of Filthy Cities, historian Dan Snow takes us on a visceral journey back in time, uncovering the grimy underbelly of 18th-century Paris and how this monumental filth set the stage for a bloody revolution. Through stunning CGI and immersive storytelling, Snow brings to life the stinking streets of a city on the brink of change.

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Filthy Cities episode 1 - Medieval London

Filthy Cities episode 1 – Medieval London

History / 9 minutes of reading / / By

In Filthy Cities episode 1: Medieval London, historian Dan Snow dives deep into the grime and grit of 14th-century London, uncovering the murky layers of history that shaped the city. This isn’t your typical walk through history. Instead, Dan plunges into a world of filth, disease, and decay, showing how London’s chaotic streets were a breeding ground for transformation. From its stench-filled alleyways to the dark corners of medieval life, Dan’s journey offers a unique glimpse into how the modern city rose from the muck—quite literally. State-of-the-art CGI takes viewers back 700 years, reconstructing the London streets as they were—messy,

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The Man who Cracked the Nazi Code

The Man who Cracked the Nazi Code

History / 4 minutes of reading / / By

The Man who Cracked the Nazi Code: What if the D-Day landings were only possible thanks to a chess player who cracked the encoded communications of the German army? 6 June 1944. D-Day. The biggest land and sea operation in history: 256,000 men, 20,000 vehicles and 4,000 landing craft. On this pivotal moment in history when the outcome of the Second World War was at stake, much has been written, recounted, analyzed, examined, filmed and filmed again.     And yet, what if I told you the D-Day landings were only possible thanks to a socially-awkward, antimilitarist mathematician whose dream

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Hitler Takes on the West episode 2

Hitler Takes on the West episode 2

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Hitler Takes on the West episode 2: May 1940. France is in chaos. The French people take to the roads, trying to escape. The government signs an armistice as Germans take over half the country. The French and the English retreat desperately. In Dunkirk, there are more than 300,000 troops waiting to be transhipped in hundreds of ships, which perform a heroic back and forth trips to England. Thousands of men perish at the sea, struck down by German bombs.     Celebrated as heroes throughout Britain, the soldiers of Dunkirk were saved by the sacrifice of French soldiers. To

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Hitler Takes on the West episode 1

Hitler Takes on the West episode 1

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Hitler Takes on the West episode 1: 1940 – Nine months after the onset of World War II, Hitler attacks the West – Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain – with intense violence. The “phoney war” ends, the real war begins, in an unleashing of violence never seen before. The devastating blitzkrieg exceeds all expectations in intensity and its soldiers push back all human limits by consuming Pervitine, a synthetic drug that prevents them from sleeping. After a four-year-long First World War, Hitler’s feat was to defeat Belgium and the Netherlands in 18 days and France in barely 45

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Lucy Worsley Investigates - Madness of King George

Lucy Worsley Investigates – Madness of King George

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Lucy Worsley Investigates – Madness of King George: How did George’s mental illness change Britain? Lucy Worsley uncovers Royal papers and explores how the attempt on his life by a mentally ill subject changed psychiatry forever.     The historian examines four dramatic chapters in British history, exploring how changing attitudes to gender politics, class inequality, mental health and children can challenge perceptions of the past and provide new answers to each myster. She begins with the 16th-century witch hunts, when thousands of ordinary people, mostly women, were hunted down, tortured and killed across Scotland and England. Lucy Worsley investigates

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Lucy Worsley Investigates - Princes in the Tower

Lucy Worsley Investigates – Princes in the Tower

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Lucy Worsley Investigates – Princes in the Tower: What really happened to the princes in the tower? Lucy Worsley uncovers the story of the two boys whose disappearance in 1483 has led to centuries of mystery and speculation.     The historian examines four dramatic chapters in British history, exploring how changing attitudes to gender politics, class inequality, mental health and children can challenge perceptions of the past and provide new answers to each myster. She begins with the 16th-century witch hunts, when thousands of ordinary people, mostly women, were hunted down, tortured and killed across Scotland and England. Lucy

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Lucy Worsley Investigates - The Black Death

Lucy Worsley Investigates – The Black Death

History / 4 minutes of reading / / By

Lucy Worsley Investigates – The Black Death: How did the Black Death change Britain? Lucy Worsley examines the latest science and explores how the huge death toll affected religious beliefs, class structure, work and women.     The historian examines four dramatic chapters in British history, exploring how changing attitudes to gender politics, class inequality, mental health and children can challenge perceptions of the past and provide new answers to each myster. She begins with the 16th-century witch hunts, when thousands of ordinary people, mostly women, were hunted down, tortured and killed across Scotland and England. Lucy Worsley investigates the

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Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen – The story of Queen Elizabeth II in her own words, featuring never-before-seen home movie footage from her childhood up to her 1953 Coronation at the age of 27. It features a clip marking the first extended visit of Prince Philip to Balmoral in 1946, while the couple’s engagement was still not public and depicts Princess Elizabeth as a young mother with Prince Charles and Princess Anne spending time with their grandparents, the King and Queen.       With the Queen having lived her life in the spotlight, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’d

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Lucy Worsley Investigates - The Witch Hunts

Lucy Worsley Investigates – The Witch Hunts

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Lucy Worsley Investigates – The Witch Hunts: We all think we know what we mean by a witch, but behind the clichés of pointy hats and broomsticks lies a terrifying history that’s been largely forgotten. Four hundred years ago, thousands of ordinary people, the vast majority of them women, were hunted down, tortured and killed in witch hunts across Scotland and England. Lucy Worsley investigates what lay behind these horrifying events.     She begins her investigation in North Berwick, a seaside town not far from Edinburgh, where the witch hunting craze began. The story goes that, in 1590, a

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