history Archives - Page 39 of 61

Plague Fiction

History / 3 minutes of reading / September 15, 2020 / By HDclump

Plague Fiction: In light of the Covid-19 global outbreak, Professor Laura Ashe takes a look back at the literature on the Plague, starting with the 14th century when the Black Death was sweeping the globe. Going from one of the earliest accounts of plague in 1347 through to Samuel Pepys’s record of the Great Plague of London in the 1660s, Professor Ashe explores how literature helped us cope with fear and tragedy, the importance of bravery and personal sacrifice, and whether the words of the past can offer us the comfort and healing that we need now. […]

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World War 1 – episode 5 – Deliverance

History / 3 minutes of reading / September 3, 2020 / By HDclump

World War 1 – episode 5 – Deliverance: All seems lost for the Allies. The Italians are defeated at Caporette, and a Bolshevik Russia pulls out of the war. But the American reinforcements are decisive, and the Allies emerge victorious. The Allies are unable to negotiate an honourable peace agreement, and the Treaty of Versailles, 20 years later, will have disastrous consequences. Apocalypse: World War I is a TV series made up of 5 French documentaries created by Isabelle Clarke and Daniel Costelle, and narrated by Mathieu Kassovitz. Originally broadcast in 2014, it chronologically traces the history of

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World War 1 – episode 4 – Rage

History / 2 minutes of reading / September 1, 2020 / By HDclump

World War 1 – episode 4 – Rage: 1917. People have had enough of the war. Behind the scenes, uprisings are brewing, like the one that toppled the Tsar in Russia; on the front soldiers begin to mutiny as they did at Chemin des Dames in France. German submarine attacks in the Atlantic will finally pull the Americans into the war, but they arrive too late to help prevent the carnage of the Battle of Passchendaele. Apocalypse: World War I is a TV series made up of 5 French documentaries created by Isabelle Clarke and Daniel Costelle, and

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World War 1 – episode 3 – Hell

History / 4 minutes of reading / August 30, 2020 / By HDclump

World War 1 – episode 3 – Hell: 1916 – The war is raging in Europe and stretches from the trenches in France to the Italian Alps and the Balkans, and beyond to the gates of the Eastern world. The conflict becomes industrial, and millions of shells rain down on the battlefields; Verdun and the Somme are the deadliest battles in this second year of the war. Who can stop this infernal machine? Apocalypse: World War I is a TV series made up of 5 French documentaries created by Isabelle Clarke and Daniel Costelle, and narrated by Mathieu

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World War 1 – episode 2 – Fury

History / 3 minutes of reading / August 29, 2020 / By HDclump

World War 1 – episode 2 – Fury: The French army stops the German advance at the battle of the Marne, while the Germans halt the Russians at Tannenberg on the eastern front. In France, the warring parties dig themselves in for 4 years in the trenches. Soldiers from the colonies come lend a hand to their colonizers and the war becomes global. Was the sacrifice of an entire generation worldwide an avoidable or a necessary tragedy? Are the roots of World War II to be found in the devastation of World War I and the Treaty of

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World War 1 – episode 1 – Fury

History / 6 minutes of reading / August 28, 2020 / By HDclump

World War 1 – episode 1 – Fury: On June 28th, 1914, the assassination of an obscure Austrian archduke in Sarajevo triggers the most disastrous conflict the world has ever known. Germany becomes an enemy to France, invades Belgium, and in September arrives at the gates of Paris. Was the sacrifice of an entire generation worldwide an avoidable or a necessary tragedy? Are the roots of World War II to be found in the devastation of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles? This series seeks to address such questions using a global and all-encompassing yet personal and sensitive

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After Braveheart episode 2

History / 2 minutes of reading / August 24, 2020 / By HDclump

After Braveheart episode 2: What happened when the army of Robert Bruce invaded Ireland in order to unite the Celtic nations against English oppression? Few know that the last High King of Ireland was a Scotsman, Edward, brother of Robert Bruce. This docudrama brings the period and people of this conflict to life. This docudrama series reveals the untold story of how a Scottish army tried to drive the English out of Ireland 700 years ago. After Braveheart episode 2 Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the

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After Braveheart episode 1

History / 2 minutes of reading / August 23, 2020 / By HDclump

After Braveheart episode 1: This docudrama series reveals the untold story of how a Scottish army tried to drive the English out of Ireland 700 years ago. This is a story of two Celtic nations, a shared heritage and a forgotten war that could have changed the course of history. Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, decided to invade Ireland to unite the Celtic nations against the English. Now for the first time, these dramatic events are explored on screen. After Braveheart episode 1 Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly

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Napoleon – The Russian Campaign episode 2

History / 4 minutes of reading / August 19, 2020 / By HDclump

Napoleon – The Russian Campaign episode 2: Part 2 details the hardships and deprivations suffered by Napoleon’s Grande Armee as they await the surrender of the Tsar, which never comes. And with problems in France and his popularity waning, Napoleon begins the long, death-filled retreat from Russia with his exhausted, starving troops. This docudrama revisits one of the most astounding military campaigns and defeats in history, Napoleon’s attempted invasion of Russia. Napoleon – The Russian Campaign episode 2 Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), born Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a French statesman and

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Napoleon – The Russian Campaign episode 1

History / 4 minutes of reading / August 17, 2020 / By HDclump

Napoleon – The Russian Campaign episode 1: This docudrama revisits one of the most astounding military campaigns and defeats in history, Napoleon’s attempted invasion of Russia. Since his victory over Tsar Alexander in 1807 and the Treaty of Tilsit, France and Russia are officially allies. But Alexander doesn’t support Napoleon’s expansionist strategy. To Napoleon, Russia’s behavior makes it an enemy of France. Ignoring calls for caution, Napoleon invades Russia in 1811. Napoleon – The Russian Campaign episode 1 The French invasion of Russia, known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 and in France as

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Europe in the Middle Ages episode 4 – Cities and Cathedrals

History / 4 minutes of reading / August 16, 2020 / By HDclump

Europe in the Middle Ages episode 4 – Cities and Cathedrals: Historians considered for a long time the picturesque maze of alleyways in medieval towns to be construction planning gone haywire. New research reveals the surprising fact that many mediaeval towns were conceived on the drawing board by urban planners who were well versed in geometry, for the towns grew and offered a home to many people. Even outsiders such as swindlers, beggars and charlatans found shelter, for the influence of the feudal lords ended before the town-gates. In the freedom of the towns, the guilds and bourgeois

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Europe in the Middle Ages episode 3 – Peasants and Nobles

History / 2 minutes of reading / August 12, 2020 / By HDclump

Europe in the Middle Ages episode 3 – Peasants and Nobles: Most of the population in the Middle Ages lived on the land – a silent, suffering majority, who as serfs had to do soccage service and pay taxes to the ruling noblemen and were repeatedly exposed to famine and violent conflicts. Fear of bears, wolves and demons or roaming bands of robbers were widespread and today, folktales and legends still give us an insight into the former peasant culture. And yet, it too made a considerable contribution to progress through inventions such as the horse’s harness, the

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