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The Vikings were an ambitious, daring and frightening people who left an indelible mark on the British psyche. Yet archaeology has revealed very little about their time in Britain and even less about what happened to them afterwards. In the last episode of the series, Julian Richards uncovers new information from the battle in 1066 between Viking warlord Harald Hardrada and King Harold of England that marked the end of the Viking age in Britain. Results...
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October 2003, Georgia—in this post-soviet Republic weakened by civil war and the succession of several territories in the early 1990's, a democratic opposition movement protests the outcome of the election, claiming fraud. Under the leadership of the charismatic Mikhail Saakachvili, also known as "Micha", the establishment is swept away in a mere few weeks. An inside glance at a successful revolution, one that remained non-violent and served as...
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In August 1983, Captain Thomas Sankara seizes power in the former French colony of Upper Volta. He is helped by a commando led by his friend Blaise Compaore. Contrary to precedent attempts, Sankara's coup d'etat has revolutionary objectives of Marxist inspiration: end the neocolonial hold of France on the county, favor the equality of opportunity and the education of the masses and launch an economic reform based in the rurality of the country. Dissidences...
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December 16, 2001—Madagascar, one of the world's poorest countries falls into chaos. The roots of this crisis are two men fighting to control disputed election results: Didier Ratsiraka, the incumbent president, and his foe, Marc Ravalomanana, the presidential candidate. For seven months, Madagascar is asphyxiated by this turmoil: barricades are set up, tortures take place and the crisis escalates into a true civil war. The political calamity ends...
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For the French government, Cameroon had a particular strategic importance. Paris was afraid that in case of defeat against Moumie's UPC, a left wing movement of independence, France would not only lose Cameroon, but also other colonies in Western and Central Africa. Paris was convinced that it was in Cameroon it was going to win or lose the Cold War and Africa. For twenty-five years, in an attempt to "save the country of communism," French authorities...
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Packed with the usual mix of fascinating facts, popular pastiches and gruesome gags, this one-off special of the multi-award-winning comedy sketch show Horrible Histories reveals what pulled the heartstrings of some of the most famous lovers of days gone by (and the sometimes not-so-lucky objects of their affection). Discover what happens when Henry VIII takes part in the TV show Dating in Darkness and meets latest love Anne of Cleves, find out about...
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Anwar al Sadat, successor of Nasser and the President of Egypt, was the first Arab leader to try and break the wall of enmity between two peoples who laid claim to the same land. He was the first Arab leader to set foot on Israel's soil. He made and historic speech in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, and offered peace to the Arab's long standing enemy. But fundamentalist Lt. Khaled Islambouli and his fellow conspirators of the revolutionary Islamic...
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“I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people”—those are the first words pronounced by Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, after 27 years of incarceration. The event struck a chord worldwide, reminding us that South Africa, historically, was not only the first country to be colonized but also the last country to be decolonized.
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Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo in Umtatu, then a part of South Africa's Cape Province. Given the forename Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term colloquially meaning "troublemaker," in later years he became known by his clan name, Madiba. This is the story of Mandela's incredible life.
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Burkina Faso, Africa, October 15, 1987. Automatic gunfire breaks the evening's silence and kills President Thomas Sankara. Would the assassins have been sent by his brothers in arms, Blaise Compaore, with whom he had launched the Marxist Revolution a few years before? His main argument was also one of the assassins: Sankara had lost all sense of reality and was leading the Revolution into chaos. It needed to be "rectified". But who really was behind...
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August 5, 1962, South Africa—after several months on the run, the Black leader Nelson Mandela is arrested by the South African police and incarcerated in Robben Island, a fortress-like jail off Cape Town. He doesn’t know it at that time, but it is only the beginning of his penitential ordeal. Despite this imprisonment, he will quickly become the symbol of the fight against apartheid. A complex and terrifying system of racial segregation is hidden...
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Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the newly independent Congo, was a hero to his fellow Africans but a communist threat to the West. The West believed Lumumba was pro-soviet and would open the door to communist control of this mineral rich region. Within months of becoming Prime Minister in 1960, Lumumba was ousted in a military coup, inspired by the West. It was led by a turncoat colonel, Desire Mobutu who would be Congo's military dictator...
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With the "Tuskegee Experiment" a proven success and used as a basis to demonstrate that Blacks could perform well in combat and leadership roles, President Harry Truman, in 1948, signed the executive order to integrate the military. This video looks at that time and event.
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This video from Tony Brown's Journal continues the look at the all-Black unit, the 99th. Shooting down German airplanes, rather than effectively carrying out the assigned duties of close ground support and bomber escort, emerged as the criterion for combat performance for the 99th. Ironically, at the height of the controversy stateside, the 99th received a reassignment of duties. The subsequent result: Jim Crow's Graveyard. Because of the reassignment,...
79) Patriot Generals
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They are leaders among men. They were warriors guided by their patriotism in a united quest for freedom. This program from Tony Brown's Journal chronicles the careers of four early black generals—Colin Powell, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Frank Petersen, and Daniel “Chappie” James.
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Criticism of the 99th's overseas combat record was instantaneous and virulent. After only a few months in combat, the Commander of the 12th Air Support Command assailed the performance of the Black pilots. "Officers of all professions” he said, felt that "the Negro type has not the proper reflexes to make a first-class fighter pilot.” Time magazine questioned the 99th's performance and asked: "Experiment Proved?" After a stateside controversy...