Histoire | ARTE

Geschichte | ARTE

History | ARTE

Historia | ARTE

Storia | ARTE

Anne Lister was an openly lesbian nineteenth century noblewoman, with up to five lovers at the same time. She filled pages and pages of diaries with accounts of her sexual adventures and conquests, and even married another woman.

Britain's First Openly Gay Woman

Anne Lister was an openly lesbian nineteenth century noblewoman, with up to five lovers at the same time.

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The Marchioness Casati was admired throughout Europe for her incredible parties and expensive tastes. She was an eccentric patron of the arts, and her face appears again and again in the works of all the notable painters of her day. But she would rip through her inheritance by the age of fifty and end up wondering the streets of London, going though rubbish bins.

The Lost Ones

The Marchioness Casati went from living in a palace to eking out an existence on the streets of London

Luisa Casati, the Ruined Marchioness

Prospector Jakko Isola went to the icy wilderness of northern Finland in the hope of finding gold. What he found instead was inner peace in the beauty and tranquillity of the far North. That is until he finally did uncover gold…

Prospector Jakko Isola went to the icy wilderness of northern Finland in the hope of finding gold. He found enlightenment instead.

Jaakko Isola's Search for Riches

In 1924, a woman entered the capital of Tibet after having travelled thousands of kilometres on foot. It was the first time a foreigner had crossed the border of the sacred city. This mythical feat, one of many by Alexandra David-Néel, made the reputation of this explorer, writer, anarchist, feminist and traveller.

In 1924, a woman entered the capital of Tibet after having travelled thousands of kilometres on foot. It was the first time a foreigner had crossed the border of the sacred city. 

Alexandra David-Neel: An Adventurer in Tibet

On the shores of the Red Sea he was known as the Sea Wolf.  The extraordinary story of the man who had been everything: Writer, sailor, privateer, arms and hashish dealer.

Henry de Monfreid

He was both the most adored and the most feared of the Italian aviation aces during the Great War. Addicted to risk, he joined the utopian enclave of Fiume in 1919, with commander Gabriele d'Annunzio. Guido Keller, the dandy, the eccentric, took part in the spectacular and delirious experiment of creating a dream society.

He was both the most adored and the most feared of the Italian aviation aces during the Great War and he took part in the spectacular and delirious experiment of the Free State of Fiume.

Guido Keller: The Activist Aviator

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict

A History in 7 Minutes

Northern Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

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Historians reveal the fascinating history of objects: Documents, materials, devices or clothes, everything has a tale to tell.

Making History

Robert Lohmeyer was a German pioneer of colour photography. Between 1907 and 1909 he travelled the former German colonies and photographed the people and landscapes in colour for the first time, but his pictures laid the foundations for a racist view of Africa.

Photography of Former-German Colonies

Robert Lohmeyer was a pioneer of colour photography, but his pictures taken in the German colonies were permeated with racism.

Racism in Colour

Forget bombardments, skirmishes, ambushes and attacks: The future of warfare is online.

Cyberwarfare

Stories of Conflict

Turkey is often seen as a bridge between East and West. But at the moment this bridge seems unstable with war in the Middle East, a refugee crisis, and an increasingly bellicose president Erdogan. Understanding Turkey today in five minutes.

Turkey and its Neighbours

Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict.

The Lost Ones are stories of people who were born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their individual fates give insight into big, dramatic events in world history.

The Lost Ones are stories of people who were born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Understanding the European union and how it came to be can seem difficult. Here is an attempt to explain everything in six minutes.

European (De)Construction

For 35 years President Tito kept Yugoslavia’s diverse population living in peace. But after the fall of communism thinks started to fall apart.

Yugoslavia: War of the Exes

For 35 years President Tito kept Yugoslavia’s diverse population living in peace. But after the fall of communism thinks started to fall apart.  

Everyone agrees that war is terrible and yet somehow conflicts continue and soldiers around the world are sent off to kill and be killed. How do governments convince their electorates that war is a necessary evil? One word: PR.

The Manufacturing of Consent

Tweeting has become a communication shortcut, disrupting traditional diplomacy. But does a free-tweeting Donald Trump represent a threat to world peace?

Trump: Let’s Tweet Again

Does a free-tweeting Donald Trump represent a threat to world peace?

The United Nations, on paper, was a great idea: bringing all the states of the world together to ban war was daring. But in practice, things are very different. Power is concentrated in just five countries, with the 188 others having little say. Is the UN fit for purpose?

Is the UN in its Death Throes?

Today, China is the second largest economic power in the world. But China's ambition doesn't seem to be global conquest: instead, it wants to ensure the submission of its neighbours.

China Takes Centre Stage

Today, China is the second largest economic power in the world. What does that mean for its neighbours?

Tensions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are nothing new. For starters, there's the religious differences, with Sunni Saudis on one side and Shiite Iranians on the other. And now, as they vie for regional influence, proxy conflicts are fought in other lands.

Saudi Arabia Versus Iran

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran are an ongoing source of tension in the region. Here's your five minute recap  

After 40 years of rule by Colonel Gaddafi, the military intervention by France, Britain and the USA in 2011 led to his downfall. What followed did not exactly go to plan. Or rather, there was no plan.

Libya: Sons of Anarchy

A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? A history of the Olympic games in 5 minutes.

The Olympic Games

A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? 

Forget about polar bears and their pristine icy wilderness. As the icecap melts with climate change the arctic is becoming a strategic region for maritime traffic, oil and gas.

An Arctic Cold War

As the icecap melts with climate change the arctic is becoming a strategic region for maritime traffic, oil and gas.

With independence came partition, as the new nations of India and Pakistan came into being as British rule ended. But these young nations quickly came to blows and the contested region of Kashmir was stuck right in the middle.

India vs Pakistan

With independence came partition, as the news nations of India and Pakistan came into being as British rule ended. But these young nations quickly came to blows and the contested region of Kashmir was stuck right in the middle.

Terrorism has been around much longer than radical Islam with nation states having always struggled to define what it is and how to tackle it. This episode will try just that in five minutes.

Terrorism - Our Old Friend

Terrorism has been around much longer than radical Islam with nation states having always struggled to define what it is and how to tackle it.

Paradise islands synonymous with hell? Welcome to the Spratlys archipelago, at the heart of a regional power struggle with global implications. China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei all lay claim to these islands... but the question is far from settled. If major conflict does break out, this is where it could start. A clear case of Crazy Borders! 

The Spratly Islands: Flashpoint for WWIII?

Paradise islands synonymous with hell? Welcome to the Spratlys archipelago, at the heart of a regional power struggle

Crazy Borders

You might think that North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un is just a crazy overweight man with glasses. But there is method to Rocketman’s madness and its running rings around the United States.

Why Rocketman Builds Them

Crimea has changed hands many times over the centuries. And under President Putin, it has had its last, perhaps definitive, switch. But this has huge consequences for the West and neighbouring countries. Not since World War Two have national boundaries been redrawn using force.

Russia, Ukraine and the Future of Crimea

Crimea has changed hands many times over the centuries. And under President Putin, it has had perhaps its last switch.

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The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland. It was where the two men accused of orchestrating the Lockerbie bombings were put on trial. Libyans saw them as unfair victims. Meanwhile bereaved families demanded justice.

A Scottish Court in the Netherlands

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland for the Lockerbie bombing trial

Did you know that people from Cyprus can cross the border into the UK every day? The British have a sort of autonomous state on the island: the Sovereign Base Areas. This is a case for Crazy Borders.

Dhekelia: Divided Between Cyprus and Britain

Did you know that people from Cyprus can cross the border into the UK every day?

Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was the most densely populated area on Earth. 33,000 people settled on 2.5 hectares of land that was disputed between Chinese and British - meaning neither country asserted its authority there. This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

Kowloon: The Lawless Super City

This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community.

How can you misplace 80km2 of territory? In Mexico, the island of Bermeja had been on maps for generations. But when it came to actually finding the island... it seemed as if it had disappeared into thin air. And with the loss of Bermeja, Mexico lost a huge windfall of oil revenue in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

The Lost Island of Bermeja

Did you know that the Middle Ages is only a few kilometers off the French coast? A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Sark: A Modern Day Feudal Island

A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed.

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory? In the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos women are not allowed in - even tourists - and any woman who enters could be arrested by police. It's a peninsula from another, bygone world and yet benefits from taxpayer funding (including female taxpayers, presumably...).

Mount Athos: Off Limits for Women

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory?

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be? For France, of course, the baby would be French. But not for Italy! The quarrel has been going on since 1860, when the divison of territory at the top of the mountain was unclearly defined... leaving each country to interpret the boundary more or less as they saw fit. This really is a case for Crazy Borders!

Mont Blanc: A High Altitude Dispute

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be?

In the town of Baarle, a body of a woman was discovered in a house... but before police could intervene, first authorities had to call a surveyor. Baarle is crisscrossed over with a winding frontier between the Netherlands and Belgium, and police needed to know which country was responsible for investigating the killing. One half of the house was Dutch, the other half was Belgian. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Baarle, a Town of Two Nations

A city divided between Belgium and the Netherlands, and scene of a murder? Welcome to Baarle.

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s? It was the war of the stop signs in Llívia, a Spanish town - but in France, in the Pyrenees. This bizarre quirk is due to a treaty signed centuries ago. This really is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Llivia, Between France and Spain

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s?

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Today every nation wants their very own nuclear programme. The Islamic Republic of Iran claimed to be developing nuclear energy for peaceful means whereas many Western nations thought otherwise. However, everything was running smoothly until a certain American president came along.