Histoire | ARTE

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History | ARTE

Historia | ARTE

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The major historical events and civilisations that shaped the world

History

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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

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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

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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.

Crazy Borders

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?

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

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 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?

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

Cyberwarfare

Stories of Conflict

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Iran's Nuclear Programme

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

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

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?

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.  

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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.

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.

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A few days before their marriage, Ludmila's fiancé admits to her that he works for the KGB and that he's leaving to go live in Argentina under a false identity. If she wants to stay with him, she has to become a spy as well. After two years of training, she joins him in Buenos Aires, where the couple tracks down SS officials who fled to Latin America after the fall of Nazi Germany. 

Ludmila, KGB Agent

How Ludmila went from bride to Nazi hunter

Female Spies Tell All

In 1989, the American army invaded Panama. Manuel Noriega, Panama's dictator, went into hiding. Martha, a field officer at the Military Intelligence Agency, was sent to track him down.

Martha Versus Dictator Noriega

The story of how one fateful visit to the hair salon brought down a dictator

Jonna Mendez and her husband Tony are CIA celebrities. In 1989, one of the CIA's best Russian moles was on the cusp of being discovered by the USSR. The Mendez couple were sent to Moscow to coordinate the extraction of the mole and his wife.

Joanna, the CIA's Sweetheart

How Jonna Mendez and her husband snuck a prized asset right out from under the noses of USSR intelligence

In the 1970s, Israel offered to accept Falacha Jews from Ethiopia who were facing persecution. But their government refused to let them leave. So Mossad agents set up a hotel as a cover for their underground people smuggling operation. They manage to evacuate thousands of Falacha Jews to the safety of Israel. Yola was the manager of this hotel.

Yola and Hotel Mossad

The story of how Yola ran a hotel as a cover for a people smuggling operation

Geneviève is one of the first female analysts of the DST, the French counterintelligence service. In the 1970s, she spent her days cataloging Soviet diplomats present in France. It's slow, meticulous work: this is the reality of intelligence gathering. She must also balance the demands of her career with the expectations of her husband and family.

Geneviève: Mum, Wife, Spy

To escape life as a housewife, Geneviève becomes a spy

Gabriele fell in love with a Stasi officer and soon realised to keep him, she'd have to spy for him. But even after they broke up, she continued working for East Germany for ideological reasons, even refusing payment. She delivered thousands of documents to the East.

Gabriele, the West German Stasi Mole

Gabriele fell in love with a Stasi officer and soon realised to keep him, she'd have to spy for him

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

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

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?

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.