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15 Episodes 0 - 2022
Episode 1
China is one of the oldest civilisations on earth and one of unparalleled continuity. Confucian values still underpin much of society despite the Communist Revolution of the middle of last century which signalled such a dramatic break from it's past. Throughout its history China has always revered "The Leader " and remained fiercely proud and protective of culture and country. Chairman Mao compared himself to China's first Emperor and now its current leader, President Xi, is determined to re-establish China's role and reputation as a global superpower. This three part Empire Builders miniseries explores the culture and values that has made China such a resilient civilisation and how these have impacted on modern China today. Leading Chinese and western contributors argue that China's strength and difference has often been forged by meritocracy, authoritarian leadership , ingenuity and sheer hard work - qualities that have contributed in the outside world to both enlightened feelings of awe and wonderment and age old fears and prejudices. While ancient China was often ignored and seen as a benign presence in the wider world, the achievements of a now modern Chinese Communist super state have thrust arguments about its motives, role and power centre stage in what many are calling The Chinese Century.
Episode 2
China is one of the oldest civilisations on earth and one of unparalleled continuity. Confucian values still underpin much of society despite the Communist Revolution of the middle of last century which signalled such a dramatic break from it's past. Throughout its history China has always revered "The Leader " and remained fiercely proud and protective of culture and country. Chairman Mao compared himself to China's first Emperor and now its current leader, President Xi, is determined to re-establish China's role and reputation as a global superpower. This three part Empire Builders miniseries explores the culture and values that has made China such a resilient civilisation and how these have impacted on modern China today. Leading Chinese and western contributors argue that China's strength and difference has often been forged by meritocracy ,authoritarian leadership , ingenuity and sheer hard work - qualities that have contributed in the outside world to both enlightened feelings of awe and wonderment and age old fears and prejudices. While ancient China was often ignored and seen as a benign presence in the wider world, the achievements of a now modern Chinese Communist super state have thrust arguments about its motives, role and power centre stage in what many are calling The Chinese Century.
Episode 3
China is one of the oldest civilisations on earth and one of unparalleled continuity. Confucian values still underpin much of society despite the Communist Revolution of the middle of last century which signalled such a dramatic break from it's past. Throughout its history China has always revered "The Leader " and remained fiercely proud and protective of culture and country. Chairman Mao compared himself to China's first Emperor and now its current leader, President Xi, is determined to re-establish China's role and reputation as a global superpower. This three part Empire Builders miniseries explores the culture and values that has made China such a resilient civilisation and how these have impacted on modern China today. Leading Chinese and western contributors argue that China's strength and difference has often been forged by meritocracy, authoritarian leadership , ingenuity and sheer hard work - qualities that have contributed in the outside world to both enlightened feelings of awe and wonderment and age old fears and prejudices. While ancient China was often ignored and seen as a benign presence in the wider world, the achievements of a now modern Chinese Communist super state have thrust arguments about its motives, role and power centre stage in what many are calling The Chinese Century.
Episode 4
We explore the great historic sites of the Minoan civilisation on Crete, Mycenae in the Peloponnese, and the emerging Greek city states such as Corinth.
Episode 5
The Ancient Greeks, we explore the great sites of Athens, Delphi, Olympia, and Epidaurus which together form some of the greatest sites in antiquity.
Episode 6
In the 16th century the Spanish Empire controlled the Low Countries of what is today Belgium and the Netherlands. Spain's Hapsburg monarchy had inherited the territory through dynastic intermarriage and Spain's Charles 1 was also the Holy Roman Emperor- the most powerful man in Europe and the world. But Spain had recently been in the grips of the Inquisition and when Charles' son, Phillip 11 came to the throne he sought to outlaw Protestantism. This led to a revolt particularly in the northern regions of the Netherlands which had embraced the teachings of Martin Luther and his followers. There followed the 80 Years War between Spain and the newly emerging Dutch Republic. Many merchants and skilled workers fled from Antwerp in Belgium which had been Europe's centre for global commerce and re located to Amsterdam. Their skills would soon combine with Dutch maritime supremacy which would give the newly emerging republic the world's biggest shipping industry. This set off a golden age as Dutch ships spread out around the world, raiding former Spanish and Portuguese colonies and exporting valuable spices to Europe. At home a new Calvinist merchant class emerged and their wealth inspired generations of master craftsmen and artists, the most famous of which are Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals. Free thinkers and intellectuals such as Descartes and Locke were attracted to Amsterdam where differing religions were tolerated, and independent book publishing houses flourished. We chart the Protestant uprising in the Low Countries and the war with Spain that followed. We witness a Dutch Republic that emerged from this religious and cultural conflict which promoted liberal and mercantile values which changed the face of civil society increasingly at odds with an old Europe ruled by royal elites.
Episode 7
Looks at where the Dutch went and what they did when they got there, After successful trading missions to the Spice Islands in what is today Indonesia the Dutch established the East India Company which was to grow into the world's largest multi-national corporation in the 17th century. The VOC, as it was called, soon developed a near monopoly of the Asian spice trade and its huge maritime fleet became the world's most powerful and profitable shipping company. The Dutch also became leading slavers transporting more than a million Africans across the Atlantic to their newly established plantations in the West Indies - in Asia they also enslaved indigenous people in their colonies in the East Indies, modern day Indonesia. For more than 200 years the Dutch were the only Europeans to gain access to Japan, trading and exchanging technology with the shoguns there from a small trading post on an island in Nagasaki Harbour. Eventually the British were to emerge as their great trading and maritime rival and in the latter part of the 17th century defeated the Dutch in a series of wars which would lead to the decline of the Dutch Empire and the loss of many of its colonies including Sri Lanka, South Africa, and New York. After a Japanese invasion and World War 2, the Dutch lost the jewel in their colonial crown - Indonesia. Far from celebrating their so called "Golden Age" the Dutch today are actively debating their colonial legacy which involved the enslavement and exploitation of millions in both their former Asian and Caribbean colonies.
Episode 8
Thu, Oct 6, 2022
This 4x 1 hour mini-series looks at this often-overlooked history of America's next-door neighbour, a history that has both been influenced and involved the United States. Despite this, relatively little is known of the events that have shaped Mexico, and how those events are reflected in the character of the country today. While the world maybe aware of the Spanish conquest led by Hernan Cortes and his fellow Conquistadors in the 16th century, and the devastating impact this conquest had on Mexico's pre-Hispanic civilizations, an exploration of how events unfolded in the subsequent four hundred years until the Mexican revolution, has largely been ignored. While the names of Cortes, Zapata, Villa, Santa Ana and Rivera are familiar, and the Battle of the Alamo identified as an iconic American historic event, the precise role played by these names and places and events, such as the American Mexican War, remain somewhat of a mystery to anyone outside Mexico. This is a history of conquest with all its bloody and dramatic consequences; not just of battles and wars, but of feuds, shifting alliances, trickery, intrigue, executions, assassination and exile. Episode One: The Spanish Conquest The Spanish Conquest laid the ground for 300 years of colonial rule which made Spain the richest country in Europe and divided the country with a class system which still impacts today. After the conquest Mexico became the world's largest producer of silver which provided eagerly sought exchange for Europe's trade with Asia. Meantime, conquistadors and friars spread out along so called " royal roads " which linked new with the desert frontiers of the north. Here they tried to convert hostile Apache and Comanche tribes who would battle Spaniards, Mexicans and Americans for centuries.
Episode 9
Throughout its history Mexico has been convulsed by a series of epic, violent and bloody struggles that have defined the culture and identity of this complex nation.
Episode 10
Explores the conflict between church and state which led to civil war and a French invasion which made an Austrian prince, Maximillian, Emperor of the so called Second Empire. He was defeated and executed by Benito Juarez one of Mexico's great independence heroes who was succeeded by Porfirio Diaz, who would then rule Mexico for more than 30 years.
Episode 11
Explores the Mexican Revolution in the early part of the last century, another hugely bloody event, but one which achieved the foundations of a modern Mexican state with myriad cultures we know today. We examine the roles of revolutionaries Villa, Zapata, Carranzas and Obregón , who were all assassinated, the subsequent eruption of violent religious conflict called the Cristero Wars, and the nation building of the Cardenas government that followed . We also look at the fusion of art and politics in the revolutionary era epitomised by the iconic muralism developed by artists such as Diego Rivera.
Episode 12
He Inca were one of the world's largest civilisations of the late Middle Ages until their conquest by the Spanish in 1533 in modern day Peru and surrounding countries. The centre in Cusco in the Peruvian Highlands, the Incas expanded into the largest pre-Columbian kingdom in the Americas, spreading across a diverse selection of climate such as the highlands of the Andes, plateaus, and jungles.
Episode 13
Indigenous Austronesian and Polynesian tribes were among the world's first explorers and navigators - and then fought one another for centuries sometimes eating their victims after successful conquests. In the 18th century great European powers launched 'journeys of discovery" in search of great continents in and beyond the South Seas. These journeys were often flagged as great scientific explorations of the natural world, but the Europeans also introduced deadly diseases which had a devastating impact on island communities.
Episode 14
Indigenous Austronesian and Polynesian tribes were among the world's first explorers and navigators - and then fought one another for centuries sometimes eating their victims after successful conquests. In the 18th century great European powers launched 'journeys of discovery" in search of great continents in and beyond the South Seas. These journeys were often flagged as great scientific explorations of the natural world, but the Europeans also introduced deadly diseases which had a devastating impact on island communities.
Episode 15
Victorious Empires have long benefited from the fruits of conquest, through territorial expansion, wealth accumulation, and cultural dominance. But they also enriched themselves through the acquisition or cultural appropriation of monuments, objects, and icons. At worst the spoils of war have also involved the simple pillaging, stealing or destruction of national treasures belonging to the conquered. Pillaging has ancient routes.