Short History Of... Episodes Available now
The Samurai
Were the Samurai elite martial artists or a self-important militia of romanticised thugs?
Beatrix Potter
How did Beatrix Potter - a shy, sheltered Victorian girl - become a literary phenomenon?
The Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot is an epic tale of adventure and revenge but who was really behind it?
The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal: arguably the greatest infrastructure project the world has ever seen
Rosa Parks
A defiant act catapults Rosa Parks to the forefront of the battle for racial equality.
Buckingham Palace
How did Buckingham Palace become such an iconic part of Britain’s landscape?
Alcatraz
Cloaked in secrecy, Alcatraz is the most feared institution in the American penal system.
ChichΓ©n Itza
Explore the rise, influence, and mysterious abandonment of ChichΓ©n Itza, a Maya marvel.
The Maya
1511. Spanish explorers become some of the first Europeans to make contact with the Maya.
Isaac Newton
The apple, the genius, the rivalries. What were his discoveries and controversies?
