They needed a prison for the most dangerous man in the World. Napoleon had seized supreme power in France. He’d marched his armies from Portugal to Moscow. But now he was a prisoner. His captors needed a prison from which escape was unthinkable. Their answer lay in the South Atlantic. A scrap of land a thousand miles from the African coast. St Helena. Dan Snow visits this remote island to learn more about its history. From accommodating some of the British Empire's greatest enemies to its role during - and in the aftermath of - the transatlantic slave trade.
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Mayflower 400: Beyond the Journey
On 16 September 1620, 400 years ago, a merchant ship called the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, on a voyage to America. Its passengers sought a new life, for some this meant religious freedom and for some a fresh start in a new land. They would go on to be known as Pilgrims, and influe...
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Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory
The night was freezing cold. The hard ground shrouded in mist. By dawn the soldiers were on the move. It was 2 December 1805 and just outside what is now Brno, 3 mighty armies were about to fight one of the greatest battles in history. By the time the sun set, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonapart...
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The Real Robinson Crusoe
Professional yachtsman Conrad Humphreys and Dan Snow tell the story of Alexander Selkirk, an 18th century sailor whose story, some argue, served as a historical basis for Daniel Defoe's famous novel Robinson Crusoe.
