Nelson Mandela was the leading figure in the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa. He swiftly rose to become one of the most influential members of the African National Congress (ANC), but his activism saw him arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment two years later. Much of his sentence was served at the notoriously tough Robben Island...
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Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and one of the most controversial politicians of the 20th century. Known in particular for the Watergate scandal, the affair that ended his political career, Nixon was a fierce anti-communist and was responsible for the end of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. In just 50 minutes, you will find out about...
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Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. He rose to prominence as a military commander during the English Civil War, winning a series of impressive victories with his New Model Army. Cromwell was a political pragmatist and a skilled communicator, which facilitated his rise to power during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate. He eventually became...
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The invasion of Kuwait, home to one of the largest oilfields in the world, by Saddam Hussein's Iraq in 1990 was the catalyst for the Second Gulf War, which pitted Iraq against an international coalition. In Operation Desert Storm in early 1991, this coalition quickly drove the Iraqi army from Kuwait in the largest Allied mobilization since the Second World...
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Opus Dei is an organisation linked to the Catholic Church which was founded by Josemariá Escrivá de Balaguer. It has a relatively simple message: all Christians can contribute to the spreading of Christ’s message without having to be a member of the clergy. However, the organisation has suffered several scandals over the years, including the Matesa affair, and is notorious...
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Diana, Princess of Wales was a leading humanitarian activist in the 1980s and 1990s. After her marriage to Prince Charles granted her a royal title, she became an increasingly active campaigner for causes such as AIDS relief and the elimination of landmines. However, allegations of infidelity and intense media scrutiny soon put her marriage under heavy strain, causing a rift between...
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Saddam Hussein was the President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, during which time he developed a reputation for enforcing one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships. His regime was responsible for countless massacres, which targeted Kurds, Shia Muslims and opponents of the Ba’ath Party, among others. In just 50 minutes, you will find out about the events that led...
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Saint Thomas Aquinas is one of the most influential Catholic theologians of all time, and left behind a vast body of work on an impressively wide range of subjects. In particular, he believed that theology could not exist without philosophy, that reason can allow us to attain knowledge of God’s existence, and that happiness is a key goal of human...
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Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 and the leader of the USSR from 1924 to 1953. Known in particular for his rule of terror over the USSR, Stalin governed Russia with an iron fist, propelling the country into rapid industrialization through his infamous five-year plans, introducing forced labor camps known as...
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The 1948 Palestine War, known in Hebrew as the War of Independence, is essential for understanding the Arab-Israeli conflict and the political situation in the modern Middle East. It was the first in a long series of conflicts between Jews and Arabs in the region, and tensions between the two groups persist today. Indeed, civil war broke out after the...
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The Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 is one of the most famous events of the Second World War. Led by the Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the offensive caused the USA to join the Allies in their fight against the Germans, the Italians and the Japanese. In just 50 minutes, you will find out how this brutal attack played...
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Thirteen years after the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Battle of Actium put an end to a long period of internal strife in the Roman Republic. It involved some of the most famous leaders in history: Octavius, who went on to become the first Roman emperor, Mark Antony, a firm supporter of Julius Caesar, and his lover Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. The...
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