In Search of History Season 3, Episode 14: The First Americans

The First Olympics

The First Olympics: Olympia, where every four years Greek city-states set aside differences and laid down arms to compete in these peaceful games established to honor Zeus.

45 min

Egypt's Great Queen

While Egyptian women engaged in trade and owned property, only a few held power as consorts to kings. But then there was Hatshepsut, who took the title of pharaoh when acting as her stepson's regent. Statues of her as bearded king and her unique tomb reveal vast power; but rivals vowed to erase her from history. We'll examine why.

45 min

Salem Witch Trials

In the late 1600s, more than 150 men and women were accused of being witches. After the infamous Salem Witch Trials, 19 people were hanged for their alleged crimes, and one person was pressed to death under heavy stones. This History Channel documentary travels back to one of America's darkest times and reveals startling facts about who the real accusers were and what the community did to make restitution to the loved ones of the dead.

45 min

Ramses the Great

A look at the various things commonly associated with Ramses and his political motivations.

45 min

Captives

As white settlers pushed west, resulting wars with Native Americans claimed more victims than the dead. Portraits of captives taken by both sides include: "White Indian" John Tanner who returned to his roots after 30 years of "civilization", and a woman rescued during a forced exchange who escaped to return to her Native-American husband.

45 min

Library of Alexandria

Alexander the Great’s most highly regarded general, Ptolemy the First, designs the Alexandria Library. For the first time in history, scholars from all fields of study and from every known corner of the world have a place where they can pursue pure knowledge. The Alexandria Library houses the largest collection of books ever assembled in the ancient world. But no trace of it exists today. Who was responsible for the destruction of the Alexandria Library and what secrets about the ancient world were forever lost in the rubble?

45 min

The Maya

The Maya: Over a 1,000 years ago, Mayan King Lord Pacal directed construction of Palenque, a temple city in Mexico's jungle. The Great Palace, Temple of Inscriptions, and other sacred buildings still stand.

45 min

The Abominable Snowman

Mystic Ruins

From Easter Island to Stonehenge, this is a thrilling journey to the most fascinating and mysterious places on earth. They stand in regal silence, monumental reminders of a time when the earth was a more mysterious and magical place. They have captivated and confounded scientists, anthropologists and historians for years. Yet even as their secrets are revealed, their capacity to inspire awe and wonder remains undiminished. MYSTIC RUINS is a thrilling journey to the world's most famous and enigmatic sites.

China's Boxer Rebellion

In 1997, Britain ceded control of Hong Kong to China completing the Boxer Rebellion's goal of nearly 100 years prior--to oust outsiders. This movement led to the massacre of thousands of foreigners and international intervention in 1900.

45 min

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?: Dr. David Livingstone journeyed across Africa naming Victoria Falls, then returned in 1858 to found missionaries. After many mishaps, he was discredited and forgotten.

45 min

The Quest for Dragons

Ship of Slaves: Middle Passage

Witchcraft

Witchcraft: Once upon a time that cackling crone on a broomstick held the exalted position of a healing woman who harnessed nature's secrets for humanity's good. What happened in the Middle Ages to transform her into a Christian symbol of evil?

45 min

Potions or Poisons

In the late nineteenth century, costumed performers roamed rural America entertaining people and selling vast quantities of medicinal preparations. Usually neither beneficial nor healthy, their elixirs ofter contained opium, cocaine, mercury, and grain alcohol.

Scourage of the Black Death

Scourge Of The Black Death: In 1348, a mysterious and deadly disease ravaged Europe, killing millions of people while spreading irrational fear in its wake.

45 min

Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights: Aladdin and his magic lamp...Sinbad the sailor...Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. Do these legends lie in long-buried truths in the deserts of Arabia?

45 min

Pirate's Lost City

The Plot to Overthrow FDR

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the Presidency in 1932, many Americans looked to his bold New Deal plans as the way out of the dark days of the Depression. But a powerful group of financiers and industrialists saw his economic policies as a threat.

45 min

Akhenaten: Egypt's Heretic King

Akhenaten (reigned c. 1353–1336 BC) was an 18th-century BC Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty famously known as the "Heretic King" for his radical attempt to replace Egypt’s traditional polytheism with a singular worship of the sun-disk, Aten.

42 min

Ishi The Last of His Kind

Ishi (c. 1861–1916) was the last known member of the Yahi, a subgroup of the Yana people of Northern California. His life became a symbol of both the tragedy of the California Indian Wars and the resilience of Indigenous culture.

42 min

Mr. Ponzi and His Scheme

Charles Ponzi didn’t just invent a scam; he turned a humble postage coupon into a $15 million empire—and then a prison cell. In 1920, the "Ponzi Scheme" became the blueprint for financial fraud still used today.

42 min

Secrets of the Dinosaur Hunters

The "secrets" of dinosaur hunters encompass tales of intense rivalries, groundbreaking discoveries made by self-taught individuals, and the scientific methodologies and controversies that defined the field of paleontology.

42 min