Witness History Episodes Episode guide

Rata de dos patas: Mexico’s famous insult song

Composer Manuel Eduardo Toscano on the origins of Paquita la del Barrio's signature tune
WW1: The Battle of the Somme

BBC Archive recordings with veterans of the 1916 battle
How Aussies taught kids to stay safe in the sun

In 1981, Australia launched the Slip Slop Slap campaign with help from Sid the seagull
Brexit: Ireland watches the vote unfold

In 2016, the UK voted on whether to remain a member of, or leave, the European Union
China detains Hong Kong booksellers

In 2015 five booksellers were detained for selling material critical of China’s leaders
The discovery of Lyme disease

In 1975, a medical breakthrough led to the identification and naming of Lyme disease
The discovery of Mungo Man

On 26 February 1974, Dr Jim Bowler discovered a 42,000-year-old skeleton in Australia
Women Walk Home: Cyprus' forgotten peace march

In June 1987, hundreds of women took part in a peace march against the division of Cyprus
50 years since the Soweto Uprising

A former schoolgirl remembers the demonstration that sparked the Soweto Uprising in 1976
The Georgian exodus from Abkhazia

In 1993, separatist forces took Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia
Hussein of Jordan: The survivor king

In 1970 King Hussein of Jordan escaped unharmed after gunmen opened fire on his motorcade
The inspiration for Chekhov's Three Sisters

In 1897, Paul Shishkoff lived next door to the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov
Picasso and the Surrealist summer

In 1937 some of the 20th Century's best known Surrealist artists are on holiday in France
Mstislav Rostropovich: Virtuoso cellist

In 1978, Rostropovich lost Soviet citizenship for “unpatriotic activity”
Nelson Mandela's incarceration at Robben Island

In 1964, Nelson Mandela was put in the maximum security prison on Robben Island
The creation of Inspector Montalbano

In March 1994, the first Inspector Montalbano mystery, The Shape of Water, was published
The protests that sparked the Tiananmen Square massacre

How mass student demonstrations in May 1989 led to bloodshed in Beijing
Australia's first Big Thing

In 1963, a giant sculpture of a Scotsman began one of the country's quirkiest phenomena
The first Irish language television channel

In 1996, Ireland launched its first television channel broadcasting exclusively in Irish
Recording the Eichmann interviews

In the 1950s, a journalist recorded hours of interview with the Nazi Adolf Eichmann
Filming Titanic in Mexico

In 1997, Titanic - one of the most successful films in movie history – was made in Mexico
I escaped Mexico's deadly gas explosion

In 1984, one of the world's deadliest gas accidents occurred in San Juanico
I fought for Mexico’s indigenous women to get political equality

In October 2014, millions of indigenous women in Mexico won the right to vote
Mexico: The election that ended one‑party rule

In 2000, Vicente Fox won the Mexican presidency, ending 71 years of one‑party rule
The Mexican song that captivated lovers during World War II

History told by the people who were there.
Canada's worst E.coli outbreak

In 2000, contaminated drinking water triggered one of Canada’s worst health disasters
Montenegro votes for independence

In 2006, Montenegro achieved independence from Serbia in the final break-up of Yugoslavia
Witness History

Personal account of history
Exposing King Albert II's secret child

In 1999, teenager Mario Danneels wrote a book which exposed a royal scandal in Belgium
Poland’s underground newspaper

In 1982, Polish dissidents set up Mazovia Weekly to share uncensored news with the public