How Religious Turmoil Ended The Reign Of James II | Stuarts, A Bloody Reign

Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth comes to an end soon after his death in 1660 an exiled King returns to London with an enormous fanfare. Kings Charles II's reign is a dramatic shift away from the rule of the Puritans that precede him but dual tragedies of the worst outbreak of plague in generations and the Great Fire Of London strike the nation's heart.

Professor Williams studies the reign of Charles I, who succeeded James I in 1625. Hear how religious upheaval and authoritarian rule led to civil war and a beheading. The Stuart dynasty lived through arguably the most eventful, bloodthirsty and trying period in British history, and this series reassesses the royal house's history and legacy in a new and unique way.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, King James VI of Scotland claims her throne along with a new title of King James I of England. He faces numerous attempts on his life, including the notorious Gunpowder Plots, and the threat of the terrifying Thirty Years War raging on the continent.

From the omen of 1066's long-haired star to Hastings and the Harrowing of the North, this episode charts William the Conqueror's brutal rise. In History Makers, we trace the Norman story from Viking roots to the making of a king. We meet Rolf the Ganger and the birth of Normandy under Charles the Simple, then enter William's perilous childhood: assassination plots, the murder of his guardian Osborne Crepon, and years of anarchy. We see the young duke's iron resolve at Alençon, where taunts of "hides for the tanner" triggered a ruthless reprisal, and his strategic marriage to Matilda of Flanders. With Edward the Confessor's death, rival claims ignite. We examine Harold Godwinson's disputed oath in Normandy, William's papal-backed invasion force, and the contrasting battle doctrines of Norman combined arms of archers, spearmen and cavalry, as shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, versus the Anglo-Saxon shield wall and Dane axes. After Harold's dash north to defeat Harald Hardrada and Tostig at Stamford Bridge, the stage is set at Senlac Hill. At Hastings, arrows, infantry and cavalry grind at the Saxon line. When

From Tobruk to El Alamein and Operation Torch, see how Montgomery's 8th Army broke Rommel and ended Axis power in North Africa. June 11, 1940: Italy enters the war, threatening Suez and Britain's lifelines. Outnumbered in men and aircraft, General Wavell faces 250,000 Italian troops with thin forces from Egypt to East Africa. Early raids give way to bold counterblows as Bardia falls and Tobruk is taken, but the arrival of General Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps reverses fortunes. The siege of Tobruk grinds on, Halfaya Pass is a bruising contest, and on 21 June 1942 Tobruk falls, which Churchill calls one of the heaviest blows he could recall. Churchill arrives with new leadership: General Alexander and General Montgomery. With fresh Sherman tanks and RAF cover, Monty launches Operation Lightfoot on 23 October 1942, a night-long barrage that shocks the Axis. Fighting through deep minefields and fierce counterattacks, the Allies wear the enemy down. Operation Supercharge on 2 November breaks the line and forces a retreat. The 8th Army pursues fast, regaining Mersa Matruh, recapturing Tobruk on 13 November

A 500-mile trek across Pakistan hunts the truth behind Shangri-La, from the Indus and Nangaparbat to Hunza's timeless forts, shamans, and polo fields. Explorer David Adams traces James Hilton's Lost Horizon across the Himalayas and the Karakoram. Starting in Peshawar to track down the 1930s novel, he follows the Indus River past K2 toward a valley some believe inspired a hidden utopia where people live long, peaceful lives. Along the way the journey collides with reality: deep snow near Nangaparbat, crevasse-riddled glaciers, and a race against an early winter that can close high passes for months. In the Bomboret Valley he meets the Kalash, a non-Muslim mountain people whose graveyards have been desecrated and whose blue eyes and blond hair are, in local lore, linked to Alexander the Great. In Chitral, wild horsemen play bushkazi, grappling over a headless goat in a no-holds-barred contest. Crossing the Lowari Pass becomes an eight-hour crawl for just 50 miles as snowfall chokes the road. In the Swat Valley, the remnants of a Buddhist past peek through, their faces stoned away in a region