Slavery Routes

Martijn Blekendaal and Finbarr Wilbrink travel along the Underground Railroad, the underground network that helped thousands of enslaved people escape to freedom. They ask themselves: How does the past of slavery impact contemporary life in America?

The history of decolonization from the point of view of colonized peoples, an epic story that still resonates and reverberates to this day.

How did a small island once rule over a quarter of the world's population? This shared history still shapes us today - and billions of people are part of its story.

See the real modern-day Amazonia through an exploration of the Amazon Basin, meeting a different group of people who live there in each episode.

A documentary on the American Civil War narrated by Ken Burns, covering the secession of the Confederacy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

A documentary series that examines controversial interpretations of American history and revisits widely debated historical events and narratives. Each episode explores topics related to politics, culture, and the way history has been presented over time.

Hybrid docuseries offering an expansive exploration of the exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism, from America to Africa, and its impact on society today.

The complex life of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that "all men are created equal" yet owned slaves, is recounted by master filmmaker Ken Burns in this probing documentary. Covering Jefferson's diplomatic work in France, his two presidential terms, his retirement at Monticello and more.

Henry David Thoreau helped define modern environmentalism and nonviolent resistance, yet his life has been obscured by myth. The author of Walden and Civil Disobedience, he was brilliant but flawed, idealistic but opinionated. A writer, scientist and activist, his words resonate urgently with today’s challenges as humanity looks for ways to live in harmony with nature—and each other.

In keeping with the original project, this series seeks to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.

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Everything you thought you knew about slavery is about to be challenged. Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery is the groundbreaking series that makes history by sharing it from a new perspective. Nearly ten years in the making, this landmark six-hour set exposes the truth through surprising revelations, dramatic recreations, rare archival photography and riveting first-person accounts.

The history of American slavery from its beginnings in the British colonies to its end in the Southern states and the years of post-Civil War Reconstruction. Looks at slavery as an integral part of a developing nation, challenging the long held notion that slavery was exclusively a Southern enterprise. Simultaneously focuses on the remarkable stories of individual slaves, offering new perspectives on the slave experience and testifying to the active role that Africans and African Americans took in surviving their bondage and shaping their own lives.

Explore the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy.

The story of the enduring friendship between Orry Main of South Carolina and George Hazard of Pennsylvania, who become best friends while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point but later find themselves and their families on opposite sides of the American Civil War.