In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.

Over the period of 25 years the director met General Võ Nguyên Giáp, a legendary hero of Vietnam’s i...

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign...

Bored with the limited and tedious nature of provincial life in 19th-century France, the fierce and ...

A distinguished military leader whose reign was touched by great scandal, shocking betrayals and rou...

A British ex-convict in colonial Australia and his fragile wife, haunted by the past crime that bind...

Crocodile in the Yangtze follows China's first Internet entrepreneur and former English teacher, Jac...

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a f...

In 19th-century Louisiana's Cajun country, Belizaire is the informal spokesman for his citizens, who...

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, ...

An excellent comprehensive look at all the music that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati "Roc...

Paris, 1884. Bella Fontanges, a renowned ballerina, is married to Georges de Segar. But after just a...

Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Walla...

The Tea Explorer documentary follows the journey of tea enthusiast Jeff Fuchs along the Tea Horse Ro...

Aaron Eliyahu, a Jewish man, travels to a small village called Mala, Kerala in search of his Jewish ...

After getting threatened by Kelly's friends and family, Constable Fitzpatrick places the blame on Ne...

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years ...

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often se...

On June 11th, 1997, Philippe Kahn created the first camera phone solution to share pictures instantl...

The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adven...