The first program tells the story of the conquest in 1519-21 of the Aztec empire in Mexico by Hernan Cortes and 500 Spanish conquistadors. Michael Wood follows the path of gambler and womanizer...

Six years after the fall of Mexico, the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, exploring south of the equator, uncovers another civilization unknown to the European world: the empire of the Incas, which...

Episode three begins in Quito, Ecuador, and relates the amazing story of the 16-month Spanish expedition (1541-42), led by Gonzalo Pizarro, to find El Dorado, the mythical land of gold. Crossing the...

In April 1528, 400 conquistadors, dreaming of gold, land in Florida to begin the exploration and conquest of what is now the southern United States. After terrible months of trekking northward,...

William Shakespeare is the world's greatest writer, but his life story remains a tantalising mystery. In this engrossing four-part historical detective story, Michael Wood investigates Shakespeare's...

In the second part of this investigation into the life of the world's greatest writer, Micheal Wood explains how this young man from Stratford became a star of the London stage, and uncovers a tale...

In the third part of this series Micheal Wood uncovers Shakespeare's rise to fame and fortune in Elizabethan London. With 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'A Midsummer Nights Dream', Shakespeare becomes...

In the final part of his journey, Michael Wood looks at Shakespeare's life in the era of King James 1. He unearths his neighbourhood in London and visits the present queen's robe makers for evidence...