Once Upon a Time: Man

We arrived in the modern times. Today, humankind is seeking for a way out of a fatal blind alley, where progress got stuck and stinks up to the sky together with the industrialization and mass consumption.

The first transatlantic flight from the west to the east succeeds in 1919 by Alcop and Arthur Wittenbrown. In January 1926, the Lufthansa is founded by means of the consolidation of Junkers Luftverkehr and Deutscher Aero Lloyd.

When Cugnot builds up his roll car in 1770, the trouble with the automobiles commences... There is a first race between Paris and Rouen.

At first, Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo marks the superiority of the British. Already 40 years ago, the first modern factory was built in England, and progress is growing.

The night before the French Revolution in 1789, the Estates-General come together in Versailles. Freedom is the first big issue.

In a small harbor in the South of England, the "Mayflower" is berthed. With this ship, the first puritan settlers of New England want to go to America.

The century of the enlightenment... The basic idea is that the true character of human beings is defined by reason and rational thinking.

In 1689, 17-year-old Tsar Peter finds his celebratory way into the court, 600 km southwest of Moscow. He confuses the grandeur of the Kremlin with the fringe area, and he prefers the cheerful life with his friends to the etiquette at the court.

1680: Paris has 450 000 inhabitants. The state prison, the Bastille, is situated in the East. In the West, there's the Louvre, which is the king's palace. Louis XVI has other plans though... The construction of the Palace of Versailles has been in progress for 18 years, but still there were some things missing. The interior decoration and parks need a lot of time and quality.

In 1533, all of the 17 provinces of the Netherlands are part of the empire of Charles V. Because of their vitality and their pecuniosity, they are counted to his most precious belongings.

In the middle of the 16th century, queen Mary, daughter of Henry VIII., marries the crown prince of Spain, Philipp II.

The Moorish rule comes to an end in 15th century Spain, when the last Islamic bastion Granada falls in 1492. This flourishing city has some 400 000 inhabitants, 70 libraries and more than 50 schools.

Fourteenth century Florence, during the time of Lorenzo de Medici, is a focal point. In the city's bustling streets where commerce flourishes, Peter Junior is returning from some errand on which his father, a draper, has sent him.

If the thirteenth century saw the flourishing of the cathedrals, the fourteenth saw the blossoming of the universities. Leaving Rome with its rivalry between the Orsinis and the Colonnas, the Pope establishes himself in Avignon.

1271. The opulence of Venice fades. Far-off horizons are opening up to the Polo brothers, who were rich merchants of the prosperous city. Also on board of the ship with them is Marco, aged 17, the son of one of the brothers. Two priests accompany them as well. Among the crew we quickly recognize Young Peter and Young Jumbo, barely 15 years old, with whom Marco soon strikes up a friendship.

Charlemagne's empire has collapsed. The feudal system - which is very harsh on the people - has taken over.

The first of the Viking raids on the coast of Europe took place at the end of the VIII century. But first let us take a look at these ferocious warriors, who were indomitable navigators, on their home ground.

While the Roman Empire dozes peacefully under the Pax Romana, we see how processions of invaders are spreading throughout the land. Later, in a great cloud of dust we see a horde gallop by: the Huns of Attila.

While the Roman Empire declines, the Emperor Constantine has converted to Catholicism and founds the city of Constantinople. Justinian, who succeeds him, continues the policy of grandeur and of reconquest, and at the same time the war with Persia begins.

52 BC: Julius Caesar awaits the surrender of Vercingetorix, the chief of the Gauls, whom he has just defeated. On their way back to Rome with their prisoners, among whom are our friends, the legions appropriate whatever they find: a lamb, a cow, pottery or a string of onions.

The streets of Knossos in 500 BC: the inhabitants are elegant and cheerful, the houses modern, it's civilization advanced. No bloodthirsty gods, no powerful army.

In Mesopotamia, kingdoms rise and fall until the coming of Hamurabi, who imposes his system of law and order - of which we are given a few illustrations. It is a time of mass migrations.

The inhabitants of a peaceful neolithic villlage have just discovered how to cultivate the soil. But the harvested grain is coveted by pillagers, and the villagers are obliged to protect themselves by erecting stockades.

A group of Cro-Magnon is migrating. Are these people descendants of the Neanderthal men, or their cousins, invaders or their conquerors?

Peter, a robust Pithecanthropus male, marches along and, as we move on in the time bar, his morphology changes and passes through all the stages which take him from Homo-Erectus to Homo-Sapiens. He is now the Neanderthal type.

It is five thousand million years ago. We approach the globe of the earth through thick clouds. Volcanic eruptions, rivers of lava, lightning, earthquakes and diluvial rains make up an apocalyptic outlook. Then the scene becomes more peaceful. Sunrays shine through the fog and gently touch the surface of the water. We follow this ray, shining through the water. Everything is quiet.