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Driven by ambition and greed; or in quest of prestige and glory; or searching for a unique brand of personal fulfilment; they deserted their homelands to make journeys never before achieved.
1975
A wave of shocked disbelief rebounded through Britain at the news that Scott of the Antarctic had a rival. At the last moment Roald Amundsen, a tough and moody Norwegian, decided to race the British expedition to the South Pole.
Dressed as an Arab while boasting he was a Christian there was little hope for him. The fierce nomads of the desert would surely kill him on sight. But this strange and intense Englishman was determined to reach the Holy City of Mecca.
H. M. STANLEY wanted to solve the mystery of the River Lualaba in unexplored Central Africa. Was it the headwater of the River Nile? Or could it be the eastern section of the River Congo?
The Royal Society of the Colony of Victoria chose Robert O'Hara Burke to explore the centre of Australia.
Mary Kingsley risked her life in a dramatic and calculated way when she entered the forests of West Africa-the white man's grave. It was to be one of the shortest important journeys in the history of exploration.
It was the search fur that led Jed Smith West, deep into North America. He fought Indians and survived a savage attack by a grizzly bear. In the summer of 1826 he prepared to leave Salt Lake on another journey that would make history.
Follow Hunboldt's amazing exploration of the Orinoco River in 1799.
Cook carried secret orders. To search for a Southern Continent and claim it for Britain. He found the East Coast of Australia. But his ship ripped into the Great Barrier Reef and he had to fight to save his ship and the lives of his crew.
Francisco Pizarro grabbed his last chance to gain prestige and gold. There were rumours of a kingdom in South America stuffed with treasures. When he returned he was rich. Behind him the Inca Empire of the Sun God lay in ruins.
Columbus refused to accept he had found a new Continent. Until the day he died he believed had discovered a new route to China. Tonight's film tells the little-known story of what really happened to Columbus and his men.
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David Attenborough
Self - Narrator