Once Upon A Time... Man

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. At last something stirs! A living cell! It has taken more than a thousand million years for this unique cell to come into existence. Life starts to develop slowly. Millions of years pass by while these micro-organisms evolve and are transformed. Finally, the Homo-Erectus appears…

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. Following him, we see a migrating group which includes some twenty individuals: men, women and children. They arrive in a valley well-stocked with game. Peter gives the sign: here they will set up their camp. The children go to the nearby river to fish and have considerable success when the old man with them gives them advice. Soon, the first tools are developed, and above that, fire is discovered…

A group of Cro-Magnon is migrating. Are these people descendants of the Neanderthal men, or their cousins, invaders or their conquerors? Among them we find the prototypes of our heroes: Peter - solidly built, Jumbo - indestructible, Pest - forever dissatisfied, Pierrette - charming and pretty, Maestro - the wise man with the long, white beard. At the encampment, under the guidance of Maestro, the young boys are making tools by striking and shaping stones. Meanwhile the older ones, the hunters, come back empty-handed from the hunt, because the herds have gone far off and are migrating. They decide to break camp and follow them. On their way they meet another tribe whose chief is Pest. Impressed by the implements the boys have made, he offers to give them a large number of mammoth skins in exchange. This barter is done, and the tribes go their ways before finding a site for the new encampment...

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. While our little settlement goes about its humdrum daily routine, the Middle East has already become the seat of highly evolved civilizations: Jarmo in Irak, Jericho in Palestine, Ban-Chiang in Thailand, Chatal-Hayouk in Turkey. Maestro has just returned from the latter after an interminable voyage and is recounting its marvels to the inhabitants of his little village perched on the high plateau of Iran. The crowd, however, makes a laughing stock of him, and the old Master, vexed, decides to set off on a new adventure. This time, his two youthful disciples, Peter Junior and Jumbo Junior, are to accompany him ...

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. Under the successive waves of invaders the Assyrians grow warlike. We see them about to turn Nineva into the capital of terror. The Medes and Babylonians join forces against this bloodthirsty beast. Finally, Nebuchadnezzer raises the proud city to the ground. Zarathoustra preaches in the streets of the sumptuous city of Babylon. But, in all this newfound opulence, who will listen to him? The Persian prince Cyrus was raised in the school of Zarathoustra. And when he builds his empire and conquers Babylon in 539, it is the first time in history that humankind experiences a good and generous conqueror...

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. Only the joy, the pleasure of living... It wouldn't last though. The Achaeans, jealous of its civilization, come to invade Crete. It remains for the barbarians to surpass their masters. At the same time as Darius the Great is building the sumptuous palace at Persepolis, Buddha and Confucius are spreading their influence in the Orient, and a young democracy is governing in Athens. 450 BC: Socrates is twenty years old. Pericles is 45 when he gives the discourse in which he defines the rights and obligations of a democratic state at the Pnyx...

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. Caesar heads the convoy, and on the homeward journey, he dictates to his secretaries his impressions of the journey and the fighting. At the Rubicon, a narrow stream of water, they come to a halt. Caesar, a thoughtful man, takes time to contemplate. And, after some reflexion, he crosses the Rubicon... Peter and Jumbo, now slaves, are forced to fight one another in the arena, but they refuse. So, to intensify the sports event, wild beasts are sent in. They overcome the animals, and the crowd demands the reprieve which the prince grants them...

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. After all the opulence and splendor, there finally remains only an exhausted population, the 'Cathedral of Saint Sophie' and the Justinian Code. Close by, another great empire, that of the Persian Sassanids, is conducting itself in the same way. Hardly has Khosroes II regained the throne, when he starts up again the exhausting war against Byzantium. In the void and desolation that follows, there soon appears a third aggressor. A small tribe of nomads - among whom are our friends - is being attacked by a group of desert pillagers. A man on a camel with long hair comes along just in time to help them…

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. We see a peaceful settlement whose inhabitants - which include our friends - are going about their daily chores; their children are at play. Suddenly, the bell tower sounds the alarm. The villagers panic, snatch up their children, and urge their cattle to the nearby forest. The inhabitants of the settlement return to find it in ruins, th flames consuming the last remains. They set about rebuilding. The invasions have recommenced. We see Clovis, the king of the Francs, kneeling before the Bishop of Reims. He's becoming the only catholic king in Europe, performing this subtle genuflection...

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. 790 AC: A Viking village in the north with its typical houses. Food is scarce, and the men are preparing a whale hunt. Slaves or women carry the master’s chest on board. Peter, a free man, has his boat, but the chief of the expedition is Pest. The ships take off on the sea. Young Peter and his friend, Young Jumbo, decide to go in search of eider down which is highly valued. To collect it from the eider nests is dangerous, but they are successful. As they return, they meet Pest’s son who demands a share of their plunder accounted for by the fact that he is the son of the chief. It takes a strong-armed intervention from Young Jumbo to bring him to a wiser point of view...

Charlemagne's empire has collapsed . The feudal system - which is very harsh on the people - has taken over. The law of "might is right" prevails. A fire has destroyed the watch tower of Baron Pest's castle. Maestro, an expert builder from the big city, proposes that the old, wooden tower should now be replaced by a solid donjon with thick walls. The new tower rises - although not without misadventures. Among the slaves working on the construction, Maestro has noticed a talented young man called Peter. He urges Peter to come to work with him in the city where life will be easier for him. Baron Pest, his master, has just left with some armed men to rob travelers who happen to be passing nearby. Peter and several of his companions escape from the castle. Pursued by Pest’s men, most of them are recaptured ...

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 as they are the only other youngsters on the expedition. And when the ship docks at the far end of the Mediterranean, he takes the two of them with him. They prove to be valuable companions when they run into all kinds of difficulties crossing Turkey, the Persian Gulf, the high valleys of the Pamirs and finally the desert of Lop-Nor (Gobi). Here in the City of Kanchow they stay for one year. They visit the country and Gengis Khan's old capital, Karakorum, and learn about the daily life of the Mongols...

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. Agriculture has made progress. The population has grown – too quickly perhaps, because famine strikes now. The ravages of the famine, however, are less than those of the plague brought by a Genoese ship from Crimea in 1348. And the war goes on with its succession of defeats. The confusion is overwhelming – now there are two popes, then three. Some people begin to speak out: Wycliffe at Oxford, John Ball in Flanders, John Huss in Prague. The latter is arrested at the Council of Constance and sentenced to death in 1415. The break up of Catholic unity is imminent ...

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. The boy saunters along, then stops when his curiosity is engaged by the workshop of Master Verrocchio: young artists with names like da Vinci, Boticelli, and le Perrugin are hard at work. On his return to home, Peter Junior tries to scribble on the wall. In his tiny student's room, young Leonardo dreams of birds… At Verrocchio's workshop the undoubted talent of the artists is being affirmed. Verrocchio finishes his "David" – whose features are those of Leonardo … Lorenzo and Giulio de Medici come to admire and encourage the artists. But, among the innumerable talents that were brought up during that period, one becomes opposed to the Medicis, and Giulio is killed …

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. Its wall carries 1030 defense towers. After 500 years of war, the Spanish have become fanatic and intolerant. The Jews are being expelled and 400 000 Moors must leave the land as well. At the same time, Columbus starts his great journey. The Spanish crown grants him three ships and the standing of an admiral. After 69 days, on October 12th, 1492, 500 years after the Vikings, Christopher Columbus discovers America…

In the middle of the 16th century, queen Mary, daughter of Henry VIII., marries the crown prince of Spain, Philipp II. “Bloody Mary”, as is called, tries to bring back Catholicism to England. Her attempts of conversion consume quite an amount of wood though, since around 300 Protestants are forced to lose their lives on the stake. After Mary’s death, Elizabeth I. mounts the throne. She’s a supporter of freebooting and employs Francis Drake to fight the Spanish…

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 1555 his son, Philipp II., inherits everything and administrates it from Spain. However, there are riots in the provinces. The mental resistance is led by William of Orange, the Count of Egmont and the admiral of Hoorn. In 1566, Philipp sends an army, which is led by General Duke of Alba.

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. Until he will move there on May 6th in 1683, Louis XVI still lives in the Louvre. In the same year, Queen Maria Theresa of Spain dies. They were married for 23 years. Madame de Maintenon moves into the castle and succeeds in turning the Sun King into a religious fanatic: the prosecution of the Huguenots begins. When Louis XVI dies on September 1st, in 1715, the state is completely broke…

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. Russia is quite a backward country. There’s a lot of analphabets, the nobility is conceited, and the judiciary is corrupt. Tsar Peter tries to build up a modern Russia…

The century of the enlightenment... The basic idea is that the true character of human beings is defined by reason and rational thinking. Reason contains the valid measure of value for all human creation, activity and living conditions. The reaction of the state and the church on this movement is violent. Writings and poetry show new contents in the era of enlightenment: the bourgeois tragedy, the melodrama and idyll.

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. 41 men with their families travel across the Atlantic Ocean. After some difficulties in the beginning, they soon get used to their new environment. The peace with the Native Americans is gone though. Also, there’s the War of Independence…

The night before the French Revolution in 1789, the Estates-General come together in Versailles. Freedom is the first big issue. Mainly, the deputies want to end serfdom. The French Revolution starts with the storming of the bastille. Finally, France is becoming a republic.

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 time of inventions had started. The steam engine is being developed, which uses air pressure as a source of energy. Industrialization is in full swing.

When Cugnot builds up his roll car in 1770, the trouble with the automobiles commences… There is a first race between Paris and Rouen. Eight hours are planned for 123 kilometers. Anything that came out of the inventors’ minds and was built rattles off. In June of 1895, the era of car races if introduced by the competition of Bordeaux to Paris and all the way back. Also, there are reports of a fine bourgeois life and fashion. However, this “Belle Epoque” wouldn’t last too long… The First World War begins and our friends get to experience hardship and misery. There’s a man in Russia who would determine the history of the revolution: Lenin.

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. The first world championship in aerobatic flights occurs in Paris in 1934. Adrienne Bolland is the first woman to overfly the canal and in 1921, she flies through the greatly feared Cordilleras of the Andres. During this time of development in the flying industry, the economy slowly but surely loses its ground. The inflation spreads and the prices are becoming astronomically high…

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. But even now, we have great moments: The first person in space – Juri Gagarin. As the first human being, Alexeij Leonow leaves a spaceship and moves freely in space. On earth, it’s becoming more turbulent and narrow…