Watch Africa's Great Civilizations

TV-PG
2017
1 Season
7.1 (225)

Africa's Great Civilizations is a 6-episode documentary series that premiered on PBS on February 27, 2017. The show was hosted and presented by renowned scholar and historian, Henry Louis Gates Jr. The series explores the rich and diverse history of the African continent, from ancient times to the present day, through a combination of breathtaking visuals and detailed analysis. In each episode, Gates takes viewers on a journey through Africa's great civilizations, starting with prehistoric times and moving all the way up to the present day. He explores the ancient kingdoms of Nubia, Ethiopia, and Mali, among others, and delves into the powerful empires of Egypt, Carthage, and the Kingdom of Kush. Throughout the series, Gates emphasizes the incredible diversity and complexity of African cultures and societies, challenging long-held misconceptions and stereotypes about the continent. He also provides insights into African contributions to world civilization, including innovations in art, architecture, science, and technology. Along the way, Gates enlists the expertise of a variety of scholars and experts, including archaeologists, historians, and cultural commentators. He also introduces viewers to a range of African voices and perspectives, from traditional griots and village elders to contemporary artists and entrepreneurs. The first episode of the series, "Origins," sets the stage by exploring the deep roots of African civilization, from the earliest human settlements to the rise of Egypt and the spread of Bantu-speaking peoples across the continent. Gates also examines the role of climate change and environmental factors in shaping African history. In subsequent episodes, Gates explores the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms and empires, including the powerful civilizations of Axum, Great Zimbabwe, and the Kingdom of Benin. He also looks at the impact of external forces such as the transatlantic slave trade and European colonization on African societies and cultures. Despite the often difficult and painful aspects of African history, Gates maintains an optimistic and celebratory tone throughout the series. He highlights the resilience and creativity of African peoples, and celebrates the vibrant diversity and richness of African cultures past and present. Overall, Africa's Great Civilizations is a compelling and insightful exploration of one of the world's most diverse and fascinating regions. Through Gates' masterful storytelling and the stunning visuals, viewers gain a new appreciation for the richness and complexity of African history and culture.

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Seasons

6. Commerce and the Clash of Civilizations | Hour Six

February 27, 2017

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces viewers to the African continent through a series of expansive views and myth-busting revelations. His six-hour exploration of the African past begins at the origins of human existence. Through anthropological and scientific discoveries viewers learn that Africa is the genetic home of all currently living humanity. Only between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago did some of humanity's common ancestors leave the continent to spread across the rest of the world. These great African migrations culminated in the diverse global peoples and societies that viewers know today. Beginning with this great revelation, Gates then traces the roots of agriculture, writing, artistic expression, and iron working to their birthplaces on the continent. Gates first arrives in present-day Ethiopia, where the 1997 discovery of fossil remains near the Omo River was the first discovered connection between modern humanity and the oldest known traces of the species to have walked the earth some 195,000 years ago.

5. The Atlantic Age | Hour Five

March 1, 2017

The series' fifth hour examines the tremendous changes wrought in Africa by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, flowing out of the new era of European exploration in the New World that had begun in 1492 and reached a crucial point in the 16th century. For centuries, Eastern Africa, West Africa and Northern Africa had all been tied deeply into long-distance commercial networks linking across the Eastern Hemisphere. However, the European discovery of the Americas, and the passage of Portuguese seamen farther and farther south along Africa's Atlantic coast, reaching the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 and then traveling around the Cape and all the way to India in 1497, transformed those relations. Across the continent empires would rise and fall, with some 12.5 million Africans suffering enslavement in the crosshairs. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. begins the story in northern Angola, where the mountain city of Mbanza Kongo was once the capital of the great African kingdom of Kongo. By the beginning of the 17th century Kongo was listed among the world's great kingdoms - a tale of increasing religious and economic entanglement with Europe that Gates recounts in the kingdom's ancient ruins.

4. Cities | Hour Four

February 28, 2017

Hour four shines a light on the powerful, cosmopolitan cities that dotted Africa at a time when Europe was in its Middle Ages. From 1000 to 1600, a golden age evolves in the expansion of commerce, wealth and prosperity across Africa, and, along with this, the building of new cities and the founding of new powerful states. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. picks up the story first on East Africa's Swahili coast, where sailors of wooden seagoing ships, or dhows, mastered the seasonal monsoon winds to develop a complex maritime trade spanning the Indian Ocean from the nearby Middle East to India, with indirect trade connections as far afield as China. These interactions facilitated the birth of a distinctive form of Islam in East Africa, one that influenced local society from its religious practices to the formation of the Kiswahili language. Islam would spread with trade and become the religion of the Swahili towns and cities, but with several ways of observing Islam drawn from the Bantu cultural roots of the Swahili.

3. Empires of Gold | Hour Three

March 1, 2017

Explore the dynamism of 19th century Africa and the 'scramble for its riches.

2. The Cross and The Crescent | Hour Two

February 28, 2017

Henry Louis Gates Jr. looks at the complex trade networks and advanced educational institutions that transformed early north and west Africa into the continent's wealthiest kingdoms and learning centers.

1. Origins | Hour One

February 27, 2017

Henry Louis Gates Jr. visits Kenya and Egypt while be educated about the origins of man and development of early human societies.

Description

In each episode, Gates takes viewers on a journey through Africa's great civilizations, starting with prehistoric times and moving all the way up to the present day. He explores the ancient kingdoms of Nubia, Ethiopia, and Mali, among others, and delves into the powerful empires of Egypt, Carthage, and the Kingdom of Kush.

Throughout the series, Gates emphasizes the incredible diversity and complexity of African cultures and societies, challenging long-held misconceptions and stereotypes about the continent. He also provides insights into African contributions to world civilization, including innovations in art, architecture, science, and technology.

Along the way, Gates enlists the expertise of a variety of scholars and experts, including archaeologists, historians, and cultural commentators. He also introduces viewers to a range of African voices and perspectives, from traditional griots and village elders to contemporary artists and entrepreneurs.

The first episode of the series, "Origins," sets the stage by exploring the deep roots of African civilization, from the earliest human settlements to the rise of Egypt and the spread of Bantu-speaking peoples across the continent. Gates also examines the role of climate change and environmental factors in shaping African history.

In subsequent episodes, Gates explores the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms and empires, including the powerful civilizations of Axum, Great Zimbabwe, and the Kingdom of Benin. He also looks at the impact of external forces such as the transatlantic slave trade and European colonization on African societies and cultures.

Despite the often difficult and painful aspects of African history, Gates maintains an optimistic and celebratory tone throughout the series. He highlights the resilience and creativity of African peoples, and celebrates the vibrant diversity and richness of African cultures past and present.

Overall, Africa's Great Civilizations is a compelling and insightful exploration of one of the world's most diverse and fascinating regions. Through Gates' masterful storytelling and the stunning visuals, viewers gain a new appreciation for the richness and complexity of African history and culture.

Africa's Great Civilizations is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (6 episodes). The series first aired on February 27, 2017.

Where to Watch Africa's Great Civilizations

Africa's Great Civilizations is available for streaming on the PBS website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Africa's Great Civilizations on demand at Amazon Prime, Amazon and Apple TV.