CNN'S MILLENNIUM SERIES: THE 16TH CENTURY, THE CENTURY OF THE COMPASS {THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY} {EPISODE 6} (TV)
Summary
One in this ten-part miniseries documenting historical events and developments around the world in the individual centuries of the past millennium. This episode focuses on the 16th century. In Central America, Friar Diego de Landa founded a Christian mission in Yucatan and began converting Mayans by the thousands by baptism. He had a friendly relationship with a native leader and began to learn their history, but in 1562, when Mayan idols were found in a cave near the town, Landa mounted a grand inquisition and tortured confessions of idol worship out of countless villagers over a three-month period. Finally, Francisco Toral arrived as a mediator, and Landa told him that he had been acting in response to a number of crucifixions and human sacrifices that had taken place. However, Toral could find no evidence to support this claim and deemed the Mayans innocent of the changes of idol worship. Landa eventually returned to Europe and cleared his name, but he is still vilified in Central America today. There is speculation that the treatment of the Mayans was part of a larger plot against them, but it remains unconfirmed. Today there is more religious freedom in the country; in one town, native worship a part-Christian, part-Mayan idol and provide it with offerings.
In Russia, Moscow underwent a dramatic expansion starting with the coronation of Ivan IV, or Ivan the Terrible, in 1547. He moved east, defeating the armies of Kazan, and St. Basil’s church was built to commemorate the victory. Fur became an important commodity, and it identified the wealth and rank of those who could afford to wear it. Ivan employed Cossack mercenaries to brave the Siberian wilderness and attack various rulers and peoples, stealing their furs. Ivan became “unhinged” in the process and established a kind of secret police to combat those he felt were enemies, and ordered many people killed in the process.
Japan too wanted to expand overseas, but the country suffered from “anarchy and ruin” thanks to divisive, violent warlords. A peasant soldier named Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who is still celebrated today, rose to power and managed to unite and rebuild the nation by way of battles and shrewd alliances. It was during his time that the tea ceremony became an important staple of Japanese theatre. However, he soon grew suspicious of his friend and tea master, Sen no Rikyu, and ordered him to commit ritual suicide. He desired to be the “master of the world” and attempted to enter China, though Japan’s rough seas made it difficult. His armies invaded Korea, but were thwarted by their “turtle boats,” which contained cannons, and they retreated. When Hideyoshi finally had a son late in life, he went to extreme measures to protect the boy to ensure his succession to power, even ordering his nephew’s death. After his death in 1598, his generals lost their grip on power, and eventually his son killed himself as well. After his reign, Japan “withdrew from the imperial stage” of the world for several centuries.
In India, the daughter of the Mongol emperor, Gulbadan Begum, wrote an account of her family’s life in power. Her ambitious father, Babur, captured Kabul and established a massive court there inhabited by a great number of women, including wives, concubines and other relatives. He conquered much of India and brought about holy war against the Hindus, but his grandson, Akbar, preached tolerance and became interested in Hindu ritual through some of the women in his massive harem, much to Begum’s displeasure. He built an interfaith house of worship, hoping to inspire discussions between religions, but conversations mostly descended into heated arguments. He eventually forged his own religion, borrowing ideas from several faiths, and Begum, frustrated, left for Mecca.
In Europe, it became the fad to amass “strange collections” of artifacts from around the world to inspire wonder in others, as encouraged by René Descartes. Emperor Rudolf II was among the most ardent and bizarre of collectors; he sought art, scientific inventions, animals and especially unusual depictions of himself. His collection both fascinated others and proved his great wealth and influence. Ideal collections, it was said, should be “theatres of the universe” and display man’s knowledge in many forms. Collector consultant Samuel Quiccheberg hastened to point out that a fascination with science and man’s inventive skill was also an honor to God’s creations, although it was also thought that man was now being considered a rival to God’s inventiveness. Science, nature and religion were brought together for the first time, but the interest in collections began to decline as trade increased, as exotic items were becoming more easily accessible. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CNN
- DATE: November 14, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:55
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:90862
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: Pat Mitchell Collection, The; History
- SERIES RUN: CNN - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "CNN's Millennium Series" home video
- TV - Commercials - Ford Outfitters automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Qwest internet provider
- TV - Commercials - RealEstate.com website
- TV - Commercials - Zales jewelry stores
- TV - Commercials - britannica.com website
- TV - Promos - CNN's "MoneyLine"
- TV - Promos - CNN news
CREDITS
- Jeremy Isaacs … Executive Producer
- Pat Mitchell … Executive Producer
- Jody Gottlieb … Coordinating Producer
- Vivian Schiller … Senior Producer
- Richard Curson Smith … Producer, Director
- Gillian Widdicombe … Associate Producer
- Wiggie Andrews … Assistant Producer
- Aruna Har Prasad … Assistant Producer
- Peter Sommer … Assistant Producer
- Janina Stamps … Line Producer
- Emma De'Ath … Series Producer
- Neil Cameron … Series Producer
- Felipe Fernández-Armesto … Based on the book by
- Richard Blackford … Music by
- Ben Kingsley … Narrator
- Juan Antonio Gonzalez Llanes … Cast, Friar Diego de Landa
- Raul Domingez Martinez … Cast, Toral
- Amber Singh … Cast, Gulbadan
- Pompy Wadhuar … Cast, Akbar
- Ken Campbell … Cast, Quiccheberg
- Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar
- Zahir ud-din Muhammad Babur
- Gulbadan Begum
- René Descartes
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Diego de Landa
- Samuel Quiccheberg
- Rudolf II of Austria
- Sen no Rikyu
- Francisco Toral
- Ivan IV Vasilyevich