Original subtitles

Europe.

For two million years, ice has swept the continent.

Not just once, but many times.

Then, some 20 ,000 years ago, the bitter climate begins to ease its

grip.

The continent is transformed into the greenest on Earth.

And now a new force of change is gathering momentum.

This force will have relentless impact.

on Europe's wildlife, its margins and inland forests,

and across the face of the land.

This is the story of the struggle between man and nature, and the taming

of the wild.

10 ,000 years ago, Europe is a land of virgin forest.

Just a few millennia earlier, this was a treeless tundra, roamed by herds of

mammoth and reindeer.

Now Europe's milder, more pleasant seasons attract waves of new immigrants.

With the woods so impenetrable, the easiest access is along the newly formed

waterways.

These early hunter -gatherers follow the sweeping meanders of the Danube, Rhine

and Rhône, drawn by the abundance of fish,

plants and waterfowl.

This is a totally new world, entirely different from the recent part.

is no place for migrating herds of large animals big game is rare

but

there are many other opportunities by creating forest clearings

early hunters find simple ways to lure their prey

man is not the only hunter.

People and predators have long been rivals.

Enemies.

But they share an interest.

Finding food.

And as the lives of animals and people begin to merge, a new approach is born.

The taming of the wild.

As hunter -gatherers roam the lush green heart of Europe, a radically new way of

life dawns on the southeastern fringes.

One that will transform almost the entire continent.

Europe's first farmers.

Around 8 ,000 years ago, they set to work.

exploiting the fertile landscape of the eastern Mediterranean.

These newcomers have island hopped from the near east, lured by the gentle

climate and rich soils.

They have brought with them some unique goods, key plants, tools and animals.

used for generations back in Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization.

Even in the Stone Age, Europe's farmers have enormous impact.

They soon replace hundreds of wild plant species with just a handful of their

own. Emma wheat, barley, rye.

and olives.

If hunter -gatherers had never become farmers, the woodlands might have

unscathed. But now the seeds of change have been sown.

With enough food available all year round, and with plenty of surplus,

can begin to settle.

The forest canopies that once covered Crete and Malta now give way to fields

pastures.

Agriculture flourishes at the expense of the wild.

In the eastern grasslands, the early settlers exploit another revolutionary

resource.

Wild animals that can be easily tamed.

From the Middle East came goats and sheep, brought in by the immigrant

Soon these animals would spread across the entire continent and ultimately

contribute to its deforestation.

From the shores of the Mediterranean, agriculture is now on the move.

Nydra, one of the many sun temples on the island of Malta, erected by Europe's

farmers more than 7 ,000 years ago.

These are the world's oldest standing buildings, calendars of stone, marking

times of sowing and harvesting, shrines of a civilization in perfect synchrony

with nature.

Like the rising sun, this new way of life creeps its way across the

In just 2 ,000 years, it reaches the Atlantic.

At Carnac in France, these standing stones are a testament to a once

farming community.

Elaborate monuments like these are symbols of the massive changes to the

European landscape, of settlement and ownership.

Of the thousands of megalithic sites, this is one of the youngest and the most

imposing of them all.

Stonehenge. An enormous feat of engineering constructed with

precision.

over a hundred generations lived to its rhythms.

Four thousand years ago, Europe's primeval forests are assaulted by

demand.

More aggressive than ever before.

And in remote areas so far untouched.

Metal making.

The smelting of copper and bronze soon spreads from the Balkans and Cyprus

across much of Europe.

But as early as 2000 BC, the flourishing metal industry on Cyprus collapses.

It fails not because of the shortage of ore, but the lack of timber.

Metal means wealth and power.

Metal deposits scattered across the continent become the key incentive for

conquest.

And out of these struggles emerges Europe's mightiest superpower.

600 BC.

The Roman Empire is on a march.

Its aim is not just conquest, but the civilization of wild Europe.

Conquer with sword and spade is the mission statement of the Roman army,

it the biggest road -building enterprise ever.

All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes.

But the opposite is true.

All roads spread from Rome.

As if capturing a wild animal, the empire cast a network of roads across

continent, from Italy to Britain and from Turkey to Spain.

Via est vita, says the Roman proverb.

The road is life.

The constant flow of livestock, goods and ideas between the eternal city and

most distant corners of the empire would shape Europe's societies, landscapes

and wildlife for thousands of years to come.

Cattle and grain pour in toward the capital.

Mediterranean animals and plants spread in the opposite direction, in what is

one of the warmest periods in Europe's more recent history.

Roman culture travels on muleback.

The mule is a hybrid of donkey and horse, non -existent in wild nature.

It is mass -bred by the Romans as an all -terrain, all -purpose carrier.

Endless caravans transport olive oil, cheese, wine and weapons.

And raw metals.

Tin is perhaps the only reason why Rome conquered some of the colder and less

inviting corners of the continent.

The tin mines of Cornwall prized throughout antiquity.

would be worked until modern times.

500 years of systematic clearing has pushed Rome's wildwood frontiers far

north.

Only beyond the Rhine and the Danube,

true wilderness still exists.

But even in these remote woodlands, wildlife is no longer safe.

There's a price on the head of big animals.

And catching them is big business.

Roman trade reaches out to the remotest fringes of the continent, to regions as

far north as Scotland and Siberia.

Tens of thousands of bears, wolves and lions are taken to supply a gigantic

entertainment industry.

By the first century AD, in Europe's forests, the brown bear is almost

In the huge amphitheaters of major cities and in Rome's Colosseum, the

screams for fresh blood each afternoon.

Even small garrison towns have their circus games, often in a makeshift

Day after day, across the empire, thousands of wild creatures are

Then, abruptly, the glory that is Rome

comes to an end.

A brutal change of climate hastens its downfall.

Failing crops force northern tribes to flee their homelands.

Wildlife reclaims the fields and pastures.

It seems as if a new ice age is arriving.

For the first time in centuries, the frontier rivers freeze over, and

can cross the frozen Danube and the Rhine on foot.

The greatest empire on the European continent has imposed order for nearly a

thousand years.

But its power crumbles within decades.

And with it, its palaces, its cities, and its road.

Yet Rome's legacy remains inscribed on the landscape.

In some places, like Hadrian's Wall in northern England, it's plain to see.

Within the borders of the Roman Empire, some corners had remained totally

unexploited, written off as sterile badlands.

This is not North Africa, but Spain, sun

-parched and thirsty.

Towering over the desert are the snowy peaks of the country's highest mountain

range, the Sierra Nevada.

These mountains hold the key to the region's potential wealth.

Meltwater. In the right hands, this treasure will pay dividends.

After the fall of Rome, Waves of invaders have come and gone.

The ones to stay are an army of canal builders, Berber and Arab tribes from

northern rim of the Sahara.

For thousands of years, they had tapped the snows of Morocco's mountains,

bringing the desert to life.

The Moors, as they came to be called, are expert at harnessing the flow of

water.

From the 8th century on, they bring their expertise to Spain.

They construct dams, reservoirs and aqueducts, and intricate networks of

tens of thousands of kilometers of conduits, Large and small.

To irrigate, they must first level the ground.

Centuries after their arrival, every hillside within reach of a canal is

terraced.

In 700 years, the moors turned Europe's driest land into orchards.

New fruits they cultivate are reminders of the African heritage they have

stamped on Spain's landscape.

Working miracles with water, the moors create some of Europe's finest gardens.

The Alhambra.

The seat of Granada's Muslim kings is a celebration of their favorite element,

a fantasy of fountains and fragrances, of marble and alabaster.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the societies that succeed the Romans have

their varied imprint on the land.

But the land in turn is reflected in the people's culture.

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the far side of the continent.

Scandinavia.

Europe's Arctic fringe.

Cold fogs.

Dark winters.

No fertile soil for farmers, but the seas are alive.

Here, the Gulf Stream meets cold, nutrient -rich waters, feeding a wealth

plankton and vast shoals of fish.

This far north, life on land depends directly on life in the sea.

Ever since the Gulf Stream freed the fjords from ice age glaciers, settlers

come to these coasts to harvest the ocean.

But as communities grew, many were forced to move on and discover distant,

greener shores.

These northern tribes have become fearless navigators and enterprising

Their ships, known as nors, are built for heavy loads.

Drying cod as they go, the Vikings can undertake extended voyages, from the

Baltic to the Black Sea.

and from the North Sea to the Mediterranean.

They even reach America.

In Scandinavia, timber is still plentiful.

The Vikings ship it south, where even the woodlands that Rome has left

are becoming patchy.

Europe's ancient trees had come crushing down to clear land for farms, to build

ships or houses, and for fuel.

Now, around the year 1000, the wild woods suffer a fresh onslaught.

Once again, it is Rome that wields the axe.

The Roman church takes up where the empire has left off.

It found scores of monasteries, and their purpose is not purely spiritual.

Many are given vast tracts of wooded land to clear.

The monks' mission is to also tame the wild.

Especially Cistercian monasteries, like Tinton Abbey, use advanced farming

techniques.

Their libraries are databases of botany and horticulture.

Religious rulings alter Europe's landscapes.

Most abbeys are soon surrounded by fish farms.

Although monks must fast for up to 150 days a year, they merely abstain from

meat, but not fish.

Across the continent, monastic fish ponds create thousands of fresh havens

wildlife.

Yet some species suffer.

Beavers and pond turtles live in water, so the church declares them to be fish.

Fit for consumption during fasts, they soon disappear.

An abbey's civilising mission bears fruit when the wildwood clearing of its

first foundation becomes the site of a new town.

By the 14th century, one in eight people in central Europe lives within town

walls.

The streets of Europe's growing towns are paved with opportunity.

And not just for humans.

Rats crowd into the new urban centers, drawn by the wealth of food and refuse.

Their presence foreshadows a lethal threat to civilization.

In the late 1340s, an epidemic flares across the continent like wildfire,

leaping from door to door and town to town.

In just three years, half the inhabitants of Europe are dead.

Rats arriving on ships from Asia carry fleas with the killer bacteria.

And the flea bites pass the plague onto humans.

Old and young, rich and poor, great and small succumb.

Many believe this to be the apocalypse, the end of the world.

It will take Europe's human population 250 years to recover to its former

levels.

For Europe's wildlife, this is a long breathing space.

After the tide of terror repeats, few people are left to plant or harvest the

fields.

Herds of livestock run wild.

And Europe's big predators, shoved to the edge of extinction for centuries,

return for a heyday.

When humans flourish, wolves, bears and lynx are the first to suffer.

Over the centuries, only plagues or extended wars have given them a chance

recover.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the higher alpine forests have been cleared for

grazing, forcing the tree line down.

But now, this constant attack is put on hold.

Europe's temperate climate means that left alone, most of the continent's

regions would revert to their natural state, unbroken forest.

After the black death, the wild can now regenerate.

For the first time in thousands of years, animals enjoy increasing freedom.

As fields and pastures lie uncultivated year after year, Europe's woodlands soon

widen their territory, filling up the farmland in an endless sea of trees.

But the truce does not last.

Late in the 16th century, the forests faced the biggest assault ever.

It is the era of Europe's great navies.

of overseas exploration and of momentous wars for sea power.

Tall ships need tall trees.

Mature wood in many shapes and species.

10 ,000 trunks are toppled to construct the biggest vessels yet built.

Huge galleons.

Europe's prime timber is sent afloat to do battle.

July 1588, the greatest invasion fleet to date, the Spanish Armada,

meets its opponent, the English Navy.

Outnumbered, the English set fire ships adrift among the enemy anchored off

Calais.

The armada boasts 120 vessels, including 30 galleons.

Powerful, but difficult to maneuver.

Panic and flames force the floating fortresses out into the North Sea.

As they round Scotland Island, a violent Atlantic storm

batters the Spanish fleet, shattering many of the ships.

Near the coast of Ireland, Spain's finest forests

sink to the sea floor.

Although the Armada has not changed the course of history, some of its wreckage

will.

In Ireland, gathering seaweed to fertilise the thin, impoverished soils

been a way to better crops in the few wind -protected valleys where wheat

well.

But what washes ashore in the surf that summer of 1588 will revolutionize

Ireland's and ultimately Europe's staple crops forever.

To the locals, a shipwreck near the coast is a stroke of good fortune.

This time, they scarcely know just how lucky they are.

Potatoes first made the journey from the New World to Spain decades earlier with

Columbus.

They prove ideal rations for the Spanish Navy.

To the rest of Europe, they're virtually unknown.

Irish farmers soon discover that this foreign plant from the slopes of the

is well suited to the short days, cold nights, and poor soils of their island.

Better than anything they've planted before.

Soon, potatoes prosper where cereal crops failed.

The fate of the Irish rapidly becomes linked to a single plant.

Inside two centuries, fields and crops multiply tenfold.

So does the population, to more than eight million.

But then, in the winter of 1845, a

stowaway from America, a fungus

rots the food stores in farm cellars.

The following year, it ravages fields and farms.

Within a few months, Millions lose their livelihood.

Advancing a hundred times faster than any other potato disease, it infests the

whole country and sweeps on into mainland Europe.

This is the worst famine in Europe's history.

In Ireland, The body count rises, eventually reaching a million.

One and a half million impoverished survivors desert their stricken farms.

Their mass exodus signals a shift to a new era that has already begun in

England.

One that will alter the face of Europe more radically.

and rapidly than ever before.

This new economy is no longer based on crops.

but on minerals and technology.

This is the mechanical age.

A steam -driven revolution, accelerating at an unprecedented speed.

Machines now dictate the rhythm of life, the movement of the body, the rate of

productivity.

Factories claw in crowds of labourers from rural districts to new industrial

centres around the coal field.

New means of transportation link far -flung places.

Canals run from coast to coast.

Coal fuels the revolution.

By the mid -1800s, 50 million towns go up in smoke each year, choking and

blackening England's towns.

In the most striking change to the landscape, sprawling cities swallow up

farmland.

The Industrial Revolution begins in England, but soon, in the second half of

19th century, pools of smoke hang over continental Europe.

Here, at first, the Industrial Revolution is fuelled by wood,

the Alps, where the remaining forests are plundered wholesale.

Rivers become conveyor belts.

Hundreds of thousands of foresters supply the iron industry with raw

for charcoal.

But so all -consuming are the furnaces that in the long run, only the vast

deposits of coal can satisfy their hunger.

For industries to reach beyond Europe's borders, they need efficient

transportation.

giant steel ships, and an expanding rail network.

Britain exports railways all over Europe, linking port and mine to

to city, nation to nation.

For the first time, people can cover long distances with ease.

Now inhabitants of smog -ridden towns can escape to the countryside.

Suddenly, some are made aware of what is missing in their lives.

Clean air.

Wide open spaces.

Blue skies.

Their greatest discovery.

The silence of true wilderness.

Ever since humans set foot on this continent, the Alpine peaks have been

and avoided.

Up here, there was little to be gained.

But now, mountain climbers, painters and poets, botanists and geologists,

even ambitious photographers are crowding to these peaks.

These sons and daughters of the Industrial Revolution discover treasures

money cannot buy.

The most spectacular of these is the vast mountain wilderness in the very

of a tamed continent.

They descend with a powerful new message.

Wild Europe, in all its very glory.

is worth protecting for its own sake.

At the dawn of the 20th century, this message comes just in time.

As modern cities sprawl, populations surge,

man -made landscapes abound, and ever -new inventions add to the human impact

land, climate, and wildlife.

Europe's journey through time begins to take a new direction.

from consumption to coexistence with wild nature.

Europe's cities are turning into new wildlife havens and natural landscapes

into protected sanctuaries.

Civilization and nature are more and more entwined.

In Europe, wildlife is everywhere.

On farmland, in planted forests and wild woods, on city fringes,

and in the continent's remotest corners.

Now, in the new millennium, it's in human hands to keep Europe

wild.

And don't miss the final part of Europe and Natural History on Tuesday at 9.

Stay with us now for The World, next.