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The History Hour
Blood diamonds and the meeting between Florence Nightingale and Aga Khan III
The History Hour
Feb 28, 2026

We begin with the trial of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. It was claimed that he traded in arms and ammunition in return for so-called blood diamonds.

Our guest, gemmologist James Evans discusses the creation of synthetic diamonds.

Next we head to Syria where a group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the civil war.

Plus the start of the Second World War in the Pacific when Japanese troops landed in what was then northern Malaya.

We hear about a meeting between two of the most prominent figures in history from around the turn of the last century. Florence Nightingale and the Aga Khan, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah.

Our sporting story takes us back to the summer of 1952 when the first Olympics of the Cold War era took place. Czechoslovakian army officer Emil Zatopek achieved a unique feat.

And finally, the moment when Spain's fledgling democratic government appeared to be under threat.

Contributors:

Brenda Hollis - Chief prosecutor at the Charles Taylor trial. Malik Alrifaii - Volunteer who helped run the Syrian library. Dorothy Variyan -Lived under Japanese rule during the occupation of the Malay peninsula. Aga Khan III, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah - BBC archive interview from 1950. Richard Asquith - Emil Zatopek's biographer. Joaquin Almunia - Former Vice President of the European Commission

Presenter: Max Pearson

(Photo: Charles Taylor (rear C) appears in court in 2006. Credit: Rob Keeris/Getty Images)

More Episodes
Aug 15, 2026
The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.

We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.

Caroline Elkins, Professor of History at Harvard University, discusses the brutality of the conflict between Kenya’s Land and Freedom Army, the British and Kenyan loyalists.

Next, when Princess Elizabeth became queen while staying at the Treetops Hotel, a lodge in the Aberdare National Park.

In 1997, scientists travelled to Kenya, in search of a cave believed to have been the den of the man-eating lions that terrorised railway workers in 1898.

Plus, we hear how Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga signed an unprecedented power-sharing deal to end a wave of violence that left more than 1,200 people dead.

And the heartwarming story of the friendship between a baby hippo and a 130-year-old giant tortoise.

Finally for our Sporting Witness story, we head to the first Ultimate Frisbee World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1983.

Contributors: Caroline Elkins - Professor of History at Harvard University, and author of Britain's Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya. Muthoni Kirima - Field Marshall in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army. Frank Gillard - BBC correspondent. Thomas Gnoske - Scientist. Alan Patterson - British Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson's grandson. Maina Kiai - Chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights in 2008. Maini Schildt - Swedish Ultimate Frisbee player.

(Photo: Mau Mau suspects are rounded up by police outside the camp in Manyani, Kenya, 1955. Credit: Getty Images/Authenticated News)


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Blood diamonds and the meeting between Florence Nightingale and Aga Khan III

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