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Private Notes
Liverpool and Manchester. This film traces the journey of the 'Rocket' steam engine from Liverpool to Manchester. On the way it gives clues to some of the puzzles and theories to be explored in this six-part history of the world. Why did the industrial revolution occur in England first and what caused it? Why did science flourish in Europe? What happened to the early promise of the great civilizations of Islam and China?
Meissen - Paris - Coalbrookedale - London. This film looks at the classical industrial revolution. What were the features of the revolution? How did England, France Germany compare in this development? What were some of the special factors which gave England the advantage in developing industrial technology?
Western Europe - North America - The Ottoman Empire. The film now includes the rise of the Dutch Empire and the spread of European civilization to the New World of America. It also looks at the rise of a commercial, capitalist, civilization in western Europe and some reasons for the stasis and decline in the Ottoman Empire.
Europe and Asia. The film moves across the whole of Europe and Asia. It takes as examples of the growth of technologies and their influence two in particular which have shaped our world. These are the tools of time (clocks) and of space (glass). Both developed rapidly in western Europe but not in East Asia. Why? A coda at the end looks at the life and work of the great nineteenth century founder of modern Japan, Yukichi Fukuzawa.
Europe - Asia - North America. Again looking at the comparison between East Asia and Western Europe, the film concentrates on the two great technologies of this thousand year period, agriculture and war. The effects of different crops and weapons on the civilizations in which they were developed is examined.
This film looks at ten thousand years of human history, focusing on the domestication and harnessing of animals. Why does this principally happen in Europe and Asia, rather than in sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and South America? The final overview considers the possible future of the human species.
