What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us
| What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | |
| Presented by | Dan Cruickshank |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Distributor | BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Original release | 7 October – 11 November 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | What the Stuarts Did for Us |
| Followed by | What the Ancients Did for Us |
| Related shows | Seven Wonders Of The Industrial World |
What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us is a BBC documentary series produced in conjunction with the Open University that examines the impact of the Industrial Revolution on modern society. It was originally broadcast on BBC Two from 7 October to 11 November 2003.
By the early 18th century the British had become, well, very materialistic, they craved exotic goods, sugar, porcelain, fine cotton, but it was tea that particularly took their fancy. Mid-18th century people of taste liked nothing more than to sip this Oriental import sweetened with Caribbean sugar, they drank from the finest Chinese porcelain and dressed in Indian cottons including calicos and chintzes, this was the good life and everyone wanted a taste. How this dream became a reality is one of the most fascinating adventures in British history.
Cruickshank travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Industrial Revolution that created the modern material world.
In the middle of the 18th century Britons made there living by one means above all, farming, as they always had done. However Britain was about to undergo the most profound social change in its history, a change that would affect and define us all. In the space of just 60 years Britain would experience a revolution, a revolution which would take the worker out of the country and into the city, out of rural economy and into urban factories. This is the story of the machines and people that for better or worse created our modern world of work.
Cruickshank travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Industrial Revolution that created the features of modern working life.
By the middle of the 18th century the only way to get around Britain was pulled by a horse, but it wasn’t as much fun as it might look. If it had been then passengers might not have been referred to as the martyrs of the highway. There were potholes big enough to drown in, highwaymen were a constant threat and the carriages themselves were heavy and lumbering boneshakers that made passengers sick as they juddered along the road.
Cruickshank travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Industrial Revolution that created the features of modern transportation.
In the mid-18th century Britons had one overriding personal concern, their health, with good reason, average life expectancy was 36 years. People generally treated themselves based on little more than superstition, magic and hearsay. There were trained doctors but without an accurate way to diagnose or cure illness your chances were limited.
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