Documentary series: The Day the World Took Off

Abstract

This 6-series documentary films address the puzzle of the origins of Industrial Revolution.

The central question: why did a scraggy little rainswept island off the coast of mainland Europe become the first major industrial centre, when so many other parts of the world, such as China, with its great history of inventions - looked more promising?

The story starts on a single momentous day in Liverpool, a day that shows the best and worst aspects of the Industrial Revolution. We then look back 100 years, then 250, then 500, then 1000, until 10000 years – to the third millennium of the modern era.