Season 1
6 episodes
47 min. per episode
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A historian confronts the unraveling legacy of the West, battling ideologies and his own beliefs in a changing world.
Episodes
Professor Niall Ferguson investigates now western civilization came to dominate the world. Built by economic challenges and environmental fears, the west today is also waking up to a growing eastern challenge to its political and military supremacy. The evidence is in China, the biggest and fastest industrial revolution ever, compressed into just 30 years. A self confident one-party state, a culture re-asserting itself on the world stage after its supremacy 600 years ago, when they last led the world. In the 16th century Competition rose in Europe where they had small countries and city states which competed against each other in inventions and world exploration, whilst China looked inward and only had one leader over a vast area. They lost out on making money from trading and exploring.
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South America colonization was mostly undertaken by the Spanish and £100 billion of precious metals were exported back to Europe to pad the coffers of the Spanish Royal family and the conquistadors. Machine Pichu was decimated by western diseases and slaughter. Meanwhile in North America the British were landing in the Carolinas, but for the farms they needed more labour, so John Locke sent to Britain for labour, with the promise that after a few years of indentured labour they would be given 100 acres of land. Once they were land owners, the men were given the vote also. But in South America only a few of the elite retained power and grew rich and would not share it, proclaiming that South America was ungovernable, and no land was metered out.
Niall explains how western values were spread by 19 th century advances in medical science. He also investigates the theories of Eugenics and how 19 th century Colonizers viewed the African races. Africa was a tropical disease lab for the French and the Germans were there later and they had believed in the Africans inferiority. Medieval beliefs still exist in some areas as Witch doctors still ply their trade.
How post-war fashion and music captivated and created a global market. Blue jeans and rock n' roll are the thread running from 1950's America to 1968 France and Prague through 1989 Berlin and China today. Will Islam prove the lone holdout?
Documentary: Niall Ferguson investigates how western civilization came to dominate the world.