The Day the World Took Off
The Day the World Took Off is a Channel 4 2000 six-part documentary series about the roots of the industrial revolution in England. Five historians of science and industry gathered at the University of Cambridge to discuss why the industrial revolution occurred in England, at the time it did. Historical background From 1650 to 1740 the population of England was essentially static - due to infant mortality and many water-borne diseases. But from 1740, infant mortality decreased by one half, in no more than 20 years. There is no obvious reason why that would have or could have occurred. This drop in infant mortality, and disease in general, helped the industrial revolution to occur. Japan, France and the Netherlands also had the relative know-how to start an industrial revolution, although the Netherlands did not have coal. Neither of these countries had the industrial revolution. To have increased industry, would require close proximity of people, and that is how disease increases, and disease control was not an established science until one hundred years later, at least. Something had happened in Great Britain to allow different groups of people to come into close proximity in factories, without huge outbreaks in contagious diseases.