S01E01 Competition
The first episode begins in 1420 when Ming China had a credible claim to be the most advanced civilization in the world: 'All Under Heaven'. England on the eve of the Wars of the Roses...
Civilization: Is the West History?
S01E04: Medicine
The French Empire consciously set out to civilize Africa by improving public health as well as building a modern infrastructure. Yet in other European empires – notably Germany's in southwest Africa – colonial rule led to genocide. What was the link from medical science to racial pseudo-science? The imperialists talked of their civilizing mission, but their rivalry ultimately caused world wars that endangered the West's global dominance. Today, have Western aid agencies learned lessons from the past? Or is China in the process of building a new African empire?
Overview
Niall Ferguson investigates how western civilization came to dominate the world.
Episodes
S01E02 Science
In 1683 the Ottoman army laid siege to Vienna, the capital of Europe's most powerful empire. Domination of West by East was an alarmingly plausible scenario. But the Ottoman army was defeated: not so much...
S01E03 Property
Ferguson asks why North America succeeded while Latin America for so many centuries lagged behind. The two had much in common (not least the subjugation of indigenous peoples and the use of slavery by European...
S01E04 Medicine
The French Empire consciously set out to civilize Africa by improving public health as well as building a modern infrastructure. Yet in other European empires – notably Germany's in southwest Africa – colonial rule led...
S01E05 Consumerism
Today the world is becoming more homogenous and, with increasingly few exceptions, big-name brands dominate main streets, high streets and shopping malls all around the globe. We dress the same; we want the same latest...
S01E06 Work
The sixth element that enabled the West to dominate the rest was the work ethic. Max Weber famously linked it to Protestantism, but the reality is that any culture, regardless of religion, is capable of...
Cast
Niall Ferguson
Himself
