08: The Cult of Progress | Civilisations

Duration: 59'00''

Synopsis

David Olusoga explores the artistic reaction to imperialism in the 19th century.

Further Information

More clips from Civilisations

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère | Civilisations

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 2'23''

David Olusoga explores the controversy of Manet's ''A Bar at the Folies-Bergère'' and its signalling of prostitution.

Impressionism | Civilisations

Impressionism | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 4'18''

David Olusoga explores the beginnings of Impressionism and how ground-breaking the movement was at the time.

Māori art | Civilisations

Māori art | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 1'37''

David Olusoga explores Māori art and the importance of the tattoo.

Native American Indigenous Peoples | Civilisations

Native American Indigenous Peoples | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 3'28''

David Olusoga views paintings of Native American Indigenous peoples by George Catlin.

Orientalism | Civilisations

Orientalism | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 2'39''

David Olusoga discusses the theory of Orientalism, as depicted in painting.

Picasso and Primitivism | Civilisations

Picasso and Primitivism | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 4'58''

Picasso admired Gauguin's explorations of non-European art and ''primitive art'' would be a big influence on his work.

The Industrial Revolution | Civilisations

The Industrial Revolution | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 3'04''

David Olusoga the social, cultural and scientific changes of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, as depicted in art.

More resources about Imperialism and colonisation

05: Activists | Icons

05: Activists | Icons

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'03''

Exploring the achievements of the greatest figures of the 20th century. Examining the lives of Emmeline Pankhurst, Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller and Mar...

01: First Encounters | Black and British: A Forgotten History

01: First Encounters | Black and British: A Forgotten History

BBC Two | 2016 | 52'49''

Historian David Olusoga explores the enduring relationship between Britain and people whose origins lie in Afri...

06: Freedom | Michael Wood: The Story of India

06: Freedom | Michael Wood: The Story of India

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'02''

Michael Wood examines the British Raj and traces the events that led to the Partition of India in 1947.

05: Maxim Force | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

05: Maxim Force | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

Channel 4 | 2003 | 49'28''

The 'scramble for Africa' by competing European nations during the last years of Queen Victoria's reign is the co...

The Extraordinary Equiano

The Extraordinary Equiano

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'26''

The story of Olaudah Equiano, a black slave who emerged from the horrors of the African holocaust to become an English gentleman, marry a white wom...

The First World War: 04: Living and Dying | History File

The First World War: 04: Living and Dying | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'23''

The Great War was the first 'world' war, there were soldiers from Africa, Australia and India as well as Europe. In ...

03: Empires of Gold | Africa's Great Civilisations

03: Empires of Gold | Africa's Great Civilisations

BBC Four | 2018 | 52'37''

Henry Louis Gates travels to the shores of the Sahara Desert to see the transformation of north and west Africa.

01: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj

01: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'50''

The first episode recreates the era of the 1930s, when British expatriates attempted to create an idyllic version of English life ...

02: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj

02: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'39''

Raj society was based on a formal order of precedence, but behind the scenes there was a great deal of flirtation, fun, affai...

03: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj

03: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'09''

Set against the backdrop of British India from the 1920s to Independence in 1947, this third and last programme in the series tell...

04: Cities | Africa's Great Civilisations

04: Cities | Africa's Great Civilisations

BBC Four | 2018 | 52'06''

This episode looks at the powerful, cosmopolitan cities that dotted Africa at the time when Europe was in its Middle Ages.

Mau Mau uprising | African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power

Mau Mau uprising | African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power

BBC Four | 2020 | 4'45''

Afua Hirsch discusses the 1952-1960 Mau Mau uprising in Kenya.

01: Origins | Africa's Great Civilisations

01: Origins | Africa's Great Civilisations

BBC Four | 2018 | 52'45''

Henry Louis Gates Jr looks at the discoveries that point to Africa as the genetic home of all currently living humanity.

02: White Plague | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

02: White Plague | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

Channel 4 | 2003 | 49'15''

The concept of 'plantation' is explored in this programme, referring not to crops but the settlement of British ...

03: High Tide | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

03: High Tide | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'27''

Dan Snow presents a series on the Royal Navy's role in British history. Dan looks at the evolution o...

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'51''

Gandhi did more than drive the British out of India using "passive resistance". He also fought for better conditions for workers, persu...

Episode 2 | Empire State of Mind

Episode 2 | Empire State of Mind

Channel 4 | 2021 | 47'11''

Sathnam Sanghera goes on a very personal journey to unearth the roots that bind his country to its colonial past. Travelling across Britain ...

The British in India | Timewatch

The British in India | Timewatch

BBC Two | 1998 | 47'17''

Tonight's programme follows historian Andrew Roberts across the Indian subcontinent as he argues that Britain should take pride in its imper...

03: The Mission | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

03: The Mission | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World

Channel 4 | 2003 | 49'06''

Following the religious revival that started in the late 18th century, missionaries began working in Africa and I...

06: Clash of Civilisations | Africa's Great Civilisations

06: Clash of Civilisations | Africa's Great Civilisations

BBC Four | 2018 | 52'54''

The final episode reviews the 19th century, when a fierce competition for resources and trade led to conflicts.

More from David Olusoga

Social housing development | A House Through Time

Social housing development | A House Through Time

BBC Two | 2020 | 2'28''

A new block of social housing is built next to 10 Guinea Street, in space left from the Blitz.

Episode 3 | Empire with David Olusoga

Episode 3 | Empire with David Olusoga

BBC Two | 2025 | 59'30''

David Olusoga reveals how the Empire reached its maximum size after the First World War but within a generation had begun to collapse, ...

03: The Two Nations | Union with David Olusoga

03: The Two Nations | Union with David Olusoga

BBC Two | 2023 | 59'09''

The 19th-century union appears secure, but beneath the surface run deep divisions, leading to the emergence of a new working-c...

02: Medical Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

02: Medical Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 53'15''

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How knowledge gained from the discovery ...

The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files

The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files

BBC Two | 2019 | 58'55''

How black immigrants who made Britain their home came face to face with the government's 'hostile environment'. David Olusoga exposes...

06: First Contact | Civilisations

06: First Contact | Civilisations

BBC Two | 2018 | 59'07''

David Olusoga shows how art was always on the frontline when distant cultures met.

Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide

Shifting historical opinions on the British Empire | A Timewatch Guide

BBC Four | 2017 | 5'58''

David Olusoga explains how historical perspectives of the British Empire have shifted through time.

Neil Kenlock - Photographing the black British experience | Black and British: A Forgotten History

Neil Kenlock - Photographing the black British experience | Black and British: A Forgotten History

BBC Two | 2016 | 4'26''

David Olusoga talks to Neil Kenlock about his photographs of the experienc...

01: Profit and Loss | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

01: Profit and Loss | Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

BBC Two | 2015 | 59'21''

In 1834 Britain abolished slavery, a defining and celebrated moment in our national history. What has been largely for...

French troops from Sub-Saharan West Africa | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

French troops from Sub-Saharan West Africa | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'06''

David Olusoga investigates the WW1 experiences of French troops from Sub-Saharan W...