Icarus Films: A History of the European Working Class

A History of the European Working Class - Episode 1

Directed by Stan Neumann

52 minutes / Color/B&W
English; French / English subtitles
Closed Captioned
Release: 2022
Copyright: 2020

Starting in the 18th century, transformations in commerce led to the emergence of the early factory system and the birth of the British working class. Displaced from the countryside, these new workers flooded into textile mills that would fuel the growth of British capitalism. Combining archival footage, interviews with historians and testimonies from modern factory workers, A HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN WORKING CLASS outlines the development of new forms of discipline and time management that would transform the lives of workers and their nascent political consciousness. The Luddite movement, Peterloo Massacre, and demands for universal suffrage are discussed as early high watermarks in the development of working class politics, foreshadowing the uprisings of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Other Ways to Watch

RELATED TITLES

A History of the European Working Class - A Series

The working class has played an essential part of European countries’ history – through revolutions, wars and social progress. In 4 episodes of a spectacular tale, this show reminds us of what our societies owe to the workers’ movements and its struggles.