What the Stuarts Did for Us

Infobox Television
show_name = What the Stuarts Did for Us


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genre = Documentary
creator =
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presenter = Adam Hart-Davis
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composer = David Mitcham
country = UK
language = English
num_seasons =
num_episodes = 4
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distributor = BBC
exec_producer =
co_exec =
producer = Paul King
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co-producer =
editor = Maggie Ward
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runtime = 23 minutes
channel = BBC Two
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first_aired = October 21
last_aired = November 11, 2002
preceded_by = nowrap beginWhat the Tudors Did for Usnowrap end
followed_by = nowrap beginWhat the Industrial Revolution Did for Usnowrap end
related =
website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/
prod_website =
imdb_id = 0462147
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"What the Stuarts Did for Us" is a 2002 BBC documentary series that examines the impact of the Stuart period on modern society.

Episodes

Episode one: "Desygner Livinge"

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Stuart Period in architecture and life-style.

*Neo-classical architecture was introduced to London by Indigo Jones and Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London.
*The fountain pen was first mentioned in the diaries of Samuel Peyps and it allowed him to write on the move.
*Coffee houses drew people from far and wide with their pleasant smell and allowed sober social intercourse.
*Gyms were born from bell-ringing clubs with dumbbells invented for those that could not make it to the church towers.
*Colourfast dyes were created in Britain’s first chemical works at Ravenscar when supplies of the mordant alum were cut-off.
*The three-piece suit and necktie were created by Charles II as a political weapon in his war against France.

Episode two: "The Applyance of Science"

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Stuart Period in science and engineering.

*Experimental science was introduced by the Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon who died inventing the frozen chicken.
*Properties of gases investigated by Robert Boyle and Richard Townley led to Denis Papin’s invention of the pressure cooker.
*The steam engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen to drain water from the coalmines of the Midlands.
*The pendulum clock based on Galileo’s principles was invented by Christiaan Huygens and led to the establishment of GMT.
*"Principia" by Isaac Newton established three simple laws that revolutionised our view of the universe.

Episode three: "The Organysed Isle"

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Stuart Period in economics and politics.

*The Union Flag was designed for King James who united the kingdoms of England and Scotland into Great Britain.
*Public transport was introduced to England by Captain Bailey who standardised fares and issued licences for London Hackney Carriage.
*Road signs and the first road atlas by John Ogilvy further revolutionised the transport system and standardised the mile.
*The seed drill allowed Jethro Tull to put his revolutionary new planting techniques into practice leading to modern agriculture.
*The Fire Office of Nicholas Barbon led to the development of the first professional fire service.
*The Bank of England founded by William Patterson led to the creation of paper money and the national debt.
*The constitutional monarchy introduced following the restoration of Charles II is the backbone of the UK’s modern political system.

Episode four: "Newe Worldes"

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Stuart Period in science and science-fiction.

*The microscope as refined by Robert Hook and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek allowed the microscopic world to be viewed in detail.
*The diving bell as refined by Edmund Halley allowed the investigation of the depths of the ocean.
*Lunar observations of John Wilkins based on the previous observations of Galileo challenged long held views of the heavens.
*The micrometer devised by William Gascoigne proved Johannes Kepler’s theories of elliptical planetary motion.
*Science-fiction was developed through the imaginations of Cyrano de Bergerac and Bishop Francis Godwin.