Disability in the Industrial Revolution: Pitmen, Politicians, Activists and Artists
Channel: British Library
Date: 2021-05-14

For better and worse, the Industrial Revolution transformed the modern world: creating unparalleled wealth, unprecedented population growth, and extremely dangerous working conditions for labourers. Loss of life in these industries is well known, but the full scale of disablement as a result of workplace accidents has only recently been acknowledged. In this fascinating discussion, leading disability historian Dr David Turner speaks to historian and activist Dr Amy Kavanagh about the central role disability campaigners played in factory reform and unravels a sweeping history of activists, artists, politicians and pitmen.