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Silk

Silk: Episode 2

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Episode 2

BBC Radio 4 - Silk, Episode 2

Steph discovers how silk's global spread has driven industrial and technological change.

Steph McGovern looks deeper into the history of silk and discovers how its global spread - often achieved through illicit means - has driven industrial and technological change.

From its home in China, silk's commercial spread constituted the first global industry, offering high profits to those braving the dangerous journey along the Silk Road and beyond. The secrets behind its production were closely guarded, and China managed to maintain its hold onto these secrets for a thousand years - but thank to a large helping of smuggling and industrial espionage, other countries including France, Italy and the UK became major players in the industry. 
In part two of 'Silk', Steph McGovern discovers that this most sought after material has also driven technological change, from the prototype computer programme offered by the Jacquard loom in the nineteenth century, to the development today of artificial body parts. She discovers too how silk's fortunes have been inextricably linked with political upheaval - championed by American revolutionaries, damned by French revolutionaries, and providing the setting for the birth of the Anarchist movement.

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Steph McGovern presents a two-part series on the global history of silk

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