1 00:00:01,147 --> 00:00:03,897 (dramatic music) 2 00:00:05,431 --> 00:00:08,181 (dramatic music) 3 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,342 (birds calling) 4 00:00:23,342 --> 00:00:26,092 (dramatic music) 5 00:00:36,730 --> 00:00:39,840 I'm Christoper Clark, Cambridge historian. 6 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:41,810 I was born in Australia. 7 00:00:41,810 --> 00:00:43,730 For Europeans, that's practically 8 00:00:43,730 --> 00:00:45,680 the other end of the world. 9 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,130 But the European continent and its incredible diversity 10 00:00:49,130 --> 00:00:51,010 always fascinated me. 11 00:00:51,010 --> 00:00:53,580 Even in the far-off country where I grew up, 12 00:00:53,580 --> 00:00:56,280 I was always aware that so much of our world 13 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,020 has its roots in Europe. 14 00:00:58,020 --> 00:01:00,210 And modern Europe is one of the greatest 15 00:01:00,210 --> 00:01:02,610 achievements in human history. 16 00:01:02,610 --> 00:01:06,430 I want to share the grand saga of this continent. 17 00:01:06,430 --> 00:01:08,910 And in the process, I hope to rediscover 18 00:01:08,910 --> 00:01:11,071 its wonders for myself. 19 00:01:11,071 --> 00:01:13,821 (dramatic music) 20 00:01:18,700 --> 00:01:20,300 Europe is a restless continent, 21 00:01:20,300 --> 00:01:23,670 a continent that is constantly reinventing itself. 22 00:01:23,670 --> 00:01:26,800 It began to project its power into the world. 23 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,710 The expansion of the European frontier 24 00:01:28,710 --> 00:01:30,800 was one of the most momentous events 25 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:32,600 of all human history. 26 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,760 The world became the theater for the playing out 27 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:37,790 of European power struggles. 28 00:01:37,790 --> 00:01:40,680 But these encounters with other peoples and their cultures 29 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,220 and commodities, in turn, had a transformative impact 30 00:01:44,220 --> 00:01:45,810 on Europe itself. 31 00:01:45,810 --> 00:01:48,840 The history of Europe's expansion is a narrative 32 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,430 of entrepreneurial spirit, technology, 33 00:01:51,430 --> 00:01:55,290 curiosity and courage, but also of violence, 34 00:01:55,290 --> 00:01:57,333 suppression and exploitation. 35 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,210 Geography has always shaped Europe's opportunities, 36 00:02:03,210 --> 00:02:04,810 right from the very beginning. 37 00:02:04,810 --> 00:02:07,780 The continent is flanked to the north, the south 38 00:02:07,780 --> 00:02:10,400 and the west by seas and oceans. 39 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,270 68,000 kilometers of coast, 40 00:02:13,270 --> 00:02:15,950 three times more than the United States. 41 00:02:15,950 --> 00:02:19,000 Crossing the water was the only way to expand. 42 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,610 For people desperate to escape overpopulation, 43 00:02:21,610 --> 00:02:25,100 poverty, war and hunger, there was no other option 44 00:02:25,100 --> 00:02:26,400 but to leave by sea. 45 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,800 And that's still true today. 46 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,530 Europeans have always been driven by a thirst 47 00:02:31,530 --> 00:02:34,020 for adventure, a lust for power 48 00:02:34,020 --> 00:02:35,683 and not least, by greed. 49 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,170 And their geographical destiny 50 00:02:39,170 --> 00:02:41,683 ensured that they were excellent seafarers. 51 00:02:43,690 --> 00:02:47,250 The Vikings construct seaworthy ships and set sail. 52 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:51,360 1,200 years before our era, they flee the harsh 53 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,040 and unforgiving climate of the European north, 54 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,450 constantly seeking new targets for their raids. 55 00:02:57,450 --> 00:03:00,510 They're talented shipbuilders and navigators, 56 00:03:00,510 --> 00:03:02,870 but their brutal conquests soon make them 57 00:03:02,870 --> 00:03:05,924 one of the most feared peoples in Europe. 58 00:03:05,924 --> 00:03:08,674 (dramatic music) 59 00:03:09,570 --> 00:03:14,130 It begins on a June night in the year 793, 60 00:03:14,130 --> 00:03:17,500 with a raid on the island monastery of Lindisfarne, 61 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:19,470 off the coast of northern England. 62 00:03:19,470 --> 00:03:22,330 The monks are peacefully going about their work 63 00:03:22,330 --> 00:03:26,570 when they notice the ships rapidly approaching the island. 64 00:03:26,570 --> 00:03:29,673 They sense disaster, the first Viking raid. 65 00:03:30,559 --> 00:03:33,612 (church bell ringing) 66 00:03:33,612 --> 00:03:36,362 (dramatic music) 67 00:03:38,310 --> 00:03:42,170 The Vikings storm the monastery, armed with swords and axes, 68 00:03:42,170 --> 00:03:44,230 slaughtering the terrified monks. 69 00:03:44,230 --> 00:03:45,650 It's a bloodbath. 70 00:03:45,650 --> 00:03:48,010 The raiders plunder the monastery of its gold, 71 00:03:48,010 --> 00:03:51,490 silver, gemstones and anything else that looks valuable. 72 00:03:51,490 --> 00:03:54,580 They soon make a name for themselves all over Europe 73 00:03:54,580 --> 00:03:56,520 with their hit-and-run raids. 74 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,600 People everywhere utter the pray, Oh, Lord, 75 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,173 protect us from the wrath of the Northmen. 76 00:04:03,128 --> 00:04:05,878 (dramatic music) 77 00:04:11,070 --> 00:04:13,100 But the Vikings push the boundaries 78 00:04:13,100 --> 00:04:15,770 of their territory further and further. 79 00:04:15,770 --> 00:04:17,590 Eventually, they become more than just 80 00:04:17,590 --> 00:04:20,170 the terrifying raiders from the far north. 81 00:04:20,170 --> 00:04:25,020 They evolve into a well equipped, confident maritime power. 82 00:04:25,020 --> 00:04:27,300 They discover Iceland and Greenland, 83 00:04:27,300 --> 00:04:29,920 and they advance as far as Newfoundland, 84 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:31,570 where they establish settlements. 85 00:04:32,702 --> 00:04:36,190 (dramatic music) 86 00:04:36,190 --> 00:04:39,163 They were the first to land on the coast of North America 87 00:04:39,163 --> 00:04:42,050 1,000 years ago, but it was in Europe 88 00:04:42,050 --> 00:04:45,110 that they really left their mark, and their legendary raids 89 00:04:45,110 --> 00:04:47,300 aren't the only thing they're remembered for. 90 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:49,130 Many regions bear the name. 91 00:04:49,130 --> 00:04:52,740 Normandy in France is named after these Northmen, 92 00:04:52,740 --> 00:04:54,980 and here, where I'm standing, on the shores 93 00:04:54,980 --> 00:04:57,570 of the Gulf of Finland, the Northmen were known 94 00:04:57,570 --> 00:04:59,800 as the Russ, or the Rowers. 95 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,900 And that's why today this part of Europe is called Russia. 96 00:05:03,900 --> 00:05:05,850 The Vikings certainly got around in Europe. 97 00:05:05,850 --> 00:05:08,390 They made themselves at home wherever they went, 98 00:05:08,390 --> 00:05:11,420 and these erstwhile terrorists from the north 99 00:05:11,420 --> 00:05:13,310 created what was essentially 100 00:05:13,310 --> 00:05:16,190 the continent's first economic union. 101 00:05:16,190 --> 00:05:19,010 Networks and interconnections of this kind 102 00:05:19,010 --> 00:05:22,133 enhanced the cohesion of Europe as a cultural space. 103 00:05:26,550 --> 00:05:28,373 Westminster Abbey in London. 104 00:05:29,410 --> 00:05:32,570 Mont St. Michel in northern France. 105 00:05:32,570 --> 00:05:34,900 And deep in the south of Italy, 106 00:05:34,900 --> 00:05:38,800 the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. 107 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,600 The Vikings also made their mark 108 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:42,780 on the continent's architecture. 109 00:05:42,780 --> 00:05:46,000 The impressive Norman citadel known as the Castel del Monte 110 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,810 later used as a palace by the Wornschtalfen dynasty, 111 00:05:48,810 --> 00:05:49,973 is a case in point. 112 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,960 European marketplaces become a lot more 113 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,030 colorful thanks to the Vikings. 114 00:05:56,030 --> 00:05:59,030 They're able to offer a broader range of merchandise, 115 00:05:59,030 --> 00:06:01,240 including more exotic items. 116 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,480 Traders return from long journeys with luxury goods. 117 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,550 Initially intended for the nobility, 118 00:06:06,550 --> 00:06:10,020 these products soon begin to find a wider market. 119 00:06:10,020 --> 00:06:14,017 And spices from India are the best sellers of all. 120 00:06:19,540 --> 00:06:23,080 The Vikings pave the way, and German merchants 121 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,100 soon follow in their footsteps, 122 00:06:25,100 --> 00:06:27,600 creating the Hanseatic League. 123 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,000 Good business is always the goal. 124 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,830 Trade missions spring up in the north and east. 125 00:06:32,830 --> 00:06:36,824 There are up to 300 flourishing Hanseatic cities. 126 00:06:36,824 --> 00:06:39,574 (dramatic music) 127 00:06:43,620 --> 00:06:47,650 The trade in furs, pelts, wood, grain and beer 128 00:06:47,650 --> 00:06:49,390 is highly lucrative. 129 00:06:49,390 --> 00:06:51,630 The merchants grow immensely wealthy, 130 00:06:51,630 --> 00:06:53,730 and their influence increases accordingly. 131 00:06:57,150 --> 00:07:00,823 Hanseatic shipping is now driving the European economy. 132 00:07:01,740 --> 00:07:04,210 German merchants open a trading post 133 00:07:04,210 --> 00:07:07,430 in the Flemish city of Bruges in 1235. 134 00:07:07,430 --> 00:07:10,420 The Venice of the north, Bruges is the hub 135 00:07:10,420 --> 00:07:13,080 of the Hanseatic League and will grow to become 136 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,280 the wealthiest and most powerful Hanseatic city. 137 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,500 The traveling merchants from Germany establish 138 00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:20,640 growing numbers of local trading posts 139 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,200 in places like Bergen in Norway, 140 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,143 where the fish trade is thriving. 141 00:07:29,310 --> 00:07:33,580 These entrepose provide the Germans with safe quarters 142 00:07:33,580 --> 00:07:35,260 in foreign countries. 143 00:07:35,260 --> 00:07:38,330 And by the high Middle Ages, the Hanseatic League 144 00:07:38,330 --> 00:07:41,300 is a brand worth protecting, with the reputation 145 00:07:41,300 --> 00:07:44,300 for reliability and fair dealing. 146 00:07:44,300 --> 00:07:46,630 That's not to say that these early European traders 147 00:07:46,630 --> 00:07:48,960 didn't have a keen nose for business. 148 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,423 They expanded their trade routes all the way to Russia. 149 00:07:55,060 --> 00:07:59,210 Even today, you can feel the spirit of the Hanseatic League 150 00:07:59,210 --> 00:08:02,090 in cities such as Tallinn in Estonia, 151 00:08:02,090 --> 00:08:04,177 formerly known as Revala. 152 00:08:04,177 --> 00:08:06,927 (dramatic music) 153 00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:13,130 The Hanseatic League is an early form 154 00:08:13,130 --> 00:08:14,660 of the European Union. 155 00:08:14,660 --> 00:08:17,170 Trade routes are increasingly tight-knit, 156 00:08:17,170 --> 00:08:19,370 and a new system of logistics is developing 157 00:08:19,370 --> 00:08:20,750 in northern Europe. 158 00:08:20,750 --> 00:08:24,050 The League maintains ties outside of its member countries 159 00:08:24,050 --> 00:08:26,300 as well, including with the republic of Venice, 160 00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:28,120 which becomes a vital hub. 161 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,490 In fact, the flourishing trade and resulting prosperity 162 00:08:31,490 --> 00:08:34,550 allows the Venetians to expand their fleet. 163 00:08:34,550 --> 00:08:37,300 They dominate trade throughout the entire Mediterranean 164 00:08:37,300 --> 00:08:39,920 region, with their hundreds of ship. 165 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,580 The Venetians' share of influence extends 166 00:08:42,580 --> 00:08:45,360 from the east coast of the Adriatic Sea 167 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,960 to Constantinople, Syria and Lebanon, 168 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,580 and across the Black Sea, all the way to Asia. 169 00:08:52,580 --> 00:08:54,860 But that's not enough for the Europeans. 170 00:08:54,860 --> 00:08:57,299 They want to go even further. 171 00:08:57,299 --> 00:09:00,049 (dramatic music) 172 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,140 Europeans become engrossed in speculations 173 00:09:04,140 --> 00:09:06,970 about the world beyond the world they know. 174 00:09:06,970 --> 00:09:08,940 They know that the Earth is round, 175 00:09:08,940 --> 00:09:12,010 but they have no idea of what lies beyond the horizon. 176 00:09:19,940 --> 00:09:22,220 Why did the Renaissance become an era 177 00:09:22,220 --> 00:09:24,880 of European world exploration? 178 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,170 Was it intellectual curiosity 179 00:09:27,170 --> 00:09:30,130 or the competitive ambition of powerful states 180 00:09:30,130 --> 00:09:32,040 determined to deny each other 181 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,510 the advantages of new possessions? 182 00:09:34,510 --> 00:09:37,550 The Spaniards and the Portuguese were the first. 183 00:09:37,550 --> 00:09:39,950 The Dutch, the British and the French 184 00:09:39,950 --> 00:09:42,240 followed hard on their heels. 185 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,202 Whatever drove them to make these perilous journeys, 186 00:09:45,202 --> 00:09:46,920 one thing is clear. 187 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:48,963 The world would never be the same again. 188 00:09:50,300 --> 00:09:54,110 The race is on to find an ocean route to India. 189 00:09:54,110 --> 00:09:57,860 Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus is working on a plan. 190 00:09:57,860 --> 00:09:59,860 He offers it to the Portuguese, 191 00:09:59,860 --> 00:10:02,730 but they dismiss him as a madman. 192 00:10:02,730 --> 00:10:04,980 He carefully studies the Book of the Marvels 193 00:10:04,980 --> 00:10:08,270 of the World by Marco Polo, in which the Italian explorer 194 00:10:08,270 --> 00:10:11,060 details his adventurous journey to Asia. 195 00:10:11,060 --> 00:10:12,590 The book is a bestseller in Europe 196 00:10:12,590 --> 00:10:15,983 and feeds a desire to know unknown worlds. 197 00:10:16,982 --> 00:10:20,240 (upbeat music) 198 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,900 Perhaps Columbus can convince the Spanish to fund his plan. 199 00:10:23,900 --> 00:10:25,480 But that's no easy task. 200 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,950 He spends more than five years begging Queen Isabella 201 00:10:28,950 --> 00:10:31,960 of Spain before she finally gives in. 202 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:36,130 Columbus is entrusted with the task of finding gold. 203 00:10:36,130 --> 00:10:39,623 Why? Because the Spanish crown is bankrupt. 204 00:10:44,770 --> 00:10:48,510 Columbus sets sail in the summer of 1492. 205 00:10:48,510 --> 00:10:51,640 His crew consists of ruffians, murderers 206 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:53,970 and thieves who have nothing to lose, 207 00:10:53,970 --> 00:10:56,640 not what you might call a seaworthy team. 208 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:58,840 He's unable to attract better men. 209 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,313 The fear of the end of the world is simply too powerful. 210 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,100 Columbus grossly underestimates the size of the globe. 211 00:11:07,100 --> 00:11:09,190 He thinks he's on his way to India. 212 00:11:09,190 --> 00:11:11,630 The Atlantic Ocean seems endless, 213 00:11:11,630 --> 00:11:14,465 but then, finally, land ho. 214 00:11:14,465 --> 00:11:17,215 (dramatic music) 215 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,200 After more than two months of uncertainty, 216 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,520 it seems that the sailor's prayers have been answered. 217 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,350 The team of three ships has been on the verge of mutiny 218 00:11:27,350 --> 00:11:31,800 more than once, but finally, the sailors fish some reeds 219 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,380 and a few twigs with berries on them out of the sea. 220 00:11:35,380 --> 00:11:36,603 Harbingers of land. 221 00:11:37,730 --> 00:11:40,060 The sailors are fascinated with the flora 222 00:11:40,060 --> 00:11:42,240 and fauna on this unfamiliar shore. 223 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,617 Christopher Columbus writes in his journal, 224 00:11:44,617 --> 00:11:47,187 "Upon disembarking we saw a landscape 225 00:11:47,187 --> 00:11:51,127 "with very green trees, many streams of water 226 00:11:51,127 --> 00:11:53,517 "and diverse sorts of fruits." 227 00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:01,720 Columbus is itching to seize this land. 228 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,490 He has enough witnesses and his crew even includes 229 00:12:04,490 --> 00:12:07,780 a notary to certify the entire process. 230 00:12:07,780 --> 00:12:10,150 Of course, the question that has them all 231 00:12:10,150 --> 00:12:12,360 on the edge of their seats is whether 232 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,570 or not the land is inhabited. 233 00:12:14,570 --> 00:12:17,770 After all, part of their mission is to find the natives 234 00:12:17,770 --> 00:12:20,060 and convert them to Christianity. 235 00:12:20,060 --> 00:12:22,090 When they do eventually meet the locals, 236 00:12:22,090 --> 00:12:23,890 both sides are curious. 237 00:12:23,890 --> 00:12:26,930 Columbus would later report, "I was very attentive 238 00:12:26,930 --> 00:12:30,534 to them, and strove to learn if they had any gold." 239 00:12:30,534 --> 00:12:33,284 (dramatic music) 240 00:12:38,110 --> 00:12:42,083 And he succeeded in the name of God and the Spanish crown. 241 00:12:50,350 --> 00:12:54,260 The native peoples, on the other hand, are baffled. 242 00:12:54,260 --> 00:12:56,960 They had never seen white men before. 243 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,370 Things would ultimately end badly for them, 244 00:12:59,370 --> 00:13:01,810 but the first encounters remained peaceful. 245 00:13:01,810 --> 00:13:04,830 While the natives innocently marveled at the new arrivals, 246 00:13:04,830 --> 00:13:08,910 Columbus and his men already have very clear goals in mind. 247 00:13:08,910 --> 00:13:10,890 Two worlds collide here. 248 00:13:10,890 --> 00:13:13,780 The islanders have no concept of ownership. 249 00:13:13,780 --> 00:13:16,540 They believe the land belongs to everyone. 250 00:13:16,540 --> 00:13:20,220 The Europeans, on the other hand, want to annex territory, 251 00:13:20,220 --> 00:13:22,170 convert people to Christianity 252 00:13:22,170 --> 00:13:25,510 and exploit both the land and its inhabitants. 253 00:13:25,510 --> 00:13:28,503 This is where the fatal race for resources begins. 254 00:13:28,503 --> 00:13:32,170 (speaking foreign language) 255 00:13:33,970 --> 00:13:37,390 Columbus calls the natives Indians. 256 00:13:37,390 --> 00:13:40,410 He is thoroughly convinced that he is in India. 257 00:13:40,410 --> 00:13:43,600 He finds the people to be friendly and not at all dangerous. 258 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,630 He believes they would make excellent slaves. 259 00:13:46,630 --> 00:13:50,910 But he has actually landed on the Bahamas in the Caribbean. 260 00:13:50,910 --> 00:13:53,480 And although he doesn't find any gold, 261 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,583 he is standing on the threshold of an unknown continent. 262 00:14:04,100 --> 00:14:08,030 The Behaim Erdapfel, the oldest globe 263 00:14:08,030 --> 00:14:09,770 still in existence today, 264 00:14:09,770 --> 00:14:13,603 was created in the very year Columbus sailed to the west. 265 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:18,050 All the geographical information Europeans were aware of 266 00:14:18,050 --> 00:14:21,110 at that time is included on this globe. 267 00:14:21,110 --> 00:14:23,120 But its precision naturally varies 268 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:24,520 from continent to continent. 269 00:14:25,670 --> 00:14:30,470 The Atlantic extends all the way from Europe to Asia. 270 00:14:30,470 --> 00:14:32,680 Both continents are a bit too big, 271 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,070 and there's nothing in between them. 272 00:14:35,070 --> 00:14:36,840 Or is there something? 273 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:38,413 A terra incognita. 274 00:14:44,260 --> 00:14:46,870 But why did all of this originate from Europe 275 00:14:46,870 --> 00:14:49,180 and not from what was then an already powerful 276 00:14:49,180 --> 00:14:52,000 and technologically advanced China? 277 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,710 When the third emperor of the Ming dynasty 278 00:14:53,710 --> 00:14:56,560 ascended the throne in 1402, he sent out 279 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,020 a gigantic fleet to sail to Africa and Arabia, 280 00:15:00,020 --> 00:15:02,080 but when he died, the new emperor received 281 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,130 a memorandum from his advisers. 282 00:15:04,130 --> 00:15:07,197 They wrote, "Your servants hope that your majesty 283 00:15:07,197 --> 00:15:10,557 "will not permit warlike plans and the gaining of glory 284 00:15:10,557 --> 00:15:13,057 "by expeditions to distant lands. 285 00:15:13,057 --> 00:15:15,660 "Give your people a period of rest." 286 00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:18,160 Whereupon the new emperor promptly decreed 287 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,670 that high seas navigation would henceforth 288 00:15:20,670 --> 00:15:22,760 be punishable by death. 289 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,670 The Chinese leadership simply had 290 00:15:24,670 --> 00:15:26,980 little interest in the outside world. 291 00:15:26,980 --> 00:15:29,240 China sufficed unto itself. 292 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,960 Moreover, they had only one ruler. 293 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,330 Power was focused in one place. 294 00:15:34,330 --> 00:15:35,870 There was no competition, 295 00:15:35,870 --> 00:15:38,450 not at least in the world of power politics. 296 00:15:38,450 --> 00:15:42,160 In Europe, almost as big as China, everything was different. 297 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,640 It was shared among many sovereign territories, 298 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:46,180 with just as many rulers. 299 00:15:46,180 --> 00:15:48,050 And they kept goading each other on, 300 00:15:48,050 --> 00:15:49,420 even as they set their sights 301 00:15:49,420 --> 00:15:51,600 beyond the margins of the continent. 302 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,900 Discoveries and conquests became weapons 303 00:15:54,900 --> 00:15:57,070 in a continental power struggle. 304 00:15:57,070 --> 00:16:00,178 To prevail in the struggle, you had to be open 305 00:16:00,178 --> 00:16:02,528 to new ideas and always ready for the big move. 306 00:16:03,730 --> 00:16:07,300 Hordes of armed men follow Columbus to the New World. 307 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:09,150 They have nothing to lose in Spain, 308 00:16:09,150 --> 00:16:12,410 and they hope to find a better future across the ocean. 309 00:16:12,410 --> 00:16:15,930 They board ships heading west, and along with their horses, 310 00:16:15,930 --> 00:16:18,183 they advance deep into Central America. 311 00:16:19,468 --> 00:16:22,218 (dramatic music) 312 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,470 This land must harbor incredible treasures, they think. 313 00:16:27,470 --> 00:16:30,280 Legends like El Dorado, a Central American ruler 314 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,620 so rich that he supposedly covers himself in gold dust 315 00:16:33,620 --> 00:16:36,180 every morning and washes it off every evening 316 00:16:36,180 --> 00:16:39,050 in a sacred lake, only served to increase 317 00:16:39,050 --> 00:16:40,870 their thirst for adventure. 318 00:16:40,870 --> 00:16:43,980 But where is El Dorado, and where are his piles 319 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:45,143 of gold and silver? 320 00:16:46,740 --> 00:16:49,770 The conquest of the New World offers immense opportunities 321 00:16:49,770 --> 00:16:51,780 to the restless, underemployed men 322 00:16:51,780 --> 00:16:53,580 of the Iberian Peninsula. 323 00:16:53,580 --> 00:16:57,130 As conquistadores, they strike deep inroads 324 00:16:57,130 --> 00:16:59,330 into the Americas, driven by greed, 325 00:16:59,330 --> 00:17:02,739 missionary zeal, and the desire for status. 326 00:17:02,739 --> 00:17:05,156 (soft music) 327 00:17:12,210 --> 00:17:15,970 The main competitors of the Spanish are the Portuguese, 328 00:17:15,970 --> 00:17:18,420 an experienced seafaring nation. 329 00:17:18,420 --> 00:17:21,700 They too have an insatiable desire to explore the world 330 00:17:21,700 --> 00:17:23,670 in search of opportunities that will give them 331 00:17:23,670 --> 00:17:25,720 an advantage over their rivals. 332 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:28,083 Five years after the discovery of America, 333 00:17:28,925 --> 00:17:31,380 explorers Vasco da Gama and Bartolmeu Dias 334 00:17:31,380 --> 00:17:32,740 set off for India. 335 00:17:32,740 --> 00:17:35,020 They round the dreaded Cape of Good Hope 336 00:17:35,020 --> 00:17:37,630 at the southern tip of Africa and become the first 337 00:17:37,630 --> 00:17:41,043 Europeans to actually make it to India via this route. 338 00:17:42,155 --> 00:17:44,905 (dramatic music) 339 00:17:47,790 --> 00:17:50,540 There's an astonishing dynamism to this process 340 00:17:50,540 --> 00:17:52,590 of European expansion. 341 00:17:52,590 --> 00:17:56,040 Competition with the Spanish crown drives the Portuguese 342 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,740 to keep extending the range of their operations. 343 00:17:59,740 --> 00:18:02,120 And the extraordinary success of this small 344 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,260 European country suggests that they 345 00:18:04,260 --> 00:18:06,323 must be doing something right. 346 00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:14,510 It was with these ships, caravels, 347 00:18:14,510 --> 00:18:16,950 that the Portuguese first reached Africa, 348 00:18:16,950 --> 00:18:19,230 India, Brazil and Japan. 349 00:18:19,230 --> 00:18:21,710 Without such craft, and their later and larger 350 00:18:21,710 --> 00:18:24,210 follow-up versions, the Europeans wouldn't have 351 00:18:24,210 --> 00:18:26,600 discovered anything, let alone conquered it. 352 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,910 And what lay behind them was nothing less 353 00:18:28,910 --> 00:18:31,030 than cutting-edge technology. 354 00:18:31,030 --> 00:18:34,060 The caravel was the space shuttle of its era. 355 00:18:34,060 --> 00:18:37,920 Very fast, extremely stable, storm-resistant 356 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,220 and able to navigate in shallow coastal waters. 357 00:18:41,220 --> 00:18:43,870 Incidentally, there are virtually no written records 358 00:18:43,870 --> 00:18:46,570 of how this breakthrough invention was achieved. 359 00:18:46,570 --> 00:18:48,510 It was all kept secret. 360 00:18:48,510 --> 00:18:51,130 The shipbuilders passed their knowledge from generation 361 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:53,830 to generation by word of mouth. 362 00:18:53,830 --> 00:18:57,453 After all, the competition was always watching. 363 00:18:59,330 --> 00:19:02,790 European audiences are enthralled by the explorers' 364 00:19:02,790 --> 00:19:06,260 travel journals and by the stories of their adventures, 365 00:19:06,260 --> 00:19:08,720 which describe breathtaking landscapes 366 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,693 with lavish natural wonders around every corner. 367 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,720 A life of prosperity and abundance seems possible there. 368 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,370 The natives surely must be doing well for themselves, 369 00:19:18,370 --> 00:19:20,610 if they can afford the kind of spices 370 00:19:20,610 --> 00:19:23,887 only possessed by the wealthiest Europeans. 371 00:19:23,887 --> 00:19:25,640 (dramatic music) 372 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,340 In the race for conquest outside of Europe, 373 00:19:28,340 --> 00:19:31,300 Spain and Portugal remain bitter competitors. 374 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:35,183 Now the pope plans to step in to arbitrate the conflict. 375 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,920 In 1494, a treaty is negotiated in Spain 376 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,040 to regulate each country's holdings. 377 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:47,103 Using a simple method, the world is divided into two halves. 378 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,470 You, servant, take this cord 379 00:19:55,470 --> 00:19:57,123 and stretch it across the map. 380 00:19:58,280 --> 00:19:59,483 Right down the middle. 381 00:20:07,510 --> 00:20:08,513 Like this. 382 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,729 That's how we'll divide the world. 383 00:20:11,729 --> 00:20:13,396 No, that won't do. 384 00:20:15,630 --> 00:20:17,403 You, move more to the right. 385 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,100 Further, further, and you, the other, 386 00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:24,240 further to the left. 387 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:27,473 Good. 388 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:31,890 That's how the border should be. 389 00:20:31,890 --> 00:20:33,633 Here is my part, and-- 390 00:20:33,633 --> 00:20:35,010 No! 391 00:20:35,010 --> 00:20:36,478 No way. 392 00:20:36,478 --> 00:20:39,228 (dramatic music) 393 00:20:41,290 --> 00:20:43,840 The Treaty of Tordesillas is intended 394 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:47,500 to establish a definitive peace between the two rivals. 395 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:50,840 America to the west of this randomly fixed line 396 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,520 is promised to the Spanish kings, while all 397 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:57,330 the territory to the east, meaning Africa and Asia, 398 00:20:57,330 --> 00:20:59,020 goes to the Portuguese. 399 00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:01,070 The treaty doesn't even consider the other 400 00:21:01,070 --> 00:21:04,090 maritime powers such as England and Holland. 401 00:21:04,090 --> 00:21:07,860 The conflict over global wealth now begins in earnest, 402 00:21:07,860 --> 00:21:10,650 and the competition among the European powers 403 00:21:10,650 --> 00:21:12,043 grows even fiercer. 404 00:21:13,900 --> 00:21:15,490 Everything changed. 405 00:21:15,490 --> 00:21:18,000 Europe's view of the world, its prosperity, 406 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,460 its greed for more and more. 407 00:21:20,460 --> 00:21:23,080 The violence of this conflicted continent 408 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,770 was projected outwards onto other peoples, 409 00:21:25,770 --> 00:21:27,910 with horrific consequences. 410 00:21:27,910 --> 00:21:31,260 The explorers were followed by the conquerors. 411 00:21:31,260 --> 00:21:34,750 They set out into a strange and unfamiliar world, 412 00:21:34,750 --> 00:21:37,570 lured by legendary treasures and adventure. 413 00:21:37,570 --> 00:21:39,550 Mexico is a good example. 414 00:21:39,550 --> 00:21:43,520 Hernan Cortes brings an army with him right from the start. 415 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,240 The conquerors view this new territory as their property, 416 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:47,920 as though no one lives here. 417 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,630 But of course there are already people and cultures 418 00:21:50,630 --> 00:21:52,460 inhabiting these territories. 419 00:21:52,460 --> 00:21:54,903 This is Europe's original sin. 420 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,130 By the time the Europeans arrive, 421 00:21:58,130 --> 00:22:01,780 Mexico is the center of a highly advanced civilization. 422 00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:03,800 But the conquerors are unimpressed. 423 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,700 Their goal is to strip the country's assets 424 00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:08,820 and Christianize the population. 425 00:22:08,820 --> 00:22:11,530 We used to admire these fearless adventurers. 426 00:22:11,530 --> 00:22:14,130 We'd forgotten what misery they inflicted 427 00:22:14,130 --> 00:22:15,830 on so much of humanity. 428 00:22:15,830 --> 00:22:19,530 Gold is abundantly available on this continent. 429 00:22:19,530 --> 00:22:22,810 It's a highly visible feature of indigenous culture. 430 00:22:22,810 --> 00:22:25,380 And the Mexicans who use and display it 431 00:22:25,380 --> 00:22:27,960 have no idea of the lust this treasure 432 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,106 excites in the European invaders. 433 00:22:30,106 --> 00:22:32,856 (dramatic music) 434 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,940 The war against the native peoples begins. 435 00:22:37,940 --> 00:22:40,430 It's arrows versus firearms, 436 00:22:40,430 --> 00:22:43,820 entire peoples are enslaved, killed off 437 00:22:43,820 --> 00:22:46,850 or perish from disease and malnutrition. 438 00:22:46,850 --> 00:22:48,890 Their culture is destroyed. 439 00:22:48,890 --> 00:22:50,940 Their treasures are carted off to Europe. 440 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,210 What's more, the Europeans pit the continent's 441 00:22:56,210 --> 00:22:58,750 various ethnic groups against each other. 442 00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:02,800 The Aztec temple in modern-day Mexico City is leveled. 443 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,380 On its foundations, the Spaniards construct 444 00:23:05,380 --> 00:23:07,610 a Christian cathedral. 445 00:23:07,610 --> 00:23:11,100 Europeans destroy a powerful empire 446 00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:13,590 and build their own on its ruins. 447 00:23:13,590 --> 00:23:16,340 (dramatic music) 448 00:23:28,784 --> 00:23:30,680 It was a potent mix. 449 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,950 In South America, Western European imperialism 450 00:23:33,950 --> 00:23:36,050 blended with religious zeal. 451 00:23:36,050 --> 00:23:39,590 And so the new lords set the stamp of their authority 452 00:23:39,590 --> 00:23:41,980 on the lands and people they captured. 453 00:23:41,980 --> 00:23:44,310 Many of the cities on the conquered continent 454 00:23:44,310 --> 00:23:46,590 still bear the signs of it today. 455 00:23:46,590 --> 00:23:48,810 Their models were palatial monasteries, 456 00:23:48,810 --> 00:23:51,000 such as the Mosteiro Jeronimos, 457 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,980 or Jeronimos Monastery, in Lisbon. 458 00:23:53,980 --> 00:23:56,950 Imagine the effect of such prideful, 459 00:23:56,950 --> 00:24:00,623 elaborately decorated facades on the indigenous peoples. 460 00:24:01,990 --> 00:24:04,630 The Europeans profit not only from the continent's 461 00:24:04,630 --> 00:24:07,450 gold and silver, but also from the natives' 462 00:24:07,450 --> 00:24:10,240 agricultural and medical knowledge. 463 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,870 In today's globalized world, it's virtually impossible 464 00:24:12,870 --> 00:24:16,670 to imagine how deep the impact of these encounters was. 465 00:24:16,670 --> 00:24:20,400 There's profound change on both sides of the Atlantic. 466 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:22,890 Foods that had never been seen in Europe before 467 00:24:22,890 --> 00:24:25,270 revolutionize the European diet. 468 00:24:25,270 --> 00:24:29,830 Corn, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, coffee and chocolate 469 00:24:29,830 --> 00:24:32,673 made their way into Europeans' shopping baskets. 470 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,580 After the introduction of the South American potato, 471 00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:44,570 Europeans finally have enough to eat. 472 00:24:44,570 --> 00:24:46,610 Soon, the population explodes. 473 00:24:46,610 --> 00:24:49,910 You might even say that the American potato helped to lay 474 00:24:49,910 --> 00:24:53,420 the foundation for Europe's rise as a global power. 475 00:24:53,420 --> 00:24:55,020 It fed the masses. 476 00:24:55,020 --> 00:24:57,770 (dramatic music) 477 00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:04,670 And in return, America gets grain crops, 478 00:25:04,670 --> 00:25:08,460 cabbage, wine grapes, and most importantly, 479 00:25:08,460 --> 00:25:11,440 domesticated European animals. 480 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,160 The settlers now arriving in America 481 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,710 bring pigs, cows and horses. 482 00:25:15,710 --> 00:25:19,510 Life completely changes within just a few generations. 483 00:25:19,510 --> 00:25:22,170 The surviving native peoples gradually establish 484 00:25:22,170 --> 00:25:25,110 permanent settlements and acquire private property, 485 00:25:25,110 --> 00:25:26,680 just like the Europeans. 486 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,980 America's prairies become agrarian landscapes. 487 00:25:29,980 --> 00:25:32,703 A decisive turning point in the continent's ecology. 488 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,023 (upbeat music) 489 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,240 But even a peaceful encounter can 490 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,100 have terrible consequences. 491 00:25:45,100 --> 00:25:46,780 The conquerors bring more than just 492 00:25:46,780 --> 00:25:48,870 their religious faith to the New World. 493 00:25:48,870 --> 00:25:51,760 They also bring pathogens that spell doom 494 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:53,640 for many native peoples. 495 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,580 Historical records suggest that within a short time, 496 00:25:56,580 --> 00:26:00,250 as many as 80% of the native population died 497 00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:04,198 of smallpox, plague, typhoid fever and influenza. 498 00:26:04,198 --> 00:26:06,948 (dramatic music) 499 00:26:21,510 --> 00:26:24,190 We can trace the story of this dark chapter 500 00:26:24,190 --> 00:26:25,570 of the colonial era 501 00:26:25,570 --> 00:26:28,780 at the Sugar and Slavery Museum in London. 502 00:26:28,780 --> 00:26:30,380 I've come here to find out more. 503 00:26:31,486 --> 00:26:33,903 (soft music) 504 00:26:36,460 --> 00:26:39,360 We're in the Docklands in the heart of London. 505 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,413 In the 18th century, this was where they traded in sugar. 506 00:26:44,850 --> 00:26:48,170 It's often demonized today, but in the 18th century, 507 00:26:48,170 --> 00:26:49,630 it was idolized. 508 00:26:49,630 --> 00:26:52,140 Sugar was at the center of European dreams 509 00:26:52,140 --> 00:26:53,780 of power and wealth. 510 00:26:53,780 --> 00:26:56,880 The desire for sweetness is deeply embedded 511 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,430 in the genetic makeup of human beings. 512 00:26:59,430 --> 00:27:02,690 The demand for colonial sugar was insatiable. 513 00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:06,430 In the years between 1770 and 1775, 514 00:27:06,430 --> 00:27:09,730 sugar consumption in England rose eight-fold. 515 00:27:09,730 --> 00:27:12,720 No other commodity, not even gold and silver, 516 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,650 could match it for importance. 517 00:27:14,650 --> 00:27:17,360 No other commodity so drastically exemplifies 518 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:20,640 the destructive impact of European consumption. 519 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,550 And no other product is so closely intertwined 520 00:27:23,550 --> 00:27:27,060 with the exploitation of Central and South America, 521 00:27:27,060 --> 00:27:29,860 and the degradation of the human beings who lived there. 522 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,773 But exactly how did this system of exploitation operate? 523 00:27:39,350 --> 00:27:42,410 The Caribbean became the object of intense competition 524 00:27:42,410 --> 00:27:44,480 among the European colonial powers. 525 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,130 Alongside Spain, France, the Netherlands and England 526 00:27:48,130 --> 00:27:50,070 also became increasingly hungry 527 00:27:50,070 --> 00:27:52,010 for goods from the Caribbean. 528 00:27:52,010 --> 00:27:54,890 In the process, human beings themselves 529 00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:57,710 were degraded to the status of commodities. 530 00:27:57,710 --> 00:28:00,130 The more colonies the Europeans acquired, 531 00:28:00,130 --> 00:28:01,810 the more workers they needed. 532 00:28:01,810 --> 00:28:03,990 Networks of African traders provided 533 00:28:03,990 --> 00:28:05,720 the Europeans with slaves. 534 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,310 These were shipped to North America and the Caribbean 535 00:28:08,310 --> 00:28:10,670 to be exploited on sugar plantations. 536 00:28:10,670 --> 00:28:13,810 Ships transported the products of the slave system 537 00:28:13,810 --> 00:28:17,200 to an insatiable England, and the next slave raid 538 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,120 in Africa followed soon after. 539 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,420 This triangular trade became the most lucrative branch 540 00:28:22,420 --> 00:28:26,220 of maritime commerce, until in 1807, 541 00:28:26,220 --> 00:28:29,383 a law put an end to the slave trade in England. 542 00:28:31,490 --> 00:28:34,990 The Europeans' contempt for the black population 543 00:28:34,990 --> 00:28:36,750 is a decisive factor here. 544 00:28:36,750 --> 00:28:40,490 They're treated as goods, not as people with rights, 545 00:28:40,490 --> 00:28:43,700 and the slave trade is shockingly lucrative. 546 00:28:43,700 --> 00:28:46,770 In collusion with tribal chiefs and Arab slave traders, 547 00:28:46,770 --> 00:28:49,520 the Europeans capture the natives and transport them 548 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,330 to harbor towns, where they're shipped to the colonies 549 00:28:52,330 --> 00:28:55,686 in slave galleys in abhorrent conditions. 550 00:28:55,686 --> 00:28:58,436 (dramatic music) 551 00:29:00,460 --> 00:29:04,890 The atrocity of slavery would make Europe rich and powerful. 552 00:29:04,890 --> 00:29:07,220 This continent's ascendancy was secured 553 00:29:07,220 --> 00:29:10,013 at an immense cost in human suffering. 554 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,690 There are registers in which the slaves 555 00:29:20,690 --> 00:29:22,780 were listed as if they were cattle. 556 00:29:22,780 --> 00:29:25,320 On this list here, we see on the left-hand side 557 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,710 the names of each of the slaves, then their ages, 558 00:29:28,710 --> 00:29:30,850 here the price that was paid for them, 559 00:29:30,850 --> 00:29:34,630 and on the right hand remarks on each individual. 560 00:29:34,630 --> 00:29:37,320 That he's sickly, that he is a good Negro, 561 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:41,120 a good hand, that he is a runaway. 562 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,450 That he's slightly consumptive. 563 00:29:43,450 --> 00:29:46,223 Human beings are treated as commodities. 564 00:29:48,090 --> 00:29:51,590 There are approximately 40,000 slave transports 565 00:29:51,590 --> 00:29:53,370 from Africa to America. 566 00:29:53,370 --> 00:29:56,230 12 million people are shipped on slave galleys, 567 00:29:56,230 --> 00:29:58,440 but only around 10 million of them 568 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:00,870 are still alive when they arrive. 569 00:30:00,870 --> 00:30:03,210 They are processed through the slave markets 570 00:30:03,210 --> 00:30:05,000 and spend the rest of their lives 571 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,900 on sugar plantations, cotton fields 572 00:30:07,900 --> 00:30:09,743 or in the mines of South America. 573 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,420 The goods produced in the New World 574 00:30:14,420 --> 00:30:16,080 are then sent back to Europe, 575 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:19,406 a profitable cycle for white Europeans. 576 00:30:19,406 --> 00:30:22,156 (dramatic music) 577 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,260 Spain and Portugal proudly show off their new wealth. 578 00:30:27,260 --> 00:30:29,550 Cities like Seville and Lisbon 579 00:30:29,550 --> 00:30:32,250 grow into radiant, bustling metropolises, 580 00:30:32,250 --> 00:30:34,440 sparking envy among their neighbors. 581 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,230 Europe is dominated by relentless competition 582 00:30:37,230 --> 00:30:38,540 for profit and power. 583 00:30:38,540 --> 00:30:40,270 Other countries shoulder their way 584 00:30:40,270 --> 00:30:41,763 into the global marketplace. 585 00:30:43,070 --> 00:30:45,250 The Dutch are particularly active here 586 00:30:45,250 --> 00:30:47,370 as merchants and as pirates. 587 00:30:47,370 --> 00:30:50,210 With its powerful fleet and modern financial system, 588 00:30:50,210 --> 00:30:54,220 this tiny republic keeps its European neighbors on edge. 589 00:30:54,220 --> 00:30:57,130 The merchants' impressive homes still bear witness 590 00:30:57,130 --> 00:31:00,123 to that golden era in the Netherlands' history. 591 00:31:01,055 --> 00:31:03,805 (dramatic music) 592 00:31:05,660 --> 00:31:08,120 The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is established 593 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,240 in the early 17th century. 594 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,760 It's a meeting spot for people who want to invest 595 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,230 their money in securities, as well as for those 596 00:31:15,230 --> 00:31:18,240 who hope to turn their securities into money. 597 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,210 In that sense, this stock market 598 00:31:20,210 --> 00:31:23,603 is an early form of exchange, or trading, floor. 599 00:31:26,370 --> 00:31:28,310 And like today's stock markets, 600 00:31:28,310 --> 00:31:30,900 this one had its bubbles and busts. 601 00:31:30,900 --> 00:31:33,480 This was the era of the tulip craze. 602 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,320 These beautiful flowers had become a valuable commodity 603 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,410 hotly traded on the stock exchange, 604 00:31:38,410 --> 00:31:41,770 even while the tulip bulbs were still in the ground. 605 00:31:41,770 --> 00:31:46,310 In the winter of 1636, the tulip bubble burst. 606 00:31:46,310 --> 00:31:50,200 99 bulbs were auctioned off for 90,000 guilders, 607 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,360 about 900,000 euros in today's money. 608 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:56,010 The buyers were speculating that prices would continue 609 00:31:56,010 --> 00:31:59,160 to rise and they would be able to resell the bulbs 610 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,300 at a profit, but it was not to be. 611 00:32:01,300 --> 00:32:04,510 People suddenly lost interest in the overpriced flowers, 612 00:32:04,510 --> 00:32:06,753 and the speculators were left high and dry. 613 00:32:08,740 --> 00:32:11,010 The wealthy merchants invest in art, 614 00:32:11,010 --> 00:32:13,680 and the revenues from trade fuel the rise 615 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,020 of the Dutch school whose artists, 616 00:32:16,020 --> 00:32:17,910 Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals, 617 00:32:17,910 --> 00:32:21,860 still adorn the museums, reminding us of the opulence 618 00:32:21,860 --> 00:32:24,443 and sophistication of the Dutch Golden Age. 619 00:32:25,340 --> 00:32:28,030 (dramatic music) 620 00:32:28,030 --> 00:32:30,510 Without the profits from the slave trade, 621 00:32:30,510 --> 00:32:31,893 none of this would be here. 622 00:32:33,238 --> 00:32:35,405 (popping) 623 00:32:42,610 --> 00:32:44,530 For the Spanish and the Portuguese, 624 00:32:44,530 --> 00:32:46,340 converting the heathen to Christianity 625 00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:49,880 was still an important part of the motivational mix, 626 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,130 but in the 17th century, Protestants, 627 00:32:52,130 --> 00:32:53,600 especially in the Netherlands, 628 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,160 were quite literally at the helm. 629 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,770 As seafarers and cartographers, they had plenty 630 00:32:58,770 --> 00:33:01,100 of experience, and now they founded 631 00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:04,070 the world's first multinational concerns, 632 00:33:04,070 --> 00:33:06,740 corporations with a global remit 633 00:33:06,740 --> 00:33:09,150 like the Dutch East India Company. 634 00:33:09,150 --> 00:33:13,060 By this means they secured a monopoly on trade with Asia. 635 00:33:13,060 --> 00:33:17,290 At times, they had nearly 5,000 ships under sail. 636 00:33:17,290 --> 00:33:20,070 Hardly surprising then that the merchants of Amsterdam, 637 00:33:20,070 --> 00:33:23,490 as depicted by Rembrandt, became immensely wealthy 638 00:33:23,490 --> 00:33:25,773 and built these wonderful palaces. 639 00:33:30,410 --> 00:33:33,540 No one can deny that this European city 640 00:33:33,540 --> 00:33:35,890 has a harmonious beauty about it. 641 00:33:35,890 --> 00:33:37,620 But there's a dark side. 642 00:33:37,620 --> 00:33:40,390 The lion's share of this wealth was acquired 643 00:33:40,390 --> 00:33:42,460 through the exploitation of peoples 644 00:33:42,460 --> 00:33:44,460 and of the colonies where they lived. 645 00:33:44,460 --> 00:33:47,543 It's an unsettling legacy that's still with us today. 646 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,900 The odd pediment above a front door in Amsterdam 647 00:33:53,900 --> 00:33:55,470 still tells the tale. 648 00:33:55,470 --> 00:33:57,600 Here, for example, this house belonged 649 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,390 to the famous admiral Cornelis Tromp. 650 00:34:00,390 --> 00:34:03,350 He was a 17th-century seafaring hero 651 00:34:03,350 --> 00:34:06,320 and master of many slaves here in Amsterdam. 652 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:08,430 And here's a little black boy that the admiral 653 00:34:08,430 --> 00:34:10,680 bought for perhaps a few guilders. 654 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:12,930 The sense of a God-given superiority 655 00:34:12,930 --> 00:34:15,570 over other humans is breathtaking. 656 00:34:15,570 --> 00:34:17,470 And Europeans have not found it easy to look 657 00:34:17,470 --> 00:34:19,500 this part of their history in the eye. 658 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:21,674 It was only a few years ago that the Dutch queen 659 00:34:21,674 --> 00:34:23,940 officially acknowledged the suffering 660 00:34:23,940 --> 00:34:28,940 inflicted on 550,000 slaves in the name of the crown. 661 00:34:30,540 --> 00:34:33,920 And this dark past is still alive in the present, 662 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:35,603 even on the royal carriage. 663 00:34:37,350 --> 00:34:40,840 But in a Europe that prided itself on its civilization 664 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:44,450 and Christian values, were no dissenting voices raised 665 00:34:44,450 --> 00:34:46,360 against this appalling injustice? 666 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,980 Well yes there were, and one of these voices 667 00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:52,100 belonged to Bishop Bartolome de las Casas, 668 00:34:52,100 --> 00:34:54,560 who in the 16th century took up the cause 669 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:56,570 of the enslaved native Indians, 670 00:34:56,570 --> 00:34:58,940 though he only later acknowledged the rights 671 00:34:58,940 --> 00:35:00,517 of African slaves. 672 00:35:00,517 --> 00:35:03,507 "It was always unjust to catch them, 673 00:35:03,507 --> 00:35:06,960 "and it was tyranny to enslave them," he wrote. 674 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,860 This was probably the first European commitment 675 00:35:09,860 --> 00:35:11,930 to universal human rights. 676 00:35:11,930 --> 00:35:15,480 But it was not enforced until 200 years later, 677 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,050 and then, only temporarily. 678 00:35:18,050 --> 00:35:19,660 (dramatic music) 679 00:35:19,660 --> 00:35:22,710 England would soon overtake the Netherlands 680 00:35:22,710 --> 00:35:24,890 as the leading colonial power. 681 00:35:24,890 --> 00:35:27,290 London become the foremost hub 682 00:35:27,290 --> 00:35:29,813 and driver of globalization. 683 00:35:29,813 --> 00:35:32,563 (dramatic music) 684 00:35:41,351 --> 00:35:43,871 ♪ Rule, Britannia ♪ 685 00:35:43,871 --> 00:35:46,620 ♪ Britannia, rule the waves ♪ 686 00:35:46,620 --> 00:35:49,870 It's a fantastically catchy song that still stirs 687 00:35:49,870 --> 00:35:51,770 the blood of patriots here in England. 688 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:00,540 The ascendancy of modern Britain began with a victory 689 00:36:00,540 --> 00:36:04,490 over the Spanish Armada 450 years ago. 690 00:36:04,490 --> 00:36:07,690 With a modern naval fleet, Britain did indeed 691 00:36:07,690 --> 00:36:09,330 soon rule the waves. 692 00:36:09,330 --> 00:36:12,495 Bankrolled by the raids led by legendary privateers 693 00:36:12,495 --> 00:36:14,610 like Sir Francis Drake. 694 00:36:14,610 --> 00:36:17,470 Elizabeth the First was the self-confident queen 695 00:36:17,470 --> 00:36:20,330 who led her country out of the shadow of Spain 696 00:36:20,330 --> 00:36:24,680 and Portugal, allowing it to become a global player. 697 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,030 In a famous portrait of the queen, we see 698 00:36:27,030 --> 00:36:30,940 the victorious fleet and the sinking armada. 699 00:36:30,940 --> 00:36:34,240 Elizabeth the First as a goddess of war. 700 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:37,810 And here in Westminster Abbey, she rests in peace. 701 00:36:37,810 --> 00:36:40,740 The Virgin Queen who devoted herself entirely 702 00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:43,663 to her country and opened the world to England. 703 00:36:45,177 --> 00:36:47,100 (dramatic music) 704 00:36:47,100 --> 00:36:49,910 Over the centuries, Britain proves its mettle 705 00:36:49,910 --> 00:36:52,660 as a naval and colonial power. 706 00:36:52,660 --> 00:36:56,510 By 1913, the British Empire encompasses about a quarter 707 00:36:56,510 --> 00:36:59,090 of the world's population and about a quarter 708 00:36:59,090 --> 00:37:00,703 of its total land area. 709 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,840 The British navigator Captain James Cook 710 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,850 is in the Pacific to observe the transit of Venus, 711 00:37:08,850 --> 00:37:11,290 but he has an additional secret task, 712 00:37:11,290 --> 00:37:14,140 to search for new territories in the South Seas. 713 00:37:14,140 --> 00:37:16,340 There is already abundant evidence of another 714 00:37:16,340 --> 00:37:20,580 Southern continent, terra Australus incognita. 715 00:37:20,580 --> 00:37:21,743 My home country. 716 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:28,610 On the 29th of April, 1770, James Cook drops anchor 717 00:37:28,610 --> 00:37:30,310 off the coast of Australia. 718 00:37:30,310 --> 00:37:32,000 He had set sail from England towards 719 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,590 the South Pacific a year earlier. 720 00:37:34,590 --> 00:37:36,858 Now, Cook will be the first Englishman to set foot 721 00:37:36,858 --> 00:37:41,003 on Australian soil, a triumph for the ambitious explorer. 722 00:37:43,710 --> 00:37:47,200 He goes ashore at a place he will dub Botany Bay 723 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:49,210 because the botanists who travel with him 724 00:37:49,210 --> 00:37:51,560 collect hundreds of plants here that no one 725 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:53,940 in Europe has ever seen before. 726 00:37:53,940 --> 00:37:56,080 Cook claims the east coast of the country 727 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:00,085 for the British Empire and names the region New South Wales. 728 00:38:00,085 --> 00:38:03,430 (waves crashing) 729 00:38:03,430 --> 00:38:05,580 But the country Cook has discovered 730 00:38:05,580 --> 00:38:08,120 for England is not uninhabited. 731 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:09,920 The Aborigines arrive on the continent 732 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,020 more than 60,000 years before Cook. 733 00:38:13,020 --> 00:38:15,620 According to their mythology, they've been entrusted 734 00:38:15,620 --> 00:38:17,890 with the land by a higher power. 735 00:38:17,890 --> 00:38:21,240 They populate the country as hunters and gatherers, 736 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:24,340 and now come the Europeans, who seize the land 737 00:38:24,340 --> 00:38:25,940 and murder many of their people. 738 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,757 (Aboriginal music) 739 00:38:33,510 --> 00:38:35,360 There are many places in Australia 740 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,420 where you can find the petroglyphs of the Aborigines. 741 00:38:38,420 --> 00:38:41,740 Some of this artwork is up to 20,000 years old. 742 00:38:41,740 --> 00:38:44,940 It's the spiritual architecture of the continent. 743 00:38:44,940 --> 00:38:47,430 The images communicate reflections on 744 00:38:47,430 --> 00:38:49,860 the natural environment, but there are also 745 00:38:49,860 --> 00:38:51,940 depictions of humans. 746 00:38:51,940 --> 00:38:54,950 The white invaders adopt a threatening, 747 00:38:54,950 --> 00:38:57,756 demanding attitude, and their weapons 748 00:38:57,756 --> 00:38:59,723 are painted blood red. 749 00:39:01,380 --> 00:39:04,820 But something else begins with Cook's arrival too. 750 00:39:04,820 --> 00:39:09,600 Systematic research into the continent's flora and fauna. 751 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,017 (soft music) 752 00:39:13,740 --> 00:39:16,350 The sailors who undertook these epic journeys 753 00:39:16,350 --> 00:39:19,510 were always joined by a complement of scientists. 754 00:39:19,510 --> 00:39:23,770 Astronomers, botanists, experimental gentlemen, 755 00:39:23,770 --> 00:39:25,993 as they were known here on the Endeavor. 756 00:39:27,090 --> 00:39:29,980 In the 18th century European world empires, 757 00:39:29,980 --> 00:39:33,720 science and power entered into an intimate relationship. 758 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:36,090 Gathering knowledge about the world, 759 00:39:36,090 --> 00:39:38,120 extending it, structuring it, 760 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,963 was essential to the wielding of imperial power. 761 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,900 The Endeavor was a British ship, and its captain 762 00:39:44,900 --> 00:39:46,490 was a Yorkshireman from Whitby, 763 00:39:46,490 --> 00:39:49,700 but not everybody serving on this crew was British. 764 00:39:49,700 --> 00:39:52,500 The experimental gentlemen, the experts and scientists 765 00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:55,540 who joined this team, for the journey of exploration 766 00:39:55,540 --> 00:39:57,840 to New Zealand and Australia included 767 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,400 the Finnish botanist Herman Sporing 768 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:03,080 and his Swedish colleague Daniel Solander. 769 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,140 And on a later journey, with Cook, 770 00:40:05,140 --> 00:40:08,700 the great German natural scientist Georg Forster 771 00:40:08,700 --> 00:40:10,350 joined the crew. 772 00:40:10,350 --> 00:40:12,730 These journeys of discovery 773 00:40:12,730 --> 00:40:15,593 were a genuinely European phenomenon. 774 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:21,420 At this point, no one is planning to colonize the country. 775 00:40:21,420 --> 00:40:24,620 It is not until 18 years later that the first 776 00:40:24,620 --> 00:40:27,733 British fleets lands with a very different purpose. 777 00:40:28,576 --> 00:40:30,960 (dramatic music) 778 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,950 Initially, Australia serves as a penitentiary 779 00:40:33,950 --> 00:40:36,410 for convicted criminals from England. 780 00:40:36,410 --> 00:40:40,470 Enormous prison colonies, like Port Arthur on Tasmania, 781 00:40:40,470 --> 00:40:41,550 are the result. 782 00:40:41,550 --> 00:40:43,760 It's believed to have been the worst jail 783 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:46,300 in the entire British Empire. 784 00:40:46,300 --> 00:40:50,020 More than 12,000 prisoners endure hell on Earth 785 00:40:50,020 --> 00:40:51,573 in this remote location. 786 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:57,370 By the 19th century, the English have spread out 787 00:40:57,370 --> 00:41:00,950 to every corner of the world, America, Asia, 788 00:41:00,950 --> 00:41:03,600 India, Oceania, Australia. 789 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:06,010 English is becoming the new global language 790 00:41:06,010 --> 00:41:07,760 alongside Spanish. 791 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:09,520 But the British soon run into trouble 792 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:12,380 with their increasingly wealthy and self-confident 793 00:41:12,380 --> 00:41:14,300 white settler colonies. 794 00:41:14,300 --> 00:41:18,010 In 1773, the conflict between the British motherland 795 00:41:18,010 --> 00:41:21,680 and the American colonists escalates in Boston. 796 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:24,680 13 colonies revolt, and their revolution 797 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:28,455 eventually creates the United States of America. 798 00:41:28,455 --> 00:41:31,205 (dramatic music) 799 00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:37,280 British subjects become American patriots. 800 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:39,690 And the cause of the frustration in Boston 801 00:41:39,690 --> 00:41:43,720 is the exorbitant tax on British Indian tea. 802 00:41:43,720 --> 00:41:46,810 The furious Bostonians board the British ships 803 00:41:46,810 --> 00:41:50,160 and dump an entire shipment of tea into the harbor. 804 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,363 It's the first step towards American independence. 805 00:41:54,293 --> 00:41:56,876 (upbeat music) 806 00:42:00,930 --> 00:42:04,400 Even today, there are still regular reenactments 807 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,389 of this event in Boston. 808 00:42:06,389 --> 00:42:08,639 (cheering) 809 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:15,420 What begins as a tax riot soon expands 810 00:42:15,420 --> 00:42:17,380 into a movement for independence. 811 00:42:17,380 --> 00:42:19,530 The motto of the British colonies in America 812 00:42:19,530 --> 00:42:22,460 is Give me liberty, or give me death. 813 00:42:22,460 --> 00:42:25,960 The Revolutionary War begins in 1775. 814 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:28,130 Englishmen, Germans and Frenchmen, 815 00:42:28,130 --> 00:42:30,870 supported by their respective indigenous allies, 816 00:42:30,870 --> 00:42:33,993 are engaged in a struggle for the future of a continent. 817 00:42:35,705 --> 00:42:38,455 (cannons firing) 818 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:42,160 Ultimately, the colonists win their freedom 819 00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:45,000 from their colonial rulers with a decisive victory 820 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,453 at the Battle of Yorktown. 821 00:42:48,869 --> 00:42:50,570 (guns firing) 822 00:42:50,570 --> 00:42:53,110 The Declaration of Independence is followed 823 00:42:53,110 --> 00:42:55,680 by the adoption of the American Constitution, 824 00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,590 but like many constitutions, this one is not 825 00:42:58,590 --> 00:43:01,203 an entirely faithful mirror of reality. 826 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,540 Notwithstanding the colonies' dependence on slavery, 827 00:43:05,540 --> 00:43:09,383 it solemnly states that all men are created equal. 828 00:43:10,300 --> 00:43:14,110 For all these dissonances, the American Constitution 829 00:43:14,110 --> 00:43:16,930 was an important step towards the emergence 830 00:43:16,930 --> 00:43:18,848 of modern democracy, not just in America 831 00:43:18,848 --> 00:43:21,373 but in the Old World as well. 832 00:43:23,020 --> 00:43:25,850 Where there is liberty, there is my country. 833 00:43:25,850 --> 00:43:28,830 In the decades that followed, millions of emigrants 834 00:43:28,830 --> 00:43:32,270 would take this motto to heart and pack their bags. 835 00:43:32,270 --> 00:43:34,230 They leave Europe behind them. 836 00:43:34,230 --> 00:43:36,290 Whole villages emigrate together. 837 00:43:36,290 --> 00:43:38,510 They are fleeing poverty and hunger 838 00:43:38,510 --> 00:43:40,013 in search of a better life. 839 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:47,490 Today, we might call them economic refugees. 840 00:43:47,490 --> 00:43:50,100 They view America as the land of prosperity 841 00:43:50,100 --> 00:43:51,870 and self-determination. 842 00:43:51,870 --> 00:43:56,100 No other continent has exported as many people as Europe, 843 00:43:56,100 --> 00:43:58,206 even into the 20th century. 844 00:43:58,206 --> 00:44:00,623 (soft music) 845 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:13,750 Today, nearly 50 million Americans 846 00:44:13,750 --> 00:44:16,020 claim that they have German ancestors. 847 00:44:16,020 --> 00:44:18,630 And many others have French, British, Irish, 848 00:44:18,630 --> 00:44:20,570 Spanish or Italian roots. 849 00:44:20,570 --> 00:44:23,990 In the 20th century, America becomes a safe haven 850 00:44:23,990 --> 00:44:26,640 for Europeans seeking a better life. 851 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:29,983 It's impossible to imagine modern America without them. 852 00:44:32,121 --> 00:44:34,538 (soft music) 853 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,730 In the 19th century, the United Kingdom is the largest 854 00:44:43,730 --> 00:44:45,760 colonial power in history. 855 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:48,630 But the other powers don't want to be left empty-handed, 856 00:44:48,630 --> 00:44:50,563 and there's still some land to be had. 857 00:44:51,676 --> 00:44:54,843 (marching band music) 858 00:45:08,700 --> 00:45:10,920 Who would win the battle for the spoils 859 00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:12,460 of imperial conquest? 860 00:45:12,460 --> 00:45:15,050 In the 19th century, the European colonial powers 861 00:45:15,050 --> 00:45:17,030 entered into a bitter competition. 862 00:45:17,030 --> 00:45:18,750 The scramble for Africa. 863 00:45:18,750 --> 00:45:20,840 Colonialism was a fetish. 864 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:23,710 It had less to do with profits than with prestige 865 00:45:23,710 --> 00:45:25,550 and fantasies of power. 866 00:45:25,550 --> 00:45:27,180 To possess and develop colonies 867 00:45:27,180 --> 00:45:29,680 was considered a sign of modernity. 868 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:33,140 And here too, everything revolved around competition, 869 00:45:33,140 --> 00:45:35,330 that crucial motor of European history 870 00:45:35,330 --> 00:45:39,020 which in this form existed on no other continent. 871 00:45:39,020 --> 00:45:40,600 The British were at the height of their 872 00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:42,990 international power, and they forced their neighbors 873 00:45:42,990 --> 00:45:44,960 to the margins of world events. 874 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:48,650 This fullness of power was personified in Queen Victoria, 875 00:45:48,650 --> 00:45:51,327 who was also empress of India and once said, 876 00:45:51,327 --> 00:45:54,327 "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. 877 00:45:54,327 --> 00:45:55,960 "They do not exist." 878 00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:58,800 The British were now stronger than they ever would be again, 879 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,210 but like all great powers, they were surrounded 880 00:46:01,210 --> 00:46:03,090 by rivals and enemies. 881 00:46:03,090 --> 00:46:04,910 They were not the only players contending 882 00:46:04,910 --> 00:46:06,410 for African prizes. 883 00:46:06,410 --> 00:46:10,330 France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, 884 00:46:10,330 --> 00:46:13,180 all of them wanted a piece of the great pie, 885 00:46:13,180 --> 00:46:14,513 a piece of Africa. 886 00:46:14,513 --> 00:46:17,310 (soft music) 887 00:46:17,310 --> 00:46:19,890 The great powers meet in Berlin. 888 00:46:19,890 --> 00:46:23,820 A continent is divided up and portioned out. 889 00:46:23,820 --> 00:46:27,123 It's the Berlin West Africa Conference of 1884. 890 00:46:28,150 --> 00:46:30,480 The German chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, 891 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:32,700 has invited representatives to the capital 892 00:46:32,700 --> 00:46:35,150 of the German Empire in an effort to prevent 893 00:46:35,150 --> 00:46:39,020 a looming conflict between the African colonial powers. 894 00:46:39,020 --> 00:46:42,030 14 countries are competing for the last 895 00:46:42,030 --> 00:46:43,353 remaining territories. 896 00:46:46,030 --> 00:46:48,697 Ultimately, it's the Belgian king who emerges 897 00:46:48,697 --> 00:46:50,050 as the big winner. 898 00:46:50,050 --> 00:46:54,630 He's promised the entire Congo basin, rich in resources. 899 00:46:54,630 --> 00:46:57,710 10 million people will later pay for this decision 900 00:46:57,710 --> 00:46:59,400 with their lives. 901 00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:02,883 Germany too joins the ranks of the colonial powers. 902 00:47:03,747 --> 00:47:06,664 (soft piano music) 903 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:15,630 The Europeans know little of Africa. 904 00:47:15,630 --> 00:47:18,240 They think of it as the Dark Continent. 905 00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:22,370 Africa has already been bled dry by the slave trade, 906 00:47:22,370 --> 00:47:25,010 and now the last unconquered territory, 907 00:47:25,010 --> 00:47:27,050 except for Ethiopia and Liberia, 908 00:47:27,050 --> 00:47:29,910 is divided up among the European powers. 909 00:47:29,910 --> 00:47:33,940 Arbitrary borders, systematic exploitation, 910 00:47:33,940 --> 00:47:37,393 today's Africa is still grappling with the consequences. 911 00:47:38,239 --> 00:47:40,989 (dramatic music) 912 00:47:41,940 --> 00:47:44,960 In many parts of Africa, the indigenous populations 913 00:47:44,960 --> 00:47:47,340 resist the colonial authorities. 914 00:47:47,340 --> 00:47:49,430 At the battle of Waterberg in what is today 915 00:47:49,430 --> 00:47:52,980 known as Namibia, the Germans, led by the infamous 916 00:47:52,980 --> 00:47:57,470 Lothar von Trotha, drive the Herero people into the desert. 917 00:47:57,470 --> 00:47:59,463 Trotha calls it a race war. 918 00:48:00,495 --> 00:48:02,745 It becomes an exercise in mass extermination. 919 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:09,733 In Africa, colonial authority is founded on an alliance 920 00:48:09,733 --> 00:48:12,583 between the gun and the Bible. 921 00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:16,160 Missionaries educate the native populations 922 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:18,570 and convert them to Christianity. 923 00:48:18,570 --> 00:48:21,880 The Europeans propagate their own civilization, 924 00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:24,093 deeply convinced of its superiority. 925 00:48:27,060 --> 00:48:29,270 At the beginning of the 20th century, the arm 926 00:48:29,270 --> 00:48:31,200 of the European colonial powers reaches 927 00:48:31,200 --> 00:48:33,160 across nearly half the world. 928 00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:36,330 The Germans share islands like New Guinea with the Dutch, 929 00:48:36,330 --> 00:48:39,740 and Indochina, like wide swaths of Africa, 930 00:48:39,740 --> 00:48:41,520 is under French control. 931 00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:43,500 The European powers even view China 932 00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:45,200 as a sort of colony. 933 00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:48,820 They gain colonial footholds all along the Chinese coast. 934 00:48:48,820 --> 00:48:52,173 Hong Kong, Macau, Sing Tao. 935 00:48:52,173 --> 00:48:55,209 (ship's horn blowing) 936 00:48:55,209 --> 00:48:57,959 (dramatic music) 937 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:04,958 In 1876, Great Britain's Queen Victoria 938 00:49:04,958 --> 00:49:08,540 is proclaimed empress of India. 939 00:49:08,540 --> 00:49:10,900 Her immense Indian territories, 940 00:49:10,900 --> 00:49:13,460 home to numerous ancient cultures, 941 00:49:13,460 --> 00:49:17,303 come to be seen as the crown jewel of the British Empire. 942 00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:21,610 No other continent had or would ever 943 00:49:21,610 --> 00:49:25,920 dominate such a huge portion of the world's peoples. 944 00:49:25,920 --> 00:49:28,713 We're still puzzling over the consequences. 945 00:49:29,681 --> 00:49:32,098 (soft music) 946 00:49:36,250 --> 00:49:38,960 After the end of the Second World War, 947 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:42,810 the European powers reluctantly give up their colonies. 948 00:49:42,810 --> 00:49:45,630 Europe withdraws to its heartland. 949 00:49:45,630 --> 00:49:48,520 But the legacy of European expansion 950 00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:50,147 casts a dark shadow. 951 00:49:50,147 --> 00:49:52,642 (birds calling) 952 00:49:52,642 --> 00:49:55,392 (dramatic music) 953 00:49:58,550 --> 00:50:00,880 The two faces of Europe remain. 954 00:50:00,880 --> 00:50:03,430 Europeans discovered the world on the far side 955 00:50:03,430 --> 00:50:05,210 of the oceans for themselves, and they made 956 00:50:05,210 --> 00:50:06,980 their own kind of sense of the people 957 00:50:06,980 --> 00:50:08,520 and things they found there. 958 00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:11,670 From their perspective, it was a remarkable expansion 959 00:50:11,670 --> 00:50:15,010 of the horizons of knowledge, an extraordinary feat. 960 00:50:15,010 --> 00:50:16,930 On the other hand, the legacies 961 00:50:16,930 --> 00:50:19,040 of their conquests were scandalous. 962 00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:21,210 European civilization is the only one 963 00:50:21,210 --> 00:50:24,060 to have imposed itself on the rest of the world. 964 00:50:24,060 --> 00:50:27,490 And only very late in the day, after World War Two, 965 00:50:27,490 --> 00:50:30,143 did Europe discover that it did have a conscience. 966 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:33,680 So the history of Europe is made of contradictions. 967 00:50:33,680 --> 00:50:36,430 At the very moment when Pizarro and his conquistadors 968 00:50:36,430 --> 00:50:39,720 are exterminating the Inca, erasing their culture 969 00:50:39,720 --> 00:50:42,410 and preparing to strip the Andes of their bullion, 970 00:50:42,410 --> 00:50:45,720 Michelangelo begins work on his fantastic painting, 971 00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:48,780 The Last Judgment, for the Sistine Chapel. 972 00:50:48,780 --> 00:50:51,860 The history of Europe has left deep scars, 973 00:50:51,860 --> 00:50:53,641 as well as treasures. 974 00:50:53,641 --> 00:50:56,391 (dramatic music)