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[ Man Narrating]
A mission of destruction.
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The target? A shipment of drugs-
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a mind-altering chemical...
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with a mysterious connection
to the origins of life on Earth...
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a link that can only be revealed
by big history.
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[ Narrator]
We think of history as a timeline...
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a series of events stretching
a few thousand years into the past.
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It's time to think bigger.
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Instead of a line,
imagine a web of infinite connections...
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interacting over billions of years...
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linked together to create everything
we've ever known-
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our universe...
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our planet...
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and us.
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When we consider our most epic moments
through the lens of science...
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we unleash a revolutionary new idea-
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the movement of atoms
steer the movements of men...
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civilizations, galaxies.
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History as we know it
is about to get big.
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[ Narrator]
This is America's first drug bust.
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But these aren't cops.
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And this drug isn't illegal.
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It's tea.
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Under cover of darkness,
a band of American rebels...
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dumps nearly 50 tons of tea
into Boston Harbor...
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a shipment worth as much
as three million dollars today.
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Traditional history tells us
that the Boston Tea Party...
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is an act of American resistance
against a British tax.
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But big history reveals that it's one link
in a chain of global events...
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that begins with the chemistry
of a single molecule-
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caffeine...
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a drug that gives our brains a boost.
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It essentially gives you
an adrenaline release, right?
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It's an extraordinary sort of rush.
It's well named-the rush.
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[ Narrator] Because people everywhere
are hooked on this rush...
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they're hooked on tea.
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To reveal how powerful
this addiction is...
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big history turns to geography.
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In the 1700s,
tea only grows in one place-
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China.
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The British control
a vast network of trade...
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designed to move that tea
around the world.
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It's a massive undertaking.
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Just one round-trip
from England to China...
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then back to England
and across to America...
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is a voyage of 37,000 miles.
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[ Man ] Think of it as being
something like a moon shot.
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You have to marshal
significant forces to do it...
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and they have to bring back something
that people will pay a premium for.
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Because they're addictive,
people feel pangs if they don't have them.
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They crave them.
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[ Narrator]
Our addiction to drugs like tobacco...
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and the caffeine in tea and coffee...
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launches an era
of unprecedented global trade.
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It's a modern way
to satisfy an ancient need.
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Ever since we first fermented fruits
and grains into primitive alcohol...
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we've had a craving
for mind-altering chemicals.
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[ Man ] We ingest food not just
to give ourselves energy...
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but because, occasionally,
some foods...
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do weird things to our brain
that we like.
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[ Narrator] Tea isn't the only
source of caffeine in the colonial era.
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Thousands of coffeehouses spring up
across Europe and in America...
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where men go for something
they can't' get' in a pub or tavern.
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[ Men Chattering ]
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You're down at the pub having a drink.
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Well, in its long-term effects,
alcohol is a depressant.
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On the other hand,
what is it about caffeine?
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It drives you to greater activity.
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Coffeehouses appear that become
hotbeds of political discourse.
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Unlike alcohol, which tends
to dull the senses and helps relax you...
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here you've got people's minds
being very sharp, very clear...
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and working very quickly discussing the
very real political problems of their day.
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[ Narrator]
Why is this drug so different?
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Big History zooms in
to the microscopic chemistry of caffeine.
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Each molecule
is made of four common elements-
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carbon, hydrogen...
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oxygen and nitrogen.
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Caffeine's atomic structure
is very similar to adenosine...
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the brain chemical that tells us
when we're tired.
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As we knock back cup after cup,
caffeine takes its place...
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blocking the space in our brains
where the sleep chemical should go.
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Caffeine isn't really keeping us awake.
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It just stops our brains
from telling us it's time to sleep.
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[ Man ] And this is stunning, because it wasn't
until I began to get into big history...
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that I actually knew the effect.
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I thought that coffee was like
an amphetamine.
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It just created-
it caused me to speed up.
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But actually what it did
was it prevented me from slowing down.
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[ Narrator] By blocking the sleep signal,
caffeine tricks our brains...
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and that triggers the body to release
the extra boost of energy...
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we need to keep us going.
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Adrenaline, sugar and dopamine-
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the key to the brain's reward centers.
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Hyped up on caffeine
instead of dragged down by alcohol...
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we have the energy to think big.
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People in the coffeehouses
were being stimulated by this product...
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and then starting to think
about questions of social justice.
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[ Narrator] Big history shows us
that their ideas start revolutions-
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in Paris, at the Cafe' Procope...
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the coffeehouse where
French revolutionaries make their plans...
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and at the Green Dragon...
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which a U.S. senator will call the
headquarters of the American Revolution...
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where a group of rebels
plans the Boston Tea Party.
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So the chemistry of caffeine
alters the chemistry of our brains.
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Bu! how can a plant' change a human?
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[ Man ] if there's a chemical
that alters how the brain works...
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it's almost certainly the case that the
brain already has a chemical inside it...
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that it uses for some sort
of similar purpose.
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[ Narrator]
Big history links our caffeine addiction...
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to the origins of life.
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This is Earth 1.6 billion years ago...
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a time when the planet
has one huge ocean.
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It's filled With life...
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including a single-celled creature...
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that is the ancestor of every plant...
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and every animal, including us.
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While we share over 90% of our D.N.A.
with chimpanzees...
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we also share half of our D.N.A.
with coffee and tea.
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That's why the chemicals in plants
affect our brains.
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Because if you go back far enough...
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we're related.
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[ Kean ] From a big history perspective,
we all really evolved...
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from the same one-celled creatures
that lived in the ocean...
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and became all of the life around us.
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[ Narrator]
But the link between man and caffeine...
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doesn't just reach back
to the first tiny forms of life.
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Big history reveals that it all connects
to something even bigger-
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a cosmic collision that shakes the Earth
to its core.
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[ Explosion ]
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[ Narrator]
Big history is a new way to see the world.
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It reveals a surprising connection
between our founding fathers...
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and a revolutionary drug-
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a chemical link that ties back
to the common ancestor...
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of all animals and plants.
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A link we still experience every day.
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This drug has the power
to change the world.
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But why did it evolve in some places
and not others?
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Big history connects
this tiny caffeine molecule...
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to a massive cosmic event.
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This enormous ball of fire is Earth...
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4.5 billion years ago.
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While the planet is still forming...
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it collides with something
about the size of Mars.
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[ Explosion ]
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The impact throws off
81 quintillion tons of debris...
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that gravity pulls together
to form the moon.
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Alone, the Earth's movement is chaotic.
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- [ Thunderclap]
- Ana' the climate ls volatile.
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But the moon brings order.
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Its gravitational pull
slows down Earth's rotation...
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which calms Earth is winds and weather...
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creating a consistent environment
where life on the surface can evolve.
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The same impact that creates the moon...
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also knocks Earth sideways...
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giving our planet a permanent tilt.
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Because of the tilt...
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places like Europe and North America
get varying amounts of light and heat...
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and seasons that change
throughout the year.
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But in the band that stretches
around the center of the Earth-..
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Steady amounts of light and heat'
create a unique environment.
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Welcome to the tropics-
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rich soil...
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plenty of moisture...
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lots of sun all year round.
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Plants thrive.
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But so do the animals
that eat plants.
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If plants are to survive,
they?! need to fight back.
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If you're a plant, you sit still.
You can't run and hide.
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So you need other forms of protection.
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Thorns are one,
but poisons are another.
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[ Narrator]
Forty-nine million years ago...
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some tropical plants
evolve a deadly new poison.
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It protects those plants
from harmful insects...
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even weeds and rival plants.
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It's called caffeine.
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But one creature's poison
is another's pleasure.
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The same dose of caffeine
that can kill a bug...
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just gives us a boost.
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Humans eventually discovered
that these things that are poisons...
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for some potential predators...
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are actually rather nice to use.
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[ Narrator]
So caffeine is a natural pesticide...
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that evolves in the Earth is sun belt...
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which is born in the collision
that made the moon.
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But how does a poison
become your morning pick-me-up?
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Big history connects forward...
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to the 77th century...
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When a booming caffeine trade
transports tea and coffee...
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all over the world-
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to the empires of Europe...
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and their colonies in the New World.
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[ Mann ]
Trade in those days is slow...
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so you can't carry perishable stuff.
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You can't carry lettuce
or things like that that are gonna rot.
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Whereas coffee,
where you have these dried beans...
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is actually pretty good in this regard...
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and it's something that you
can take for a long way.
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And then people grind it up,
they drink it...
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they get a buzz, they're happy
and they'll pay your for it.
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So addictive substances
are really good trade items...
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because your customers not only like it,
they have to have it.
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[ People Chattering ]
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[ Narrator]
Like any ambitious drug dealers...
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the European traders look for
an opportunity to make more money...
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00:15:02,903 --> 00:15:05,906
by growing their own supply.
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The countries that' grow tea and coffee
sell dried leaves and roasted beans.
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But in order to keep control
over their product...
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they don't trade its source-
live coffee and tea plants.
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The plants are like state secrets.
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So the European traders
become drug smugglers.
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They steal live coffee plants
and beans.
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But because Europe is in the north...
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it's far too cold for a plant
from the tropics to survive.
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Europe's caffeine addicts
will have to figure out another plan.
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Their solution will shake up
the balance of power around the world.
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[ Narrator] Big history uses science
to see the world in a new way.
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00:16:07,051 --> 00:16:10,220
It shows how caffeine
gives our brains a jolt...
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00:16:11,055 --> 00:16:14,266
blocking the chemicals
that tell us to feel tired...
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00:16:18,062 --> 00:16:22,232
that our need for this jolt
turns Europeans into drug smugglers.
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00:16:26,195 --> 00:16:27,988
But their efforts fail...
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00:16:28,072 --> 00:16:32,660
because the Earth's tilt prevents
tropical plants from growing in the cold.
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As we've seen,
caffeine has a powerful pull.
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[Shouting ]
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So if they can't bring
the plant to Europe...
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they'll bring Europe to places
where the plant can grow.
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- [ Insects Buzzing ]
- [ Birds Chirping ]
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So is the existence
of these addictive substances...
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00:17:00,145 --> 00:17:04,316
and the fact that they could only grow
in certain environments...
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00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,821
a kind of spur to colonialism
and predatory mercantile activities?
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00:17:08,904 --> 00:17:10,823
I think the answer is certainly yes.
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00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:16,537
[ Narrator] European powers in
search of a caffeine fix...
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00:17:16,620 --> 00:17:19,707
claim and colonize
tropical parts of the world...
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00:17:20,708 --> 00:17:22,876
building farms to feed their habit.
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00:17:25,129 --> 00:17:28,132
They enslave native peoples
across the tropics...
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00:17:28,215 --> 00:17:30,384
to work the vast plantations...
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00:17:30,467 --> 00:17:34,888
where caffeine-making plants
spread like wildfire.
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00:17:36,515 --> 00:17:40,811
So here's the human being serving like almost
like the bee that's pollinating plants.
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00:17:40,894 --> 00:17:43,063
So the human being now
becomes an animal...
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00:17:43,147 --> 00:17:46,942
that is going to spread the coffee plant
into places that it was not native.
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00:17:49,945 --> 00:17:55,534
[ Narrator] The big history perspective
reveals that something as simple as coffee...
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00:17:55,617 --> 00:17:58,912
can trigger an epic transformation
in human history-
242
00:18:00,998 --> 00:18:04,460
that colonies are built on caffeine.
243
00:18:08,255 --> 00:18:12,176
And with coffee-growing plantations
spread all across the tropics...
244
00:18:12,968 --> 00:18:16,638
American revolutionaries
can toss their tea overboard...
245
00:18:17,431 --> 00:18:20,893
and kick their tea-drinking
habit forever...
246
00:18:20,976 --> 00:18:26,106
because they can get the same rush
from coffee grown closer to home...
247
00:18:26,190 --> 00:18:28,776
on plantations in the Caribbean.
248
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,741
Tea quickly becomes un-American.
249
00:18:36,575 --> 00:18:40,537
But across the Atlantic,
this steadfast symbol of Britain...
250
00:18:40,621 --> 00:18:43,248
kick-starts yet another revolution.
251
00:18:43,332 --> 00:18:47,544
Big history reveals
how our caffeine addiction...
252
00:18:47,628 --> 00:18:49,922
transforms the modern world.
253
00:18:57,346 --> 00:19:00,265
We are now in Britain in 1850...
254
00:19:00,349 --> 00:19:05,562
where the population
has boomed to 22 million...
255
00:19:05,646 --> 00:19:09,399
up from just five million
a century and a half before.
256
00:19:10,317 --> 00:19:14,738
And the secret driving the surge
could be tea.
257
00:19:16,323 --> 00:19:20,118
The British start drinking tea
around 1700.
258
00:19:21,954 --> 00:19:26,583
By 1800, Britain is the biggest
tea-drinking nation in the world.
259
00:19:27,626 --> 00:19:32,840
It's a habit that saves lives
because of the way tea is made.
260
00:19:32,923 --> 00:19:34,132
[ Teakettle Whistling ]
261
00:19:34,216 --> 00:19:37,511
[ Benjamin ] You can only infuse
this substance if you add boiling water.
262
00:19:37,594 --> 00:19:40,931
And boiling water is going to kill many
of the waterborne pathogens...
263
00:19:41,014 --> 00:19:43,141
that were otherwise killing people.
264
00:19:44,226 --> 00:19:46,687
[ Narrator]
After Britain starts drinking tea...
265
00:19:46,770 --> 00:19:51,358
deaths from waterborne illnesses
fall by 50 %.
266
00:19:52,568 --> 00:19:57,030
Because caffeine is addictive,
the British drink a lot of tea.
267
00:19:57,114 --> 00:20:01,118
And that means they're drinking
a lot more boiled water...
268
00:20:01,952 --> 00:20:05,747
so they live longer
and have more children...
269
00:20:06,582 --> 00:20:11,712
giving Britain enough manpower
to fuel a mass-production machine...
270
00:20:11,795 --> 00:20:14,214
that launches the modern age-
271
00:20:16,675 --> 00:20:22,055
an age where people down
5.9 billion cups of tea...
272
00:20:22,139 --> 00:20:26,768
and 2.2 billion cups of coffee every day.
273
00:20:27,561 --> 00:20:31,690
Why has caffeine been so successful
as a global mind-altering substance?
274
00:20:32,399 --> 00:20:35,485
It provides a sort of cheap
and quick fuel.
275
00:20:35,569 --> 00:20:39,114
It can help you operate better
in a complex society.
276
00:20:44,536 --> 00:20:46,580
- [ Narrator] And it all connects back-
- [ Explosion ]
277
00:20:46,663 --> 00:20:49,166
To the moon
that slows down our planet...
278
00:20:51,793 --> 00:20:55,672
giving us the molecule
that speeds up our world.
279
00:21:00,510 --> 00:21:03,680
But the story of caffeine
is just the beginning.
280
00:21:03,764 --> 00:21:06,725
There's a much bigger puzzle
hidden in big history.
281
00:21:06,808 --> 00:21:09,561
Each episode unlocks a clue.
282
00:21:09,645 --> 00:21:11,688
Everyday things like beef...
283
00:21:13,357 --> 00:21:16,735
the sun and water...
284
00:21:16,818 --> 00:21:18,987
hold the key.
285
00:21:19,071 --> 00:21:23,450
Watch them all and you'll see
this grand mystery revealed.
286
00:21:23,533 --> 00:21:26,954
The big history of time, of space-
287
00:21:27,037 --> 00:21:29,539
the big history of us.
24705
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