WEBVTT 00:00:01.147 --> 00:00:03.897 (dramatic music) 00:00:05.431 --> 00:00:08.181 (dramatic music) 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.342 (birds calling) 00:00:23.342 --> 00:00:26.092 (dramatic music) 00:00:36.730 --> 00:00:39.840 I'm Christoper Clark, Cambridge historian. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:41.810 I was born in Australia. 00:00:41.810 --> 00:00:43.730 For Europeans, that's practically 00:00:43.730 --> 00:00:45.680 the other end of the world. 00:00:45.680 --> 00:00:49.130 But the European continent and its incredible diversity 00:00:49.130 --> 00:00:51.010 always fascinated me. 00:00:51.010 --> 00:00:53.580 Even in the far-off country where I grew up, 00:00:53.580 --> 00:00:56.280 I was always aware that so much of our world 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:58.020 has its roots in Europe. 00:00:58.020 --> 00:01:00.210 And modern Europe is one of the greatest 00:01:00.210 --> 00:01:02.610 achievements in human history. 00:01:02.610 --> 00:01:06.430 I want to share the grand saga of this continent. 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:08.910 And in the process, I hope to rediscover 00:01:08.910 --> 00:01:11.071 its wonders for myself. 00:01:11.071 --> 00:01:13.821 (dramatic music) 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:20.300 Europe is a restless continent, 00:01:20.300 --> 00:01:23.670 a continent that is constantly reinventing itself. 00:01:23.670 --> 00:01:26.800 It began to project its power into the world. 00:01:26.800 --> 00:01:28.710 The expansion of the European frontier 00:01:28.710 --> 00:01:30.800 was one of the most momentous events 00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:32.600 of all human history. 00:01:32.600 --> 00:01:35.760 The world became the theater for the playing out 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:37.790 of European power struggles. 00:01:37.790 --> 00:01:40.680 But these encounters with other peoples and their cultures 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:44.220 and commodities, in turn, had a transformative impact 00:01:44.220 --> 00:01:45.810 on Europe itself. 00:01:45.810 --> 00:01:48.840 The history of Europe's expansion is a narrative 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:51.430 of entrepreneurial spirit, technology, 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:55.290 curiosity and courage, but also of violence, 00:01:55.290 --> 00:01:57.333 suppression and exploitation. 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.210 Geography has always shaped Europe's opportunities, 00:02:03.210 --> 00:02:04.810 right from the very beginning. 00:02:04.810 --> 00:02:07.780 The continent is flanked to the north, the south 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:10.400 and the west by seas and oceans. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:13.270 68,000 kilometers of coast, 00:02:13.270 --> 00:02:15.950 three times more than the United States. 00:02:15.950 --> 00:02:19.000 Crossing the water was the only way to expand. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.610 For people desperate to escape overpopulation, 00:02:21.610 --> 00:02:25.100 poverty, war and hunger, there was no other option 00:02:25.100 --> 00:02:26.400 but to leave by sea. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:28.800 And that's still true today. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.530 Europeans have always been driven by a thirst 00:02:31.530 --> 00:02:34.020 for adventure, a lust for power 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:35.683 and not least, by greed. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.170 And their geographical destiny 00:02:39.170 --> 00:02:41.683 ensured that they were excellent seafarers. 00:02:43.690 --> 00:02:47.250 The Vikings construct seaworthy ships and set sail. 00:02:47.250 --> 00:02:51.360 1,200 years before our era, they flee the harsh 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:54.040 and unforgiving climate of the European north, 00:02:54.040 --> 00:02:57.450 constantly seeking new targets for their raids. 00:02:57.450 --> 00:03:00.510 They're talented shipbuilders and navigators, 00:03:00.510 --> 00:03:02.870 but their brutal conquests soon make them 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:05.924 one of the most feared peoples in Europe. 00:03:05.924 --> 00:03:08.674 (dramatic music) 00:03:09.570 --> 00:03:14.130 It begins on a June night in the year 793, 00:03:14.130 --> 00:03:17.500 with a raid on the island monastery of Lindisfarne, 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:19.470 off the coast of northern England. 00:03:19.470 --> 00:03:22.330 The monks are peacefully going about their work 00:03:22.330 --> 00:03:26.570 when they notice the ships rapidly approaching the island. 00:03:26.570 --> 00:03:29.673 They sense disaster, the first Viking raid. 00:03:30.559 --> 00:03:33.612 (church bell ringing) 00:03:33.612 --> 00:03:36.362 (dramatic music) 00:03:38.310 --> 00:03:42.170 The Vikings storm the monastery, armed with swords and axes, 00:03:42.170 --> 00:03:44.230 slaughtering the terrified monks. 00:03:44.230 --> 00:03:45.650 It's a bloodbath. 00:03:45.650 --> 00:03:48.010 The raiders plunder the monastery of its gold, 00:03:48.010 --> 00:03:51.490 silver, gemstones and anything else that looks valuable. 00:03:51.490 --> 00:03:54.580 They soon make a name for themselves all over Europe 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:56.520 with their hit-and-run raids. 00:03:56.520 --> 00:03:59.600 People everywhere utter the pray, Oh, Lord, 00:03:59.600 --> 00:04:02.173 protect us from the wrath of the Northmen. 00:04:03.128 --> 00:04:05.878 (dramatic music) 00:04:11.070 --> 00:04:13.100 But the Vikings push the boundaries 00:04:13.100 --> 00:04:15.770 of their territory further and further. 00:04:15.770 --> 00:04:17.590 Eventually, they become more than just 00:04:17.590 --> 00:04:20.170 the terrifying raiders from the far north. 00:04:20.170 --> 00:04:25.020 They evolve into a well equipped, confident maritime power. 00:04:25.020 --> 00:04:27.300 They discover Iceland and Greenland, 00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:29.920 and they advance as far as Newfoundland, 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:31.570 where they establish settlements. 00:04:32.702 --> 00:04:36.190 (dramatic music) 00:04:36.190 --> 00:04:39.163 They were the first to land on the coast of North America 00:04:39.163 --> 00:04:42.050 1,000 years ago, but it was in Europe 00:04:42.050 --> 00:04:45.110 that they really left their mark, and their legendary raids 00:04:45.110 --> 00:04:47.300 aren't the only thing they're remembered for. 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:49.130 Many regions bear the name. 00:04:49.130 --> 00:04:52.740 Normandy in France is named after these Northmen, 00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:54.980 and here, where I'm standing, on the shores 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:57.570 of the Gulf of Finland, the Northmen were known 00:04:57.570 --> 00:04:59.800 as the Russ, or the Rowers. 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:03.900 And that's why today this part of Europe is called Russia. 00:05:03.900 --> 00:05:05.850 The Vikings certainly got around in Europe. 00:05:05.850 --> 00:05:08.390 They made themselves at home wherever they went, 00:05:08.390 --> 00:05:11.420 and these erstwhile terrorists from the north 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:13.310 created what was essentially 00:05:13.310 --> 00:05:16.190 the continent's first economic union. 00:05:16.190 --> 00:05:19.010 Networks and interconnections of this kind 00:05:19.010 --> 00:05:22.133 enhanced the cohesion of Europe as a cultural space. 00:05:26.550 --> 00:05:28.373 Westminster Abbey in London. 00:05:29.410 --> 00:05:32.570 Mont St. Michel in northern France. 00:05:32.570 --> 00:05:34.900 And deep in the south of Italy, 00:05:34.900 --> 00:05:38.800 the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:40.600 The Vikings also made their mark 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:42.780 on the continent's architecture. 00:05:42.780 --> 00:05:46.000 The impressive Norman citadel known as the Castel del Monte 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:48.810 later used as a palace by the Wornschtalfen dynasty, 00:05:48.810 --> 00:05:49.973 is a case in point. 00:05:51.200 --> 00:05:53.960 European marketplaces become a lot more 00:05:53.960 --> 00:05:56.030 colorful thanks to the Vikings. 00:05:56.030 --> 00:05:59.030 They're able to offer a broader range of merchandise, 00:05:59.030 --> 00:06:01.240 including more exotic items. 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.480 Traders return from long journeys with luxury goods. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.550 Initially intended for the nobility, 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:10.020 these products soon begin to find a wider market. 00:06:10.020 --> 00:06:14.017 And spices from India are the best sellers of all. 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:23.080 The Vikings pave the way, and German merchants 00:06:23.080 --> 00:06:25.100 soon follow in their footsteps, 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:27.600 creating the Hanseatic League. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.000 Good business is always the goal. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.830 Trade missions spring up in the north and east. 00:06:32.830 --> 00:06:36.824 There are up to 300 flourishing Hanseatic cities. 00:06:36.824 --> 00:06:39.574 (dramatic music) 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:47.650 The trade in furs, pelts, wood, grain and beer 00:06:47.650 --> 00:06:49.390 is highly lucrative. 00:06:49.390 --> 00:06:51.630 The merchants grow immensely wealthy, 00:06:51.630 --> 00:06:53.730 and their influence increases accordingly. 00:06:57.150 --> 00:07:00.823 Hanseatic shipping is now driving the European economy. 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.210 German merchants open a trading post 00:07:04.210 --> 00:07:07.430 in the Flemish city of Bruges in 1235. 00:07:07.430 --> 00:07:10.420 The Venice of the north, Bruges is the hub 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.080 of the Hanseatic League and will grow to become 00:07:13.080 --> 00:07:16.280 the wealthiest and most powerful Hanseatic city. 00:07:16.280 --> 00:07:18.500 The traveling merchants from Germany establish 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:20.640 growing numbers of local trading posts 00:07:20.640 --> 00:07:23.200 in places like Bergen in Norway, 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:25.143 where the fish trade is thriving. 00:07:29.310 --> 00:07:33.580 These entrepose provide the Germans with safe quarters 00:07:33.580 --> 00:07:35.260 in foreign countries. 00:07:35.260 --> 00:07:38.330 And by the high Middle Ages, the Hanseatic League 00:07:38.330 --> 00:07:41.300 is a brand worth protecting, with the reputation 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:44.300 for reliability and fair dealing. 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:46.630 That's not to say that these early European traders 00:07:46.630 --> 00:07:48.960 didn't have a keen nose for business. 00:07:48.960 --> 00:07:52.423 They expanded their trade routes all the way to Russia. 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:59.210 Even today, you can feel the spirit of the Hanseatic League 00:07:59.210 --> 00:08:02.090 in cities such as Tallinn in Estonia, 00:08:02.090 --> 00:08:04.177 formerly known as Revala. 00:08:04.177 --> 00:08:06.927 (dramatic music) 00:08:09.820 --> 00:08:13.130 The Hanseatic League is an early form 00:08:13.130 --> 00:08:14.660 of the European Union. 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:17.170 Trade routes are increasingly tight-knit, 00:08:17.170 --> 00:08:19.370 and a new system of logistics is developing 00:08:19.370 --> 00:08:20.750 in northern Europe. 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:24.050 The League maintains ties outside of its member countries 00:08:24.050 --> 00:08:26.300 as well, including with the republic of Venice, 00:08:26.300 --> 00:08:28.120 which becomes a vital hub. 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:31.490 In fact, the flourishing trade and resulting prosperity 00:08:31.490 --> 00:08:34.550 allows the Venetians to expand their fleet. 00:08:34.550 --> 00:08:37.300 They dominate trade throughout the entire Mediterranean 00:08:37.300 --> 00:08:39.920 region, with their hundreds of ship. 00:08:39.920 --> 00:08:42.580 The Venetians' share of influence extends 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:45.360 from the east coast of the Adriatic Sea 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.960 to Constantinople, Syria and Lebanon, 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:52.580 and across the Black Sea, all the way to Asia. 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:54.860 But that's not enough for the Europeans. 00:08:54.860 --> 00:08:57.299 They want to go even further. 00:08:57.299 --> 00:09:00.049 (dramatic music) 00:09:01.280 --> 00:09:04.140 Europeans become engrossed in speculations 00:09:04.140 --> 00:09:06.970 about the world beyond the world they know. 00:09:06.970 --> 00:09:08.940 They know that the Earth is round, 00:09:08.940 --> 00:09:12.010 but they have no idea of what lies beyond the horizon. 00:09:19.940 --> 00:09:22.220 Why did the Renaissance become an era 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:24.880 of European world exploration? 00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:27.170 Was it intellectual curiosity 00:09:27.170 --> 00:09:30.130 or the competitive ambition of powerful states 00:09:30.130 --> 00:09:32.040 determined to deny each other 00:09:32.040 --> 00:09:34.510 the advantages of new possessions? 00:09:34.510 --> 00:09:37.550 The Spaniards and the Portuguese were the first. 00:09:37.550 --> 00:09:39.950 The Dutch, the British and the French 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:42.240 followed hard on their heels. 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:45.202 Whatever drove them to make these perilous journeys, 00:09:45.202 --> 00:09:46.920 one thing is clear. 00:09:46.920 --> 00:09:48.963 The world would never be the same again. 00:09:50.300 --> 00:09:54.110 The race is on to find an ocean route to India. 00:09:54.110 --> 00:09:57.860 Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus is working on a plan. 00:09:57.860 --> 00:09:59.860 He offers it to the Portuguese, 00:09:59.860 --> 00:10:02.730 but they dismiss him as a madman. 00:10:02.730 --> 00:10:04.980 He carefully studies the Book of the Marvels 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:08.270 of the World by Marco Polo, in which the Italian explorer 00:10:08.270 --> 00:10:11.060 details his adventurous journey to Asia. 00:10:11.060 --> 00:10:12.590 The book is a bestseller in Europe 00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:15.983 and feeds a desire to know unknown worlds. 00:10:16.982 --> 00:10:20.240 (upbeat music) 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.900 Perhaps Columbus can convince the Spanish to fund his plan. 00:10:23.900 --> 00:10:25.480 But that's no easy task. 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:28.950 He spends more than five years begging Queen Isabella 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.960 of Spain before she finally gives in. 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:36.130 Columbus is entrusted with the task of finding gold. 00:10:36.130 --> 00:10:39.623 Why? Because the Spanish crown is bankrupt. 00:10:44.770 --> 00:10:48.510 Columbus sets sail in the summer of 1492. 00:10:48.510 --> 00:10:51.640 His crew consists of ruffians, murderers 00:10:51.640 --> 00:10:53.970 and thieves who have nothing to lose, 00:10:53.970 --> 00:10:56.640 not what you might call a seaworthy team. 00:10:56.640 --> 00:10:58.840 He's unable to attract better men. 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:02.313 The fear of the end of the world is simply too powerful. 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.100 Columbus grossly underestimates the size of the globe. 00:11:07.100 --> 00:11:09.190 He thinks he's on his way to India. 00:11:09.190 --> 00:11:11.630 The Atlantic Ocean seems endless, 00:11:11.630 --> 00:11:14.465 but then, finally, land ho. 00:11:14.465 --> 00:11:17.215 (dramatic music) 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.200 After more than two months of uncertainty, 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:24.520 it seems that the sailor's prayers have been answered. 00:11:24.520 --> 00:11:27.350 The team of three ships has been on the verge of mutiny 00:11:27.350 --> 00:11:31.800 more than once, but finally, the sailors fish some reeds 00:11:31.800 --> 00:11:35.380 and a few twigs with berries on them out of the sea. 00:11:35.380 --> 00:11:36.603 Harbingers of land. 00:11:37.730 --> 00:11:40.060 The sailors are fascinated with the flora 00:11:40.060 --> 00:11:42.240 and fauna on this unfamiliar shore. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:44.617 Christopher Columbus writes in his journal, 00:11:44.617 --> 00:11:47.187 "Upon disembarking we saw a landscape 00:11:47.187 --> 00:11:51.127 "with very green trees, many streams of water 00:11:51.127 --> 00:11:53.517 "and diverse sorts of fruits." 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:01.720 Columbus is itching to seize this land. 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.490 He has enough witnesses and his crew even includes 00:12:04.490 --> 00:12:07.780 a notary to certify the entire process. 00:12:07.780 --> 00:12:10.150 Of course, the question that has them all 00:12:10.150 --> 00:12:12.360 on the edge of their seats is whether 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.570 or not the land is inhabited. 00:12:14.570 --> 00:12:17.770 After all, part of their mission is to find the natives 00:12:17.770 --> 00:12:20.060 and convert them to Christianity. 00:12:20.060 --> 00:12:22.090 When they do eventually meet the locals, 00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:23.890 both sides are curious. 00:12:23.890 --> 00:12:26.930 Columbus would later report, "I was very attentive 00:12:26.930 --> 00:12:30.534 to them, and strove to learn if they had any gold." 00:12:30.534 --> 00:12:33.284 (dramatic music) 00:12:38.110 --> 00:12:42.083 And he succeeded in the name of God and the Spanish crown. 00:12:50.350 --> 00:12:54.260 The native peoples, on the other hand, are baffled. 00:12:54.260 --> 00:12:56.960 They had never seen white men before. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.370 Things would ultimately end badly for them, 00:12:59.370 --> 00:13:01.810 but the first encounters remained peaceful. 00:13:01.810 --> 00:13:04.830 While the natives innocently marveled at the new arrivals, 00:13:04.830 --> 00:13:08.910 Columbus and his men already have very clear goals in mind. 00:13:08.910 --> 00:13:10.890 Two worlds collide here. 00:13:10.890 --> 00:13:13.780 The islanders have no concept of ownership. 00:13:13.780 --> 00:13:16.540 They believe the land belongs to everyone. 00:13:16.540 --> 00:13:20.220 The Europeans, on the other hand, want to annex territory, 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:22.170 convert people to Christianity 00:13:22.170 --> 00:13:25.510 and exploit both the land and its inhabitants. 00:13:25.510 --> 00:13:28.503 This is where the fatal race for resources begins. 00:13:28.503 --> 00:13:32.170 (speaking foreign language) 00:13:33.970 --> 00:13:37.390 Columbus calls the natives Indians. 00:13:37.390 --> 00:13:40.410 He is thoroughly convinced that he is in India. 00:13:40.410 --> 00:13:43.600 He finds the people to be friendly and not at all dangerous. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.630 He believes they would make excellent slaves. 00:13:46.630 --> 00:13:50.910 But he has actually landed on the Bahamas in the Caribbean. 00:13:50.910 --> 00:13:53.480 And although he doesn't find any gold, 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:57.583 he is standing on the threshold of an unknown continent. 00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:08.030 The Behaim Erdapfel, the oldest globe 00:14:08.030 --> 00:14:09.770 still in existence today, 00:14:09.770 --> 00:14:13.603 was created in the very year Columbus sailed to the west. 00:14:14.560 --> 00:14:18.050 All the geographical information Europeans were aware of 00:14:18.050 --> 00:14:21.110 at that time is included on this globe. 00:14:21.110 --> 00:14:23.120 But its precision naturally varies 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.520 from continent to continent. 00:14:25.670 --> 00:14:30.470 The Atlantic extends all the way from Europe to Asia. 00:14:30.470 --> 00:14:32.680 Both continents are a bit too big, 00:14:32.680 --> 00:14:35.070 and there's nothing in between them. 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:36.840 Or is there something? 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:38.413 A terra incognita. 00:14:44.260 --> 00:14:46.870 But why did all of this originate from Europe 00:14:46.870 --> 00:14:49.180 and not from what was then an already powerful 00:14:49.180 --> 00:14:52.000 and technologically advanced China? 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:53.710 When the third emperor of the Ming dynasty 00:14:53.710 --> 00:14:56.560 ascended the throne in 1402, he sent out 00:14:56.560 --> 00:15:00.020 a gigantic fleet to sail to Africa and Arabia, 00:15:00.020 --> 00:15:02.080 but when he died, the new emperor received 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:04.130 a memorandum from his advisers. 00:15:04.130 --> 00:15:07.197 They wrote, "Your servants hope that your majesty 00:15:07.197 --> 00:15:10.557 "will not permit warlike plans and the gaining of glory 00:15:10.557 --> 00:15:13.057 "by expeditions to distant lands. 00:15:13.057 --> 00:15:15.660 "Give your people a period of rest." 00:15:15.660 --> 00:15:18.160 Whereupon the new emperor promptly decreed 00:15:18.160 --> 00:15:20.670 that high seas navigation would henceforth 00:15:20.670 --> 00:15:22.760 be punishable by death. 00:15:22.760 --> 00:15:24.670 The Chinese leadership simply had 00:15:24.670 --> 00:15:26.980 little interest in the outside world. 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:29.240 China sufficed unto itself. 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:31.960 Moreover, they had only one ruler. 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.330 Power was focused in one place. 00:15:34.330 --> 00:15:35.870 There was no competition, 00:15:35.870 --> 00:15:38.450 not at least in the world of power politics. 00:15:38.450 --> 00:15:42.160 In Europe, almost as big as China, everything was different. 00:15:42.160 --> 00:15:44.640 It was shared among many sovereign territories, 00:15:44.640 --> 00:15:46.180 with just as many rulers. 00:15:46.180 --> 00:15:48.050 And they kept goading each other on, 00:15:48.050 --> 00:15:49.420 even as they set their sights 00:15:49.420 --> 00:15:51.600 beyond the margins of the continent. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.900 Discoveries and conquests became weapons 00:15:54.900 --> 00:15:57.070 in a continental power struggle. 00:15:57.070 --> 00:16:00.178 To prevail in the struggle, you had to be open 00:16:00.178 --> 00:16:02.528 to new ideas and always ready for the big move. 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:07.300 Hordes of armed men follow Columbus to the New World. 00:16:07.300 --> 00:16:09.150 They have nothing to lose in Spain, 00:16:09.150 --> 00:16:12.410 and they hope to find a better future across the ocean. 00:16:12.410 --> 00:16:15.930 They board ships heading west, and along with their horses, 00:16:15.930 --> 00:16:18.183 they advance deep into Central America. 00:16:19.468 --> 00:16:22.218 (dramatic music) 00:16:23.640 --> 00:16:27.470 This land must harbor incredible treasures, they think. 00:16:27.470 --> 00:16:30.280 Legends like El Dorado, a Central American ruler 00:16:30.280 --> 00:16:33.620 so rich that he supposedly covers himself in gold dust 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:36.180 every morning and washes it off every evening 00:16:36.180 --> 00:16:39.050 in a sacred lake, only served to increase 00:16:39.050 --> 00:16:40.870 their thirst for adventure. 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:43.980 But where is El Dorado, and where are his piles 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:45.143 of gold and silver? 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.770 The conquest of the New World offers immense opportunities 00:16:49.770 --> 00:16:51.780 to the restless, underemployed men 00:16:51.780 --> 00:16:53.580 of the Iberian Peninsula. 00:16:53.580 --> 00:16:57.130 As conquistadores, they strike deep inroads 00:16:57.130 --> 00:16:59.330 into the Americas, driven by greed, 00:16:59.330 --> 00:17:02.739 missionary zeal, and the desire for status. 00:17:02.739 --> 00:17:05.156 (soft music) 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:15.970 The main competitors of the Spanish are the Portuguese, 00:17:15.970 --> 00:17:18.420 an experienced seafaring nation. 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:21.700 They too have an insatiable desire to explore the world 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:23.670 in search of opportunities that will give them 00:17:23.670 --> 00:17:25.720 an advantage over their rivals. 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:28.083 Five years after the discovery of America, 00:17:28.925 --> 00:17:31.380 explorers Vasco da Gama and Bartolmeu Dias 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:32.740 set off for India. 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:35.020 They round the dreaded Cape of Good Hope 00:17:35.020 --> 00:17:37.630 at the southern tip of Africa and become the first 00:17:37.630 --> 00:17:41.043 Europeans to actually make it to India via this route. 00:17:42.155 --> 00:17:44.905 (dramatic music) 00:17:47.790 --> 00:17:50.540 There's an astonishing dynamism to this process 00:17:50.540 --> 00:17:52.590 of European expansion. 00:17:52.590 --> 00:17:56.040 Competition with the Spanish crown drives the Portuguese 00:17:56.040 --> 00:17:59.740 to keep extending the range of their operations. 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:02.120 And the extraordinary success of this small 00:18:02.120 --> 00:18:04.260 European country suggests that they 00:18:04.260 --> 00:18:06.323 must be doing something right. 00:18:12.100 --> 00:18:14.510 It was with these ships, caravels, 00:18:14.510 --> 00:18:16.950 that the Portuguese first reached Africa, 00:18:16.950 --> 00:18:19.230 India, Brazil and Japan. 00:18:19.230 --> 00:18:21.710 Without such craft, and their later and larger 00:18:21.710 --> 00:18:24.210 follow-up versions, the Europeans wouldn't have 00:18:24.210 --> 00:18:26.600 discovered anything, let alone conquered it. 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:28.910 And what lay behind them was nothing less 00:18:28.910 --> 00:18:31.030 than cutting-edge technology. 00:18:31.030 --> 00:18:34.060 The caravel was the space shuttle of its era. 00:18:34.060 --> 00:18:37.920 Very fast, extremely stable, storm-resistant 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:41.220 and able to navigate in shallow coastal waters. 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:43.870 Incidentally, there are virtually no written records 00:18:43.870 --> 00:18:46.570 of how this breakthrough invention was achieved. 00:18:46.570 --> 00:18:48.510 It was all kept secret. 00:18:48.510 --> 00:18:51.130 The shipbuilders passed their knowledge from generation 00:18:51.130 --> 00:18:53.830 to generation by word of mouth. 00:18:53.830 --> 00:18:57.453 After all, the competition was always watching. 00:18:59.330 --> 00:19:02.790 European audiences are enthralled by the explorers' 00:19:02.790 --> 00:19:06.260 travel journals and by the stories of their adventures, 00:19:06.260 --> 00:19:08.720 which describe breathtaking landscapes 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.693 with lavish natural wonders around every corner. 00:19:12.600 --> 00:19:15.720 A life of prosperity and abundance seems possible there. 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.370 The natives surely must be doing well for themselves, 00:19:18.370 --> 00:19:20.610 if they can afford the kind of spices 00:19:20.610 --> 00:19:23.887 only possessed by the wealthiest Europeans. 00:19:23.887 --> 00:19:25.640 (dramatic music) 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:28.340 In the race for conquest outside of Europe, 00:19:28.340 --> 00:19:31.300 Spain and Portugal remain bitter competitors. 00:19:31.300 --> 00:19:35.183 Now the pope plans to step in to arbitrate the conflict. 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:40.920 In 1494, a treaty is negotiated in Spain 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.040 to regulate each country's holdings. 00:19:43.040 --> 00:19:47.103 Using a simple method, the world is divided into two halves. 00:19:52.760 --> 00:19:55.470 You, servant, take this cord 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:57.123 and stretch it across the map. 00:19:58.280 --> 00:19:59.483 Right down the middle. 00:20:07.510 --> 00:20:08.513 Like this. 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:11.729 That's how we'll divide the world. 00:20:11.729 --> 00:20:13.396 No, that won't do. 00:20:15.630 --> 00:20:17.403 You, move more to the right. 00:20:20.040 --> 00:20:23.100 Further, further, and you, the other, 00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:24.240 further to the left. 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:27.473 Good. 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:31.890 That's how the border should be. 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:33.633 Here is my part, and-- 00:20:33.633 --> 00:20:35.010 No! 00:20:35.010 --> 00:20:36.478 No way. 00:20:36.478 --> 00:20:39.228 (dramatic music) 00:20:41.290 --> 00:20:43.840 The Treaty of Tordesillas is intended 00:20:43.840 --> 00:20:47.500 to establish a definitive peace between the two rivals. 00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:50.840 America to the west of this randomly fixed line 00:20:50.840 --> 00:20:53.520 is promised to the Spanish kings, while all 00:20:53.520 --> 00:20:57.330 the territory to the east, meaning Africa and Asia, 00:20:57.330 --> 00:20:59.020 goes to the Portuguese. 00:20:59.020 --> 00:21:01.070 The treaty doesn't even consider the other 00:21:01.070 --> 00:21:04.090 maritime powers such as England and Holland. 00:21:04.090 --> 00:21:07.860 The conflict over global wealth now begins in earnest, 00:21:07.860 --> 00:21:10.650 and the competition among the European powers 00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:12.043 grows even fiercer. 00:21:13.900 --> 00:21:15.490 Everything changed. 00:21:15.490 --> 00:21:18.000 Europe's view of the world, its prosperity, 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.460 its greed for more and more. 00:21:20.460 --> 00:21:23.080 The violence of this conflicted continent 00:21:23.080 --> 00:21:25.770 was projected outwards onto other peoples, 00:21:25.770 --> 00:21:27.910 with horrific consequences. 00:21:27.910 --> 00:21:31.260 The explorers were followed by the conquerors. 00:21:31.260 --> 00:21:34.750 They set out into a strange and unfamiliar world, 00:21:34.750 --> 00:21:37.570 lured by legendary treasures and adventure. 00:21:37.570 --> 00:21:39.550 Mexico is a good example. 00:21:39.550 --> 00:21:43.520 Hernan Cortes brings an army with him right from the start. 00:21:43.520 --> 00:21:46.240 The conquerors view this new territory as their property, 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:47.920 as though no one lives here. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:50.630 But of course there are already people and cultures 00:21:50.630 --> 00:21:52.460 inhabiting these territories. 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:54.903 This is Europe's original sin. 00:21:55.800 --> 00:21:58.130 By the time the Europeans arrive, 00:21:58.130 --> 00:22:01.780 Mexico is the center of a highly advanced civilization. 00:22:01.780 --> 00:22:03.800 But the conquerors are unimpressed. 00:22:03.800 --> 00:22:06.700 Their goal is to strip the country's assets 00:22:06.700 --> 00:22:08.820 and Christianize the population. 00:22:08.820 --> 00:22:11.530 We used to admire these fearless adventurers. 00:22:11.530 --> 00:22:14.130 We'd forgotten what misery they inflicted 00:22:14.130 --> 00:22:15.830 on so much of humanity. 00:22:15.830 --> 00:22:19.530 Gold is abundantly available on this continent. 00:22:19.530 --> 00:22:22.810 It's a highly visible feature of indigenous culture. 00:22:22.810 --> 00:22:25.380 And the Mexicans who use and display it 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:27.960 have no idea of the lust this treasure 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:30.106 excites in the European invaders. 00:22:30.106 --> 00:22:32.856 (dramatic music) 00:22:34.600 --> 00:22:37.940 The war against the native peoples begins. 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:40.430 It's arrows versus firearms, 00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:43.820 entire peoples are enslaved, killed off 00:22:43.820 --> 00:22:46.850 or perish from disease and malnutrition. 00:22:46.850 --> 00:22:48.890 Their culture is destroyed. 00:22:48.890 --> 00:22:50.940 Their treasures are carted off to Europe. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:56.210 What's more, the Europeans pit the continent's 00:22:56.210 --> 00:22:58.750 various ethnic groups against each other. 00:22:58.750 --> 00:23:02.800 The Aztec temple in modern-day Mexico City is leveled. 00:23:02.800 --> 00:23:05.380 On its foundations, the Spaniards construct 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:07.610 a Christian cathedral. 00:23:07.610 --> 00:23:11.100 Europeans destroy a powerful empire 00:23:11.100 --> 00:23:13.590 and build their own on its ruins. 00:23:13.590 --> 00:23:16.340 (dramatic music) 00:23:28.784 --> 00:23:30.680 It was a potent mix. 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:33.950 In South America, Western European imperialism 00:23:33.950 --> 00:23:36.050 blended with religious zeal. 00:23:36.050 --> 00:23:39.590 And so the new lords set the stamp of their authority 00:23:39.590 --> 00:23:41.980 on the lands and people they captured. 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.310 Many of the cities on the conquered continent 00:23:44.310 --> 00:23:46.590 still bear the signs of it today. 00:23:46.590 --> 00:23:48.810 Their models were palatial monasteries, 00:23:48.810 --> 00:23:51.000 such as the Mosteiro Jeronimos, 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.980 or Jeronimos Monastery, in Lisbon. 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:56.950 Imagine the effect of such prideful, 00:23:56.950 --> 00:24:00.623 elaborately decorated facades on the indigenous peoples. 00:24:01.990 --> 00:24:04.630 The Europeans profit not only from the continent's 00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:07.450 gold and silver, but also from the natives' 00:24:07.450 --> 00:24:10.240 agricultural and medical knowledge. 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:12.870 In today's globalized world, it's virtually impossible 00:24:12.870 --> 00:24:16.670 to imagine how deep the impact of these encounters was. 00:24:16.670 --> 00:24:20.400 There's profound change on both sides of the Atlantic. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.890 Foods that had never been seen in Europe before 00:24:22.890 --> 00:24:25.270 revolutionize the European diet. 00:24:25.270 --> 00:24:29.830 Corn, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, coffee and chocolate 00:24:29.830 --> 00:24:32.673 made their way into Europeans' shopping baskets. 00:24:38.080 --> 00:24:41.580 After the introduction of the South American potato, 00:24:41.580 --> 00:24:44.570 Europeans finally have enough to eat. 00:24:44.570 --> 00:24:46.610 Soon, the population explodes. 00:24:46.610 --> 00:24:49.910 You might even say that the American potato helped to lay 00:24:49.910 --> 00:24:53.420 the foundation for Europe's rise as a global power. 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:55.020 It fed the masses. 00:24:55.020 --> 00:24:57.770 (dramatic music) 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:04.670 And in return, America gets grain crops, 00:25:04.670 --> 00:25:08.460 cabbage, wine grapes, and most importantly, 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:11.440 domesticated European animals. 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.160 The settlers now arriving in America 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:15.710 bring pigs, cows and horses. 00:25:15.710 --> 00:25:19.510 Life completely changes within just a few generations. 00:25:19.510 --> 00:25:22.170 The surviving native peoples gradually establish 00:25:22.170 --> 00:25:25.110 permanent settlements and acquire private property, 00:25:25.110 --> 00:25:26.680 just like the Europeans. 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:29.980 America's prairies become agrarian landscapes. 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.703 A decisive turning point in the continent's ecology. 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:37.023 (upbeat music) 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:43.240 But even a peaceful encounter can 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.100 have terrible consequences. 00:25:45.100 --> 00:25:46.780 The conquerors bring more than just 00:25:46.780 --> 00:25:48.870 their religious faith to the New World. 00:25:48.870 --> 00:25:51.760 They also bring pathogens that spell doom 00:25:51.760 --> 00:25:53.640 for many native peoples. 00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:56.580 Historical records suggest that within a short time, 00:25:56.580 --> 00:26:00.250 as many as 80% of the native population died 00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:04.198 of smallpox, plague, typhoid fever and influenza. 00:26:04.198 --> 00:26:06.948 (dramatic music) 00:26:21.510 --> 00:26:24.190 We can trace the story of this dark chapter 00:26:24.190 --> 00:26:25.570 of the colonial era 00:26:25.570 --> 00:26:28.780 at the Sugar and Slavery Museum in London. 00:26:28.780 --> 00:26:30.380 I've come here to find out more. 00:26:31.486 --> 00:26:33.903 (soft music) 00:26:36.460 --> 00:26:39.360 We're in the Docklands in the heart of London. 00:26:39.360 --> 00:26:42.413 In the 18th century, this was where they traded in sugar. 00:26:44.850 --> 00:26:48.170 It's often demonized today, but in the 18th century, 00:26:48.170 --> 00:26:49.630 it was idolized. 00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:52.140 Sugar was at the center of European dreams 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:53.780 of power and wealth. 00:26:53.780 --> 00:26:56.880 The desire for sweetness is deeply embedded 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.430 in the genetic makeup of human beings. 00:26:59.430 --> 00:27:02.690 The demand for colonial sugar was insatiable. 00:27:02.690 --> 00:27:06.430 In the years between 1770 and 1775, 00:27:06.430 --> 00:27:09.730 sugar consumption in England rose eight-fold. 00:27:09.730 --> 00:27:12.720 No other commodity, not even gold and silver, 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.650 could match it for importance. 00:27:14.650 --> 00:27:17.360 No other commodity so drastically exemplifies 00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:20.640 the destructive impact of European consumption. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:23.550 And no other product is so closely intertwined 00:27:23.550 --> 00:27:27.060 with the exploitation of Central and South America, 00:27:27.060 --> 00:27:29.860 and the degradation of the human beings who lived there. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.773 But exactly how did this system of exploitation operate? 00:27:39.350 --> 00:27:42.410 The Caribbean became the object of intense competition 00:27:42.410 --> 00:27:44.480 among the European colonial powers. 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:48.130 Alongside Spain, France, the Netherlands and England 00:27:48.130 --> 00:27:50.070 also became increasingly hungry 00:27:50.070 --> 00:27:52.010 for goods from the Caribbean. 00:27:52.010 --> 00:27:54.890 In the process, human beings themselves 00:27:54.890 --> 00:27:57.710 were degraded to the status of commodities. 00:27:57.710 --> 00:28:00.130 The more colonies the Europeans acquired, 00:28:00.130 --> 00:28:01.810 the more workers they needed. 00:28:01.810 --> 00:28:03.990 Networks of African traders provided 00:28:03.990 --> 00:28:05.720 the Europeans with slaves. 00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:08.310 These were shipped to North America and the Caribbean 00:28:08.310 --> 00:28:10.670 to be exploited on sugar plantations. 00:28:10.670 --> 00:28:13.810 Ships transported the products of the slave system 00:28:13.810 --> 00:28:17.200 to an insatiable England, and the next slave raid 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:19.120 in Africa followed soon after. 00:28:19.120 --> 00:28:22.420 This triangular trade became the most lucrative branch 00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:26.220 of maritime commerce, until in 1807, 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:29.383 a law put an end to the slave trade in England. 00:28:31.490 --> 00:28:34.990 The Europeans' contempt for the black population 00:28:34.990 --> 00:28:36.750 is a decisive factor here. 00:28:36.750 --> 00:28:40.490 They're treated as goods, not as people with rights, 00:28:40.490 --> 00:28:43.700 and the slave trade is shockingly lucrative. 00:28:43.700 --> 00:28:46.770 In collusion with tribal chiefs and Arab slave traders, 00:28:46.770 --> 00:28:49.520 the Europeans capture the natives and transport them 00:28:49.520 --> 00:28:52.330 to harbor towns, where they're shipped to the colonies 00:28:52.330 --> 00:28:55.686 in slave galleys in abhorrent conditions. 00:28:55.686 --> 00:28:58.436 (dramatic music) 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:04.890 The atrocity of slavery would make Europe rich and powerful. 00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:07.220 This continent's ascendancy was secured 00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:10.013 at an immense cost in human suffering. 00:29:18.600 --> 00:29:20.690 There are registers in which the slaves 00:29:20.690 --> 00:29:22.780 were listed as if they were cattle. 00:29:22.780 --> 00:29:25.320 On this list here, we see on the left-hand side 00:29:25.320 --> 00:29:28.710 the names of each of the slaves, then their ages, 00:29:28.710 --> 00:29:30.850 here the price that was paid for them, 00:29:30.850 --> 00:29:34.630 and on the right hand remarks on each individual. 00:29:34.630 --> 00:29:37.320 That he's sickly, that he is a good Negro, 00:29:37.320 --> 00:29:41.120 a good hand, that he is a runaway. 00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:43.450 That he's slightly consumptive. 00:29:43.450 --> 00:29:46.223 Human beings are treated as commodities. 00:29:48.090 --> 00:29:51.590 There are approximately 40,000 slave transports 00:29:51.590 --> 00:29:53.370 from Africa to America. 00:29:53.370 --> 00:29:56.230 12 million people are shipped on slave galleys, 00:29:56.230 --> 00:29:58.440 but only around 10 million of them 00:29:58.440 --> 00:30:00.870 are still alive when they arrive. 00:30:00.870 --> 00:30:03.210 They are processed through the slave markets 00:30:03.210 --> 00:30:05.000 and spend the rest of their lives 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.900 on sugar plantations, cotton fields 00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:09.743 or in the mines of South America. 00:30:12.360 --> 00:30:14.420 The goods produced in the New World 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:16.080 are then sent back to Europe, 00:30:16.080 --> 00:30:19.406 a profitable cycle for white Europeans. 00:30:19.406 --> 00:30:22.156 (dramatic music) 00:30:23.760 --> 00:30:27.260 Spain and Portugal proudly show off their new wealth. 00:30:27.260 --> 00:30:29.550 Cities like Seville and Lisbon 00:30:29.550 --> 00:30:32.250 grow into radiant, bustling metropolises, 00:30:32.250 --> 00:30:34.440 sparking envy among their neighbors. 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:37.230 Europe is dominated by relentless competition 00:30:37.230 --> 00:30:38.540 for profit and power. 00:30:38.540 --> 00:30:40.270 Other countries shoulder their way 00:30:40.270 --> 00:30:41.763 into the global marketplace. 00:30:43.070 --> 00:30:45.250 The Dutch are particularly active here 00:30:45.250 --> 00:30:47.370 as merchants and as pirates. 00:30:47.370 --> 00:30:50.210 With its powerful fleet and modern financial system, 00:30:50.210 --> 00:30:54.220 this tiny republic keeps its European neighbors on edge. 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:57.130 The merchants' impressive homes still bear witness 00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:00.123 to that golden era in the Netherlands' history. 00:31:01.055 --> 00:31:03.805 (dramatic music) 00:31:05.660 --> 00:31:08.120 The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is established 00:31:08.120 --> 00:31:10.240 in the early 17th century. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:12.760 It's a meeting spot for people who want to invest 00:31:12.760 --> 00:31:15.230 their money in securities, as well as for those 00:31:15.230 --> 00:31:18.240 who hope to turn their securities into money. 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:20.210 In that sense, this stock market 00:31:20.210 --> 00:31:23.603 is an early form of exchange, or trading, floor. 00:31:26.370 --> 00:31:28.310 And like today's stock markets, 00:31:28.310 --> 00:31:30.900 this one had its bubbles and busts. 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:33.480 This was the era of the tulip craze. 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:36.320 These beautiful flowers had become a valuable commodity 00:31:36.320 --> 00:31:38.410 hotly traded on the stock exchange, 00:31:38.410 --> 00:31:41.770 even while the tulip bulbs were still in the ground. 00:31:41.770 --> 00:31:46.310 In the winter of 1636, the tulip bubble burst. 00:31:46.310 --> 00:31:50.200 99 bulbs were auctioned off for 90,000 guilders, 00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:53.360 about 900,000 euros in today's money. 00:31:53.360 --> 00:31:56.010 The buyers were speculating that prices would continue 00:31:56.010 --> 00:31:59.160 to rise and they would be able to resell the bulbs 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:01.300 at a profit, but it was not to be. 00:32:01.300 --> 00:32:04.510 People suddenly lost interest in the overpriced flowers, 00:32:04.510 --> 00:32:06.753 and the speculators were left high and dry. 00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:11.010 The wealthy merchants invest in art, 00:32:11.010 --> 00:32:13.680 and the revenues from trade fuel the rise 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:16.020 of the Dutch school whose artists, 00:32:16.020 --> 00:32:17.910 Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals, 00:32:17.910 --> 00:32:21.860 still adorn the museums, reminding us of the opulence 00:32:21.860 --> 00:32:24.443 and sophistication of the Dutch Golden Age. 00:32:25.340 --> 00:32:28.030 (dramatic music) 00:32:28.030 --> 00:32:30.510 Without the profits from the slave trade, 00:32:30.510 --> 00:32:31.893 none of this would be here. 00:32:33.238 --> 00:32:35.405 (popping) 00:32:42.610 --> 00:32:44.530 For the Spanish and the Portuguese, 00:32:44.530 --> 00:32:46.340 converting the heathen to Christianity 00:32:46.340 --> 00:32:49.880 was still an important part of the motivational mix, 00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:52.130 but in the 17th century, Protestants, 00:32:52.130 --> 00:32:53.600 especially in the Netherlands, 00:32:53.600 --> 00:32:56.160 were quite literally at the helm. 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:58.770 As seafarers and cartographers, they had plenty 00:32:58.770 --> 00:33:01.100 of experience, and now they founded 00:33:01.100 --> 00:33:04.070 the world's first multinational concerns, 00:33:04.070 --> 00:33:06.740 corporations with a global remit 00:33:06.740 --> 00:33:09.150 like the Dutch East India Company. 00:33:09.150 --> 00:33:13.060 By this means they secured a monopoly on trade with Asia. 00:33:13.060 --> 00:33:17.290 At times, they had nearly 5,000 ships under sail. 00:33:17.290 --> 00:33:20.070 Hardly surprising then that the merchants of Amsterdam, 00:33:20.070 --> 00:33:23.490 as depicted by Rembrandt, became immensely wealthy 00:33:23.490 --> 00:33:25.773 and built these wonderful palaces. 00:33:30.410 --> 00:33:33.540 No one can deny that this European city 00:33:33.540 --> 00:33:35.890 has a harmonious beauty about it. 00:33:35.890 --> 00:33:37.620 But there's a dark side. 00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:40.390 The lion's share of this wealth was acquired 00:33:40.390 --> 00:33:42.460 through the exploitation of peoples 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:44.460 and of the colonies where they lived. 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:47.543 It's an unsettling legacy that's still with us today. 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:53.900 The odd pediment above a front door in Amsterdam 00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:55.470 still tells the tale. 00:33:55.470 --> 00:33:57.600 Here, for example, this house belonged 00:33:57.600 --> 00:34:00.390 to the famous admiral Cornelis Tromp. 00:34:00.390 --> 00:34:03.350 He was a 17th-century seafaring hero 00:34:03.350 --> 00:34:06.320 and master of many slaves here in Amsterdam. 00:34:06.320 --> 00:34:08.430 And here's a little black boy that the admiral 00:34:08.430 --> 00:34:10.680 bought for perhaps a few guilders. 00:34:10.680 --> 00:34:12.930 The sense of a God-given superiority 00:34:12.930 --> 00:34:15.570 over other humans is breathtaking. 00:34:15.570 --> 00:34:17.470 And Europeans have not found it easy to look 00:34:17.470 --> 00:34:19.500 this part of their history in the eye. 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:21.674 It was only a few years ago that the Dutch queen 00:34:21.674 --> 00:34:23.940 officially acknowledged the suffering 00:34:23.940 --> 00:34:28.940 inflicted on 550,000 slaves in the name of the crown. 00:34:30.540 --> 00:34:33.920 And this dark past is still alive in the present, 00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:35.603 even on the royal carriage. 00:34:37.350 --> 00:34:40.840 But in a Europe that prided itself on its civilization 00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:44.450 and Christian values, were no dissenting voices raised 00:34:44.450 --> 00:34:46.360 against this appalling injustice? 00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:48.980 Well yes there were, and one of these voices 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:52.100 belonged to Bishop Bartolome de las Casas, 00:34:52.100 --> 00:34:54.560 who in the 16th century took up the cause 00:34:54.560 --> 00:34:56.570 of the enslaved native Indians, 00:34:56.570 --> 00:34:58.940 though he only later acknowledged the rights 00:34:58.940 --> 00:35:00.517 of African slaves. 00:35:00.517 --> 00:35:03.507 "It was always unjust to catch them, 00:35:03.507 --> 00:35:06.960 "and it was tyranny to enslave them," he wrote. 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.860 This was probably the first European commitment 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:11.930 to universal human rights. 00:35:11.930 --> 00:35:15.480 But it was not enforced until 200 years later, 00:35:15.480 --> 00:35:18.050 and then, only temporarily. 00:35:18.050 --> 00:35:19.660 (dramatic music) 00:35:19.660 --> 00:35:22.710 England would soon overtake the Netherlands 00:35:22.710 --> 00:35:24.890 as the leading colonial power. 00:35:24.890 --> 00:35:27.290 London become the foremost hub 00:35:27.290 --> 00:35:29.813 and driver of globalization. 00:35:29.813 --> 00:35:32.563 (dramatic music) 00:35:41.351 --> 00:35:43.871 ♪ Rule, Britannia ♪ 00:35:43.871 --> 00:35:46.620 ♪ Britannia, rule the waves ♪ 00:35:46.620 --> 00:35:49.870 It's a fantastically catchy song that still stirs 00:35:49.870 --> 00:35:51.770 the blood of patriots here in England. 00:35:57.080 --> 00:36:00.540 The ascendancy of modern Britain began with a victory 00:36:00.540 --> 00:36:04.490 over the Spanish Armada 450 years ago. 00:36:04.490 --> 00:36:07.690 With a modern naval fleet, Britain did indeed 00:36:07.690 --> 00:36:09.330 soon rule the waves. 00:36:09.330 --> 00:36:12.495 Bankrolled by the raids led by legendary privateers 00:36:12.495 --> 00:36:14.610 like Sir Francis Drake. 00:36:14.610 --> 00:36:17.470 Elizabeth the First was the self-confident queen 00:36:17.470 --> 00:36:20.330 who led her country out of the shadow of Spain 00:36:20.330 --> 00:36:24.680 and Portugal, allowing it to become a global player. 00:36:24.680 --> 00:36:27.030 In a famous portrait of the queen, we see 00:36:27.030 --> 00:36:30.940 the victorious fleet and the sinking armada. 00:36:30.940 --> 00:36:34.240 Elizabeth the First as a goddess of war. 00:36:34.240 --> 00:36:37.810 And here in Westminster Abbey, she rests in peace. 00:36:37.810 --> 00:36:40.740 The Virgin Queen who devoted herself entirely 00:36:40.740 --> 00:36:43.663 to her country and opened the world to England. 00:36:45.177 --> 00:36:47.100 (dramatic music) 00:36:47.100 --> 00:36:49.910 Over the centuries, Britain proves its mettle 00:36:49.910 --> 00:36:52.660 as a naval and colonial power. 00:36:52.660 --> 00:36:56.510 By 1913, the British Empire encompasses about a quarter 00:36:56.510 --> 00:36:59.090 of the world's population and about a quarter 00:36:59.090 --> 00:37:00.703 of its total land area. 00:37:02.680 --> 00:37:05.840 The British navigator Captain James Cook 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:08.850 is in the Pacific to observe the transit of Venus, 00:37:08.850 --> 00:37:11.290 but he has an additional secret task, 00:37:11.290 --> 00:37:14.140 to search for new territories in the South Seas. 00:37:14.140 --> 00:37:16.340 There is already abundant evidence of another 00:37:16.340 --> 00:37:20.580 Southern continent, terra Australus incognita. 00:37:20.580 --> 00:37:21.743 My home country. 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:28.610 On the 29th of April, 1770, James Cook drops anchor 00:37:28.610 --> 00:37:30.310 off the coast of Australia. 00:37:30.310 --> 00:37:32.000 He had set sail from England towards 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:34.590 the South Pacific a year earlier. 00:37:34.590 --> 00:37:36.858 Now, Cook will be the first Englishman to set foot 00:37:36.858 --> 00:37:41.003 on Australian soil, a triumph for the ambitious explorer. 00:37:43.710 --> 00:37:47.200 He goes ashore at a place he will dub Botany Bay 00:37:47.200 --> 00:37:49.210 because the botanists who travel with him 00:37:49.210 --> 00:37:51.560 collect hundreds of plants here that no one 00:37:51.560 --> 00:37:53.940 in Europe has ever seen before. 00:37:53.940 --> 00:37:56.080 Cook claims the east coast of the country 00:37:56.080 --> 00:38:00.085 for the British Empire and names the region New South Wales. 00:38:00.085 --> 00:38:03.430 (waves crashing) 00:38:03.430 --> 00:38:05.580 But the country Cook has discovered 00:38:05.580 --> 00:38:08.120 for England is not uninhabited. 00:38:08.120 --> 00:38:09.920 The Aborigines arrive on the continent 00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:13.020 more than 60,000 years before Cook. 00:38:13.020 --> 00:38:15.620 According to their mythology, they've been entrusted 00:38:15.620 --> 00:38:17.890 with the land by a higher power. 00:38:17.890 --> 00:38:21.240 They populate the country as hunters and gatherers, 00:38:21.240 --> 00:38:24.340 and now come the Europeans, who seize the land 00:38:24.340 --> 00:38:25.940 and murder many of their people. 00:38:26.840 --> 00:38:29.757 (Aboriginal music) 00:38:33.510 --> 00:38:35.360 There are many places in Australia 00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:38.420 where you can find the petroglyphs of the Aborigines. 00:38:38.420 --> 00:38:41.740 Some of this artwork is up to 20,000 years old. 00:38:41.740 --> 00:38:44.940 It's the spiritual architecture of the continent. 00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:47.430 The images communicate reflections on 00:38:47.430 --> 00:38:49.860 the natural environment, but there are also 00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:51.940 depictions of humans. 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:54.950 The white invaders adopt a threatening, 00:38:54.950 --> 00:38:57.756 demanding attitude, and their weapons 00:38:57.756 --> 00:38:59.723 are painted blood red. 00:39:01.380 --> 00:39:04.820 But something else begins with Cook's arrival too. 00:39:04.820 --> 00:39:09.600 Systematic research into the continent's flora and fauna. 00:39:09.600 --> 00:39:12.017 (soft music) 00:39:13.740 --> 00:39:16.350 The sailors who undertook these epic journeys 00:39:16.350 --> 00:39:19.510 were always joined by a complement of scientists. 00:39:19.510 --> 00:39:23.770 Astronomers, botanists, experimental gentlemen, 00:39:23.770 --> 00:39:25.993 as they were known here on the Endeavor. 00:39:27.090 --> 00:39:29.980 In the 18th century European world empires, 00:39:29.980 --> 00:39:33.720 science and power entered into an intimate relationship. 00:39:33.720 --> 00:39:36.090 Gathering knowledge about the world, 00:39:36.090 --> 00:39:38.120 extending it, structuring it, 00:39:38.120 --> 00:39:40.963 was essential to the wielding of imperial power. 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:44.900 The Endeavor was a British ship, and its captain 00:39:44.900 --> 00:39:46.490 was a Yorkshireman from Whitby, 00:39:46.490 --> 00:39:49.700 but not everybody serving on this crew was British. 00:39:49.700 --> 00:39:52.500 The experimental gentlemen, the experts and scientists 00:39:52.500 --> 00:39:55.540 who joined this team, for the journey of exploration 00:39:55.540 --> 00:39:57.840 to New Zealand and Australia included 00:39:57.840 --> 00:40:00.400 the Finnish botanist Herman Sporing 00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:03.080 and his Swedish colleague Daniel Solander. 00:40:03.080 --> 00:40:05.140 And on a later journey, with Cook, 00:40:05.140 --> 00:40:08.700 the great German natural scientist Georg Forster 00:40:08.700 --> 00:40:10.350 joined the crew. 00:40:10.350 --> 00:40:12.730 These journeys of discovery 00:40:12.730 --> 00:40:15.593 were a genuinely European phenomenon. 00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:21.420 At this point, no one is planning to colonize the country. 00:40:21.420 --> 00:40:24.620 It is not until 18 years later that the first 00:40:24.620 --> 00:40:27.733 British fleets lands with a very different purpose. 00:40:28.576 --> 00:40:30.960 (dramatic music) 00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:33.950 Initially, Australia serves as a penitentiary 00:40:33.950 --> 00:40:36.410 for convicted criminals from England. 00:40:36.410 --> 00:40:40.470 Enormous prison colonies, like Port Arthur on Tasmania, 00:40:40.470 --> 00:40:41.550 are the result. 00:40:41.550 --> 00:40:43.760 It's believed to have been the worst jail 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:46.300 in the entire British Empire. 00:40:46.300 --> 00:40:50.020 More than 12,000 prisoners endure hell on Earth 00:40:50.020 --> 00:40:51.573 in this remote location. 00:40:54.600 --> 00:40:57.370 By the 19th century, the English have spread out 00:40:57.370 --> 00:41:00.950 to every corner of the world, America, Asia, 00:41:00.950 --> 00:41:03.600 India, Oceania, Australia. 00:41:03.600 --> 00:41:06.010 English is becoming the new global language 00:41:06.010 --> 00:41:07.760 alongside Spanish. 00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:09.520 But the British soon run into trouble 00:41:09.520 --> 00:41:12.380 with their increasingly wealthy and self-confident 00:41:12.380 --> 00:41:14.300 white settler colonies. 00:41:14.300 --> 00:41:18.010 In 1773, the conflict between the British motherland 00:41:18.010 --> 00:41:21.680 and the American colonists escalates in Boston. 00:41:21.680 --> 00:41:24.680 13 colonies revolt, and their revolution 00:41:24.680 --> 00:41:28.455 eventually creates the United States of America. 00:41:28.455 --> 00:41:31.205 (dramatic music) 00:41:33.520 --> 00:41:37.280 British subjects become American patriots. 00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:39.690 And the cause of the frustration in Boston 00:41:39.690 --> 00:41:43.720 is the exorbitant tax on British Indian tea. 00:41:43.720 --> 00:41:46.810 The furious Bostonians board the British ships 00:41:46.810 --> 00:41:50.160 and dump an entire shipment of tea into the harbor. 00:41:50.160 --> 00:41:53.363 It's the first step towards American independence. 00:41:54.293 --> 00:41:56.876 (upbeat music) 00:42:00.930 --> 00:42:04.400 Even today, there are still regular reenactments 00:42:04.400 --> 00:42:06.389 of this event in Boston. 00:42:06.389 --> 00:42:08.639 (cheering) 00:42:12.160 --> 00:42:15.420 What begins as a tax riot soon expands 00:42:15.420 --> 00:42:17.380 into a movement for independence. 00:42:17.380 --> 00:42:19.530 The motto of the British colonies in America 00:42:19.530 --> 00:42:22.460 is Give me liberty, or give me death. 00:42:22.460 --> 00:42:25.960 The Revolutionary War begins in 1775. 00:42:25.960 --> 00:42:28.130 Englishmen, Germans and Frenchmen, 00:42:28.130 --> 00:42:30.870 supported by their respective indigenous allies, 00:42:30.870 --> 00:42:33.993 are engaged in a struggle for the future of a continent. 00:42:35.705 --> 00:42:38.455 (cannons firing) 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:42.160 Ultimately, the colonists win their freedom 00:42:42.160 --> 00:42:45.000 from their colonial rulers with a decisive victory 00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:46.453 at the Battle of Yorktown. 00:42:48.869 --> 00:42:50.570 (guns firing) 00:42:50.570 --> 00:42:53.110 The Declaration of Independence is followed 00:42:53.110 --> 00:42:55.680 by the adoption of the American Constitution, 00:42:55.680 --> 00:42:58.590 but like many constitutions, this one is not 00:42:58.590 --> 00:43:01.203 an entirely faithful mirror of reality. 00:43:02.080 --> 00:43:05.540 Notwithstanding the colonies' dependence on slavery, 00:43:05.540 --> 00:43:09.383 it solemnly states that all men are created equal. 00:43:10.300 --> 00:43:14.110 For all these dissonances, the American Constitution 00:43:14.110 --> 00:43:16.930 was an important step towards the emergence 00:43:16.930 --> 00:43:18.848 of modern democracy, not just in America 00:43:18.848 --> 00:43:21.373 but in the Old World as well. 00:43:23.020 --> 00:43:25.850 Where there is liberty, there is my country. 00:43:25.850 --> 00:43:28.830 In the decades that followed, millions of emigrants 00:43:28.830 --> 00:43:32.270 would take this motto to heart and pack their bags. 00:43:32.270 --> 00:43:34.230 They leave Europe behind them. 00:43:34.230 --> 00:43:36.290 Whole villages emigrate together. 00:43:36.290 --> 00:43:38.510 They are fleeing poverty and hunger 00:43:38.510 --> 00:43:40.013 in search of a better life. 00:43:43.960 --> 00:43:47.490 Today, we might call them economic refugees. 00:43:47.490 --> 00:43:50.100 They view America as the land of prosperity 00:43:50.100 --> 00:43:51.870 and self-determination. 00:43:51.870 --> 00:43:56.100 No other continent has exported as many people as Europe, 00:43:56.100 --> 00:43:58.206 even into the 20th century. 00:43:58.206 --> 00:44:00.623 (soft music) 00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:13.750 Today, nearly 50 million Americans 00:44:13.750 --> 00:44:16.020 claim that they have German ancestors. 00:44:16.020 --> 00:44:18.630 And many others have French, British, Irish, 00:44:18.630 --> 00:44:20.570 Spanish or Italian roots. 00:44:20.570 --> 00:44:23.990 In the 20th century, America becomes a safe haven 00:44:23.990 --> 00:44:26.640 for Europeans seeking a better life. 00:44:26.640 --> 00:44:29.983 It's impossible to imagine modern America without them. 00:44:32.121 --> 00:44:34.538 (soft music) 00:44:40.800 --> 00:44:43.730 In the 19th century, the United Kingdom is the largest 00:44:43.730 --> 00:44:45.760 colonial power in history. 00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:48.630 But the other powers don't want to be left empty-handed, 00:44:48.630 --> 00:44:50.563 and there's still some land to be had. 00:44:51.676 --> 00:44:54.843 (marching band music) 00:45:08.700 --> 00:45:10.920 Who would win the battle for the spoils 00:45:10.920 --> 00:45:12.460 of imperial conquest? 00:45:12.460 --> 00:45:15.050 In the 19th century, the European colonial powers 00:45:15.050 --> 00:45:17.030 entered into a bitter competition. 00:45:17.030 --> 00:45:18.750 The scramble for Africa. 00:45:18.750 --> 00:45:20.840 Colonialism was a fetish. 00:45:20.840 --> 00:45:23.710 It had less to do with profits than with prestige 00:45:23.710 --> 00:45:25.550 and fantasies of power. 00:45:25.550 --> 00:45:27.180 To possess and develop colonies 00:45:27.180 --> 00:45:29.680 was considered a sign of modernity. 00:45:29.680 --> 00:45:33.140 And here too, everything revolved around competition, 00:45:33.140 --> 00:45:35.330 that crucial motor of European history 00:45:35.330 --> 00:45:39.020 which in this form existed on no other continent. 00:45:39.020 --> 00:45:40.600 The British were at the height of their 00:45:40.600 --> 00:45:42.990 international power, and they forced their neighbors 00:45:42.990 --> 00:45:44.960 to the margins of world events. 00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:48.650 This fullness of power was personified in Queen Victoria, 00:45:48.650 --> 00:45:51.327 who was also empress of India and once said, 00:45:51.327 --> 00:45:54.327 "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. 00:45:54.327 --> 00:45:55.960 "They do not exist." 00:45:55.960 --> 00:45:58.800 The British were now stronger than they ever would be again, 00:45:58.800 --> 00:46:01.210 but like all great powers, they were surrounded 00:46:01.210 --> 00:46:03.090 by rivals and enemies. 00:46:03.090 --> 00:46:04.910 They were not the only players contending 00:46:04.910 --> 00:46:06.410 for African prizes. 00:46:06.410 --> 00:46:10.330 France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, 00:46:10.330 --> 00:46:13.180 all of them wanted a piece of the great pie, 00:46:13.180 --> 00:46:14.513 a piece of Africa. 00:46:14.513 --> 00:46:17.310 (soft music) 00:46:17.310 --> 00:46:19.890 The great powers meet in Berlin. 00:46:19.890 --> 00:46:23.820 A continent is divided up and portioned out. 00:46:23.820 --> 00:46:27.123 It's the Berlin West Africa Conference of 1884. 00:46:28.150 --> 00:46:30.480 The German chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, 00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:32.700 has invited representatives to the capital 00:46:32.700 --> 00:46:35.150 of the German Empire in an effort to prevent 00:46:35.150 --> 00:46:39.020 a looming conflict between the African colonial powers. 00:46:39.020 --> 00:46:42.030 14 countries are competing for the last 00:46:42.030 --> 00:46:43.353 remaining territories. 00:46:46.030 --> 00:46:48.697 Ultimately, it's the Belgian king who emerges 00:46:48.697 --> 00:46:50.050 as the big winner. 00:46:50.050 --> 00:46:54.630 He's promised the entire Congo basin, rich in resources. 00:46:54.630 --> 00:46:57.710 10 million people will later pay for this decision 00:46:57.710 --> 00:46:59.400 with their lives. 00:46:59.400 --> 00:47:02.883 Germany too joins the ranks of the colonial powers. 00:47:03.747 --> 00:47:06.664 (soft piano music) 00:47:13.440 --> 00:47:15.630 The Europeans know little of Africa. 00:47:15.630 --> 00:47:18.240 They think of it as the Dark Continent. 00:47:18.240 --> 00:47:22.370 Africa has already been bled dry by the slave trade, 00:47:22.370 --> 00:47:25.010 and now the last unconquered territory, 00:47:25.010 --> 00:47:27.050 except for Ethiopia and Liberia, 00:47:27.050 --> 00:47:29.910 is divided up among the European powers. 00:47:29.910 --> 00:47:33.940 Arbitrary borders, systematic exploitation, 00:47:33.940 --> 00:47:37.393 today's Africa is still grappling with the consequences. 00:47:38.239 --> 00:47:40.989 (dramatic music) 00:47:41.940 --> 00:47:44.960 In many parts of Africa, the indigenous populations 00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:47.340 resist the colonial authorities. 00:47:47.340 --> 00:47:49.430 At the battle of Waterberg in what is today 00:47:49.430 --> 00:47:52.980 known as Namibia, the Germans, led by the infamous 00:47:52.980 --> 00:47:57.470 Lothar von Trotha, drive the Herero people into the desert. 00:47:57.470 --> 00:47:59.463 Trotha calls it a race war. 00:48:00.495 --> 00:48:02.745 It becomes an exercise in mass extermination. 00:48:05.600 --> 00:48:09.733 In Africa, colonial authority is founded on an alliance 00:48:09.733 --> 00:48:12.583 between the gun and the Bible. 00:48:13.560 --> 00:48:16.160 Missionaries educate the native populations 00:48:16.160 --> 00:48:18.570 and convert them to Christianity. 00:48:18.570 --> 00:48:21.880 The Europeans propagate their own civilization, 00:48:21.880 --> 00:48:24.093 deeply convinced of its superiority. 00:48:27.060 --> 00:48:29.270 At the beginning of the 20th century, the arm 00:48:29.270 --> 00:48:31.200 of the European colonial powers reaches 00:48:31.200 --> 00:48:33.160 across nearly half the world. 00:48:33.160 --> 00:48:36.330 The Germans share islands like New Guinea with the Dutch, 00:48:36.330 --> 00:48:39.740 and Indochina, like wide swaths of Africa, 00:48:39.740 --> 00:48:41.520 is under French control. 00:48:41.520 --> 00:48:43.500 The European powers even view China 00:48:43.500 --> 00:48:45.200 as a sort of colony. 00:48:45.200 --> 00:48:48.820 They gain colonial footholds all along the Chinese coast. 00:48:48.820 --> 00:48:52.173 Hong Kong, Macau, Sing Tao. 00:48:52.173 --> 00:48:55.209 (ship's horn blowing) 00:48:55.209 --> 00:48:57.959 (dramatic music) 00:49:01.480 --> 00:49:04.958 In 1876, Great Britain's Queen Victoria 00:49:04.958 --> 00:49:08.540 is proclaimed empress of India. 00:49:08.540 --> 00:49:10.900 Her immense Indian territories, 00:49:10.900 --> 00:49:13.460 home to numerous ancient cultures, 00:49:13.460 --> 00:49:17.303 come to be seen as the crown jewel of the British Empire. 00:49:18.600 --> 00:49:21.610 No other continent had or would ever 00:49:21.610 --> 00:49:25.920 dominate such a huge portion of the world's peoples. 00:49:25.920 --> 00:49:28.713 We're still puzzling over the consequences. 00:49:29.681 --> 00:49:32.098 (soft music) 00:49:36.250 --> 00:49:38.960 After the end of the Second World War, 00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:42.810 the European powers reluctantly give up their colonies. 00:49:42.810 --> 00:49:45.630 Europe withdraws to its heartland. 00:49:45.630 --> 00:49:48.520 But the legacy of European expansion 00:49:48.520 --> 00:49:50.147 casts a dark shadow. 00:49:50.147 --> 00:49:52.642 (birds calling) 00:49:52.642 --> 00:49:55.392 (dramatic music) 00:49:58.550 --> 00:50:00.880 The two faces of Europe remain. 00:50:00.880 --> 00:50:03.430 Europeans discovered the world on the far side 00:50:03.430 --> 00:50:05.210 of the oceans for themselves, and they made 00:50:05.210 --> 00:50:06.980 their own kind of sense of the people 00:50:06.980 --> 00:50:08.520 and things they found there. 00:50:08.520 --> 00:50:11.670 From their perspective, it was a remarkable expansion 00:50:11.670 --> 00:50:15.010 of the horizons of knowledge, an extraordinary feat. 00:50:15.010 --> 00:50:16.930 On the other hand, the legacies 00:50:16.930 --> 00:50:19.040 of their conquests were scandalous. 00:50:19.040 --> 00:50:21.210 European civilization is the only one 00:50:21.210 --> 00:50:24.060 to have imposed itself on the rest of the world. 00:50:24.060 --> 00:50:27.490 And only very late in the day, after World War Two, 00:50:27.490 --> 00:50:30.143 did Europe discover that it did have a conscience. 00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:33.680 So the history of Europe is made of contradictions. 00:50:33.680 --> 00:50:36.430 At the very moment when Pizarro and his conquistadors 00:50:36.430 --> 00:50:39.720 are exterminating the Inca, erasing their culture 00:50:39.720 --> 00:50:42.410 and preparing to strip the Andes of their bullion, 00:50:42.410 --> 00:50:45.720 Michelangelo begins work on his fantastic painting, 00:50:45.720 --> 00:50:48.780 The Last Judgment, for the Sistine Chapel. 00:50:48.780 --> 00:50:51.860 The history of Europe has left deep scars, 00:50:51.860 --> 00:50:53.641 as well as treasures. 00:50:53.641 --> 00:50:56.391 (dramatic music)