Western Civilization II / Unit 4 WC2 0304 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Where Europe Could Expand, and Where It Could Not
Captions available
The idea
By eighteen hundred thirty-five percent of the globe, the anchor's figure, was under European control. Two causes: the military revolution's forts, cannon, muskets and warships, and political fragmentation elsewhere, above all India after the Mughal collapse.
In practice
China, the Ottomans and Japan were too strong; Africa's diseases kept Europeans coastal.
Where people slip
Most slaves were captured by African slavers, the anchor says, not by Europeans.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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