John Green teaches you about European Imperialism in the 19th century. European powers started to create colonial empires way back in the 16th century, but businesses really took off in the 19th century, especially in Asia and Africa. During the 1800s, European powers carved out spheres of influence in China, India, and pretty much all of Africa. While all of the major (and some minor) powers in Europe participated in this new imperialism, England was by far the most dominant, once able to claim that the "sun never set on the British Empire." Also, they went to war for the right to continue to sell opium to the people of China--twice. John will teach you how these empires managed to leverage the advances of the Industrial Revolution to build vast, wealth-generating empires. As it turns out, improved medicine, steam engines, and better guns were crucial in the 19th-century conquests. Also, the willingness to exploit and abuse the people and resources of so-called "primitive" nations was very helpful in the whole enterprise.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
Join host John Green to learn about the human population. How many people can reasonably live on Earth? In 1800, the human population of the Earth passed one billion. Thomas Malthus posited that growth had hit its ceiling and that the population would level off. He was completely wrong, as there are currently seven billion people on the planet! John will teach a little about how Malthus made his calculations and explain how Malthus came up with the wrong answer.
Join host John Green to learn about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Prior to this event, almost everyone in Europe was part of the Roman Catholic Church. However, during Martin Luther's lifetime, the Church was in desperate need of spiritual and moral reform. Combined with the new ideas in the political and social scenes in Europe, this led Luther to leave the Church and start his own, which spread rapidly. Then, what started out as a doctrinal dispute turned into an all-out social revolt: peasants against landlords, and kings against the Catholic Church. Both politically- and faith-charged, this period had lasting repercussions on Christianity, politics, and social order.
