The thing about European History is that it tends to leak out of Europe. Europeans haven't been great at staying put in Europe. As human beings do, the people of Europe were very busy traveling around to trade, to spread religion, and in a lot of cases to try and conquer other people. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans developed a bunch of tools and techniques that would allow them to travel around the world, in numbers and force heretofore unseen on the planet. And a lot of the results weren't great for the people who already lived in the places Europeans were "visiting." Sources Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Smith, Bonnie G. Modern Empires: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever: Eric Prestemon, Sam Buck, Mark Brouwer, Jonathan Zbikowski, Siobhan Sabino, Zach Van Stanley, Bob Doye, Jennifer Killen, Naman Goel, Nathan Catchings, Brandon Westmoreland, dorsey, Indika Siriwardena, Kenneth F Penttinen, Trevin Beattie, Erika & Alexa Saur, Glenn Elliott, Justin Zingsheim, Jessica Wode, Tom Trval, Jason Saslow, Nathan Taylor, Brian Thomas Gossett, Khaled El Shalakany, SR Foxley, Sam Ferguson, Yasenia Cruz, Eric Koslow, Caleb Weeks, Tim Curwick, D.A. Noe, Shawn Arnold, Malcolm Callis, William McGraw, Andrei Krishkevich, Rachel Bright, Jirat, Ian Dundore -- Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse Tumblr - http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com/ Support Crash Course on Patreon: http://patreon.com/crashcourse CC Kids: null