In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, protests and unrest continued continued across Europe, and the Soviet Union was having increasing trouble holding its sphere of influence together. Today you'll learn about the labor strikes of...

The European Renaissance may have started in Florence, but it pretty quickly moved out of Italy and spread the art, architecture, literature, and humanism across Europe to places like France, Spain, England, and the Low Countries....

The aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact had a huge impact on the countries of Eastern Europe. As the former satellite states turned away from communism and Soviet influence, some of them shifted toward...

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...

We've been talking a lot about kings, and queens, and wars, and religious upheaval for most of this series, but let's take a moment to zoom out, and look at the ways that individuals' lives were changing in the time span we've covered so...

You may have noticed that the internet is terrible at religious discourse. Well, this is not a new phenomenon. In the early 16th century, the Roman Catholic church dominated Christianity in Europe, and the institution was starting to...

Hank discusses the challenges involved in manned space travel to Mars, and sends us a message from his 17-year-old self.

Indigenous wisdom can help solve the planetary crises that colonialism started, says lawyer Jennifer "Jing" Corpuz. Her ancestors, the Kankanaey-Igorot people of the Philippines, are known for creating the Banaue Rice Terraces:...

We've been talking a lot about kings, and queens, and wars, and religious upheaval for most of this series, but let's take a moment to zoom out, and look at the ways that individuals' lives were changing in the time span we've covered so...

In which John Green teaches you about the life and death of one of history's great explorers, Captain James Cook of the British Navy. He charted large swaths of the Pacific ocean, laid claim to Australia and New Zealand, and died a...

In which John Green concludes teaching you about Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. You'll learn about the historical contexts of Things Fall Apart, including 19th century colonization and 20th century decolonization. We're going to...

There’s a common misconception that humans of the past lived in harmony with their environments and left them “pristine and untouched.” However, there is plenty of evidence that these relationships were much more complicated

Outside of China, Mandarin and Cantonese are often referred to as Chinese dialects, despite being even more dissimilar than Spanish and Italian. On the other hand, speakers of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, which are three distinct...

In 1904, Chief Lontulu laid 110 twigs in front of a foreign commission. Every twig represented a person in his village who died because of King Leopold's brutal regime in the Congo. His testimony joined hundreds of others to help bring...

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...

In 1776, a powerful empire was born in North America. The Lakotas had reached the Black Hills, the most sacred place and most coveted buffalo hunting grounds in the western plains. Located in what is now South Dakota, control of the...

Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the "most repulsive of American possessions." By 1728, it was known as the Great Dismal Swamp. But while many deemed it uninhabitable, recent findings suggest...

The California Missions are a long-lasting legacy of Spanish colonization in the Americans. Built to spread Catholicism among Indigenous communities, they still exist today.

The Stamp Act of 1765 imposed the first direct British tax on American colonists, igniting widespread protest and setting the stage for rebellion.

The Texas Revolution of 1835-36 saw American settlers rise up against the Mexican government to achieve their independence. The Republic of Texas stood as an independent nation for almost a decade.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolution. This historic document secured American independence but failed to address important issues that would lead to future divisions.

The Triangular Trade was a complex system of human trafficking spanning three continents. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, it saw millions of Africans transported to the Americas.

Explorers like John Cabot, Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake played pivotal roles in England's exploration of North America, laying the foundations for settlements that would ultimately dispossess countless Indigenous Peoples.

Exploring Machu Picchu, Peru:Our adventure begins amidst the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, offering insight into the fascinating culture of the Incas. Traverse breathtaking paths, uncover hidden treasures, and marvel at the...