Our European history is going to start around 1500 with the Renaissance, but believe it or not, that is not the actual beginning of history in the continent. So, today, we're going to teach you the broad outlines of the so-called Middle Ages, and look at events like the Black Plague, the Hundred Years War, and the Western Schism of the Catholic Church that set the stage for the history of modern Europe. Air Date : 12th-Apr-2019  Read More

The Renaissance was a cultural revitalization that spread across Europe, and had repercussions across the globe, but one smallish city-state in Italy was in many ways the epicenter of the thing. Florence, or as Italians might say, Firenze, was the home to a seemingly inordinate amount of the art, architecture, literature, and cultural output of the Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo daVinci, Sandro Boticelli, and many others were associated with the city, and the money of patrons like the Medici family made a lot of the art possible. Today you'll learn about how the Renaissance came to be, and what impact it had on Europe and the world. Air Date : 19th-Apr-2019  Read More

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. Air Date : 26th-Apr-2019  Read More

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." Air Date : 3rd-May-2019  Read More

European exploration had a lot of side effects. When the Old World and the New World began to interact, people, wealth, food, animals, and disease began to flow in both directions. In the New World, countless millions were killed by smallpox, measles, and other Old World diseases. Old World animals changed life in the New World irrevocably, and the extraction of wealth and resources from the Americas ultimately contributed to the development of the Atlantic Slave Trade. So, it was an exchange with a lot of downside, especially for non-Europeans. Air Date : 11th-May-2019  Read More

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 show some cracks. Tensions mounted and protests grew, and eventually, the Protestant Reformation happened. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, but the Reformation doesn't exactly begin with Luther, and it certainly doesn't end with him. Today, we're looking at how and why the Catholic church in Europe split, first into two sects, and eventually into a LOT of sects. Air Date : 18th-May-2019  Read More

The Protestant Reformation didn't exactly begin with Martin Luther, and it didn't end with him either. Reformers and monarchs changed the ways that religious and state power were organized throughout the 16th and early 17th centuries. Jean Calvin in France and Switzerland, the Tudors in England, and the Hugenots in France also made major contributions to the Reformation. Air Date : 26th-May-2019  Read More

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 far. Some people's lives were improving, thanks to innovations in agriculture and commerce, and the technologies that drove those fields. Lots of people's lives were also getting worse during this time, thanks to the expansion of the Atlantic slave trade. And these two shifts were definitely intertwined. Air Date : 2nd-Jun-2019  Read More

When the Protestant Reformation broke out in Western Europe, the Catholic Church got the message, at least a little bit. Pope Paul III called a council to look into reforming some aspects of the Catholic Church and try to stem the tide of competing Christian sects popping up all over the place. The Council of Trent changed some aspects of the organization, but doubled down on a lot of the practices that Martin Luther and other reformers had a problem with. Today you'll learn about the Council of Trent, the rise of the Jesuits, and Saint Teresa of Avila. Air Date : 7th-Jun-2019  Read More

During our last several episodes, Europe and the European-controlled world have been in crisis. Wars, disease, climate changes, and shifts in religious and political power threw the European world into turmoil. People were looking for a scapegoat, and for many it was a time of magical thinking. So, maybe witches were responsible for all the problems? It was a popular idea, but, alas, the witches weren't responsible. Air Date : 22nd-Jun-2019  Read More

The 17th Century in Europe was pretty rough in a lot of ways. The Thirty Years War involved a lot of countries, and a lot of battles, and it was terrible for everyone involved, as wars have aa historical tendency to be. At the same time, disease and hunger were common, thanks in part to the climate change of the Little Ice Age. Get ready for some misery. Air Date : 29th-Jun-2019  Read More

There was a lot of bad stuff going on in Europe in the 17th century. We've seen wars, plagues, and unrest of all types. But, there is some good news. Huge advances were underway in the scientific community in Europe at this time. In this video we'll look at the progress of knowledge with Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Harvey, Newton, and more. Air Date : 14th-Jul-2019  Read More

So far, the rulers of Europe have been working to consolidate their power and expand their kingdoms, and this is it. The moment they've been working toward: Absolute Monarchy. We're going to learn about how kings and queens became absolute rulers in Europe, and where better to start than with Louis XIV of France, who is really the model for absolute rule. Air Date : 27th-Jul-2019  Read More

The English Civil War. We'll talk about England after Elizabeth, in which things didn't go that smoothly. We'll talk about James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, and James II, all of whom ruled England, (and tried to rule all of Britain and Ireland) with varying degrees of success. Air Date : 6th-Aug-2019  Read More

While the English were falling apart a little, with their civil war and their restoration and their succession problems, the Dutch were getting their act together. They were throwing off the yoke of the Spanish Empire, uniting their provinces, and building out their global trade network. Today, we'll learn about how the Dutch came to their Golden Age, and how it ended. Air Date : 13th-Aug-2019  Read More

While the focus has been on Western Europe so far, there has also been a lot going on in Eastern Europe, which we'll be looking at today. The Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, The Ottoman Empire, and Russia were all competing at the eastern end of the continent/landmass of Europe at during the 16th century. You'll learn about the various Ivans in Russia, and the Time of Trouble that followed them, and you'll learn about the Ottomans' expansion into Europe. You'll also learn how the great power you may not have heard of, Poland-Lithuania was right in the middle of all these events, from the rise of the False Dmitry to the Battle of Vienna. Air Date : 19th-Aug-2019  Read More

In eastern Europe, in the 17th century a couple of "great powers" were coming into their own. The vast empire of Russia was modernizing under Peter the Great, and the relatively tiny state of Prussia was evolving as well. Russia (and Tsar Peter) reformed many aspects of Russian governance, realigning them toward the way things were done in western Europe. In Prussia, efficiency of institutions became a thing, and Prussia turned into "a large army with a small state attached." Air Date : 27th-Aug-2019  Read More

So far in this series, we've covered a lot of war, disease, climate disaster, and some more war. Well, prepare yourself for something a little more positive. This week, we're talking about the Enlightenment. In this video, you'll learn about the ideas of Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Kant, Smith, Hume, and a bunch of other people whose ideas have been so impactful, they still influence the way we think about the world today. Air Date : 9th-Sep-2019  Read More

Last time we learned about the Enlightenment, and the philosophers and thinkers whose ideas would shape governance for hundred of years. This week, we're learning how monarchs across Europe were influenced by those ideas. Adoption of Enlightenment ideas across Europe was...uneven, to say the least. In this episode you'll learn about Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Maria Theresa of the Habsburg Dynasty, and Joseph II, her successor. We'll also get into the impact the Enlightenment had on a series of Louis in France. Air Date : 16th-Sep-2019  Read More

European powers had a lot of wars in the 18th century, and they weren't confined to Europe. Conflict raged across the globe, in what might be called a World War...but we don't call it that, because we already have a couple of those coming up in the 20th century. Some call it the Great War for Empire, and some call it a bunch of separate wars, but in any case, all this conflict was important, and you're going to learn all about it right now. Air Date : 24th-Sep-2019  Read More

In 1789, the French Monarchy's habit of supporting democratic popular revolutions in North America backfired. Today, we're talking about the French Revolution. Across the world, people were rising up to throw off monarchies, and Louis didn't see the writing on the wall until it was too late. Today we'll talk about how the French Revolution unfolded, and what (if anything) was really accomplished. You'll learn about stuff like the National Assembly, the Tennis Court Oath, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, the guillotine, Robespierre, and a bunch of other kind of unbelievable details. Air Date : 8th-Oct-2019  Read More

We try not to get into too much great man history here at Crash Course, but we have to admit: Napoleon Bonaparte is a pretty big deal. Join us as we track the rise, further rise, fall, rise, fall, mortal fall, and posthumous rise of Napoleon. This guy changed France, he changed Europe, and in a lot of ways he changed the world. Air Date : 21st-Oct-2019  Read More

The end of the Napoleonic Wars left the great powers of Europe shaken. Judging from the destruction that had been wrought across the continent, it seemed to the powers that be that the Enlightenment had liberated the people, and led to disaster. So, everybody got together in Vienna to have a Congress, and to try to put Europe "right" again. By "right" I mean they wanted to go back to the old days of kings, queens, and nobles running the show. But this new yearning for the past pervaded the continent. Roomanticism arose at the same time, looking back at (imagined) golden age of Medieval Times. Today we'll talk about the Congress of Vienna, The Holy Alliance, and the Romantic movement across the arts. Air Date : 29th-Oct-2019  Read More

We've talked about a lot of revolutions in 19th Century Europe, and today we're moving on to a less warlike revolution, the Industrial Revolution. You'll learn about the development of steam power and mechanization, and the labor and social movements that this revolution engendered. Air Date : 5th-Nov-2019  Read More

In the aftermath of the revolutions and upheaval in 18th and early 19th century Europe, there was a hunger for reform across the continent. Reformers like Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, and Auguste Comte proposed radical new ideas, and at the same time, regular people began to stand up and ask for greater equality, and a louder voice in how they were governed. Results were mixed, but a lot of the ideas that emerged during this time are still echoing in our world today. Air Date : 12th-Nov-2019  Read More

In 1848, Europe experienced a wave of revolutions. Last week we covered some of the reform movements that presaged these uprisings. This week, we're learning about what the people wanted from the revolutions, who was involved, and how many of those goals were accomplished. We'll look at revolutions in the Austrian Empire, Hungary, Italy, the German States, and the region formerly known as Poland. Air Date : 19th-Nov-2019  Read More

So, we haven't talked much about Italy and Germany so far in Crash Course Euro, and that's because prior to the mid-19th century, those two nation-states weren't really a thing. Today we'll look at how Italy and Germany pulled it together in the second half of the 1800s. You'll learn about Guisseppe Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuelle, Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm I, and a whole heck of a lot about the development of modern politics. Air Date : 26th-Nov-2019  Read More

In 19th century Europe, with nation building well under way, thoughts turned outward, toward empire. This week, we're looking at how Europeans expanded into Africa, Asia, and Oceania during the 1800s. You'll learn about China and the Opium War, British India, and the Scramble for Africa. Air Date : 3rd-Dec-2019  Read More

Between 1840 and 1914, an estimated 40 million people left Europe. This is one of the most significant migrations in human history. So, who was leaving Europe? And why? Air Date : 10th-Dec-2019  Read More

So, "modern" is kind of a loaded term, but today we're going to talk about modern life in Europe, as it looked around the time the 19th century turned into the 20th. We'll look at what life was like in the rapidly growing urban centers of Europe, how developments in communication and information distribution influenced the way people saw their leaders and their neighbors, and how women began making strides toward equality in this era. Air Date : 17th-Dec-2019  Read More

Europe was in transition politically and culturally at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, we're looking at the dawn of modern science, and the rise of Modernism in the arts, especially in music, dance, and visual arts. We'll look at changes in music and dance with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, and explore the groundbreaking visual art of the Impressionists. Air Date : 8th-Jan-2020  Read More