How Did Europeans Colonize EVERYONE?

Why did Europeans conquer so much of the world? How did a region once dismissed as a “barbarian backwater” rise to dominate continents across the globe? This video explores the biological basis of European imperialism – how animals, plants, and diseases (what historian Alfred Crosby called the “portmanteau biota”) gave Europeans an invisible advantage in conquest. From pigs overrunning native farms, to smallpox wiping out millions, to sugar and tobacco fueling global empires, ecology shaped colonization long before guns and navies. We’ll trace the story from early failures like the Vikings in Greenland and the Crusaders in the Levant, to the blueprint of conquest in the Atlantic Isles, to the massive transformations of the Americas and Australia. Finally, we’ll examine why this ecological edge failed in India, Africa, and the Middle East – where Europeans relied on finance, technology, and the “Stranger King” dynamic instead. This is not a tale of innate European superiority, but of ecology, luck, and historical context. By understanding the role of biology in empire, we can better see how randomness shapes history – and how power, once gained, is never permanent. 00:00 Introduction 01:45 Early Colonization Attempts 06:55 The Biological Basis of Imperialism 13:35 New Versus Old World Colonialism 18:45 Hard Lessons from History