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How did Europe conquer the world?
Europeans colonized 84 percent of the world between 1492 and 1914.
In the book, “Why Did Europe Conquer the World,” Caltech economist and historian Philip T. Hoffman looks into the reasons that enabled Europe to achieve such a feat, what with competition from far more advanced countries – China and Japan, for instance.
The big difference, Hoffman says, is Europe’s military superiority, which started its rapid growth from the Middle Ages on.
Guest:
Philip T. Hoffman, a professor of business economics and history at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author of “Why Did Europe Conquer the World?” (Princeton University Press, 2015)