In the 1970s, the various Western European countries relied on oil imports from the Middle East for the vast majority of their oil. When the Arab-Israeli War broke out in 1973, many Arab nations began to stop selling oil to European nations who supported Israel, leading to the Oil Embargo of 1973. This greatly damaged the economies of most Western European nations and plunged the continent into a recession.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation was formed from the territory that had once comprised Tsarist Russia. The first President of the Russian Federation was Boris Yeltsin.

The Commonwealth of Independent States was formed in 1991 by Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus. It has since grown to include countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Uzbekistan. It is meant to function as more than simply a symbolic organization, but all the countries within the group are autonomous and rarely act in unison with one another.

Slobodan Milosevic was President of Serbia for much of the 1990s and was eventually indicted by United Nation’s International Tribunal for war crimes committed in the Kosovo War. He was charged with encouraging the forced deportation of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and the genocidal extermination of at least tens of thousands of other Albanians living in Kosovo. He is also charged with encouraging genocide in Bosnia and Croatia.

All of these countries experienced a relatively peaceful transition from communism to capitalism in 1989 and the early 1990s. The only major country where the transition of power was not peaceful was Romania, where brutal fighting marked the fall of communism.

The European Court of Justice is located in Luxembourg. It was established in 1952.

In the years since decolonization, the population of the Third World has exploded to unprecedented levels, while the population of most major European nations has grown slowly or not at all. Massive increases in population put a strain on developing economies, as children and their parents require medical and social care. 

Elizabeth the II is the current reigning monarch. Though she is just a figurehead since Britain's current political system is Parliamentary, she still holds the love and adoration of all the people of the British Commonwealth, recognized as the monarch of all Britain's territories and dominions including Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, and Canada.

The phrase "White Man's Burden" comes from a poem with that title written by Rudyard Kipling in 1899, which commented on the United States' war in the Philippines and Cuba against Spain. The poem urges "white men" to take "civilization" to non-white peoples around the globe for their benefit. This idea was then taken up by many Europeans in their colonization efforts throughout Africa and Asia.

Henry was a Portuguese prince who lived from 1394 to 1460 and who believed in the importance of exploring foreign lands. He helped to set up a school to train explorers and also was interested in exploring the coast of Africa. His efforts helped to make Portugal a powerful and rich nation due to its ability to gain resources, conquer lands, and engage in global commerce.