The Opium Wars.

The British trades of opium with China started the world's very first drug war. Opium is a preparation made from the juice of poppy seedpods - used to produce heroine. This drug was very highly addictive, and many Chinese citizens were hooked on it. Before long, opium was becoming s big problem in China. Roughly 10% of the Chinese population was addicted to opium. It became a health factor, and it effected their economy. China later prohibited opium, but the British still brought it into the country. China actually accepted bribes from the British.
China was threatening to end ALL trades with Britain. After all, they were an isolated country. But the British didn't want it to end. The only thing they could think of was war. China started an anti-opium campaign, and the British wanted it to end. In 1840, British gunboats attacked the coastline of China. Also, China was behind when it came to modern weapons. Eventually, China was defeated, and was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing; which held the Chinese government responsible for all of the opium destroyed during the anti-opium campaign. Basically, the British won the war; mainly because of their advanced weapons and surprise attack. China was unprepared for the war, therefore they lost.

Mountains of the Moon.

The Europeans faced several hardships as they explored Africa. Diseases like Malaria were deadly, and the Europeans had no cure for it at that time. Another problem was a lack of geographical boundaries. They had no maps, so they weren't exactly sure where they were going. Also, since the Africans had never seen white people before, some decided to attack the Europeans. They brought some goods and resources to show that they came in peace. Another factor was sleeping in the wilderness. Like in the movie, when the bugs were all over their tents; biting them, and even giving them sicknesses and diseases.
It is strange that Lake Victoria is named after a British Queen, because the Lake is located in Africa. It doesn't make any sense, because the British didn't discover the lake since there was already people living there. You can argue that it does make sense, because Africa had no specific boundaries or border lines. Even today, Africa's countries are mapped out by the British. But then again, you shouldn't be able to name something after your queen if you didn't discover it. It is also strange that the lake is still named Lake Victoria today.
The Europeans had clear technological advances compared to the Africans. The Europeans had magnifying glasses, telescopes, advanced weapons such as guns, etc. The Africans were even surprised to see a white human, let alone their resources, weapons, and goods. The latest weapon the Africans had at that time was the spear. The Europeans had more advanced and developed technology.
The Europeans were eventually able to conquer Africa easily because of their invention of the machine gun. The Africans were surprised from a basic handgun. The machine gun would make it ten times easier to kill people. This allowed the Europeans to easily overtake Africa and conquer it. The Africans had no defense whatsoever. There was no chance of stopping the Europeans from invading and taking over their land.