In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, European mastery of certain technological innovation (compass, astrolabe, ship-building) allowed Europeans to sail the open oceans, without having to follow coastlines.  It was not long before Europeans had ventured far, far abroad.  European contact with non-European societies took many different forms.  In Central and South America, the European presence meant the extermination of native societies; while in China, Europeans traded with a much more advanced society.  True, it was not long before Europeans were able to dominate much of the world, largely with the help of gunpowder.  The European age of exploration and expansion also fueled the dynamic economy of Europe and promoted the evolution of capitalism.

Suddenly, in the fifteenth century, Europe was confronted by the stark fact that it was not the only civilization in the world.  In fact, some societies, such as in China, had reached intellectual and economic heights that were unimaginable to the Europeans.  For the first time the western church also had to acknowledge the existence of other religions.  However, the adjustment required by Europe and the church did not come easily, and in many cases a very crude chauvinistic attitude developed.

• Discovery and Reformation by Richard Hooker
• The Discovery of the New World and End of the Old
• Lecture 2: The Age of Discovery
• Pre-Columbian America and the Age of Exploration by Charles Kimball
  
• For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant website for this unit of the course.
  Send the title of the site, the url and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied in this unit.
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