Renaissance

Europeans broke away from the Middle Ages and began to travel to other continents. In 1461 , European sailors, merchants and settlers set out in search of new routes to the Far East and arrived in America, where they would establish the first colonies. In Europe, cities like Florence and Amsterdamthey were at their peak, new businesses were developing. Spain, initially fragmented into smaller kingdoms after the Reconquest, became a unitary kingdom and developed from the discovery of America into a glorious colonial empire. In addition to new resources from the discovered lands, new ideas were brought. There is also a new religion-Protestantism that will seek to overthrow the old Catholic authority. Religious conflicts would lead to the devastating 30-year war and the civil war in England. But leaders have become richer and masters of the arts. Many people moved to the city, and literacy increased. In Asia, China sends naval expeditions to India , Arabia and Africa, but the Ming emperors forbade contact with other continents and entered isolationism. In Southeast Asia and India, Europeans set up trading agencies and ports. The Russians colonized Siberia, the Mughals conquered India. The Ottomans reached their peak in conquest, becoming a dominant force in the Middle East, but clashed with the Persian Safavids. In Africa, African tribes have become nations. Following the arrival of the colonists, the continent became a source of gold and glory. Following contact with Europeans, the civilizations of Mexico and South America were devastated, with millions of natives dying from conflict and disease. The Spaniards and Portuguese created the first colonial empires, building plantations, mines and cities, where they forced African slaves to work them. In North America, Mississippi basin culture declined, and pueblo civilizations reached their peak. Australia and the Polynesian islands were still in isolation, but were to be explored by Europeans.