AGE OF DISCOVERY
c. 1450 - 1789. The Renaissance, The Reformation, and The Enlightenment. The world becomes connected, and reason challenges tradition.
The Renaissance
A rebirth of classical learning in art, literature, and philosophy. Starting in Italy, Humanism shifted focus from the divine to the human potential.
Leonardo da VinciMichelangeloMachiavelli
The Scientific Revolution
The emergence of modern science. Observation and mathematics replaced ancient authority.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Hypothesis → Experiment → Conclusion
1620
Global Connection
The Columbian Exchange. The Americas were integrated into the global trade network, leading to massive biological and cultural exchange (and devastation).
Systema Mundi
Geocentric Model
AD 150 (Ptolemy)
The Printing Press (1440)
Johannes Gutenberg's movable type allowed ideas to spread at exponential speeds, making the Reformation and Scientific Revolution possible.
LITERACY RATE EXPLOSION