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1450
Peasant society in Europe
- most Europeans were farmworkers
- survival meant constant labor
- land determined status
- many peasants died from disease or malnourishment
- Europe was isolated from other civilizations
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1450
West African traders carried large amounts of gold over the Sahara
- constituted of all the gold in circulation in Europe, North Africa, and Asia
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Period: 1450 to
CHAPTER 1: Colliding Worlds
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1500
Height of the Aztec Empire
- population of around 250,000
- capital was Tenochtitlán
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1517
Martin Luther condemns the Catholic Church
- Ninety-Five Theses criticizes the Church's corrupt practices
- translated the Bible for the common people
- starts the Protestant Reformation
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1519
Europeans first encounter Tenochtitlán
- Europeans were surprised
- cities in Europe were small compared to Tenochtitlán
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1519
Hernán Cortés conquers Aztec Empire
- disease and superior technology contributed to Cortés' victory
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Period: 1521 to
CHAPTER 2: American Experiments
-
1532
Francisco Pizarro vanquishes Incas
- seized enormous wealth
- before war, half of population had already died from disease
- Spain became master of wealth and population
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1536
Calvin established a rigorous Protestant regime
- preached idea of predestination
- Institutes of the Christian Religion depicted God as an absolute sovereign
- stressed human weakness and God's omnipotence
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1540
Hernando de Soto encounters a Mississippian community
- network of towns built around fields of maize
- the spread of maize led to the rapid development of Native American culture