European background: Spain and Portugal The Reconquista In Medieval times, Spain and Portugal experienced a quite different history from the rest of Europe, as most of their territory had been conquered by Muslim armies in the early Middle Ages. The centuries-long Christian Reconquista of these lost territories lasted for the rest of the medieval period. The Reconquista was […]
Roman Catholic Church
Early Modern Europe
Overview From the early 15th century, Medieval Europe began to morph into early modern Europe. In the later Middle Ages trade had expanded, towns had grown in number and size, and a new, more sophisticated society had emerged. In large parts of western Europe feudalism, with its fragmented power-structures, had begun to give way to […]
Canada
The First Nations The first peoples to settle what is modern-day Canada were Paleo-Indians who had crossed the Bering Straits (at that time dry land, with sea levels lower then today during the last Ice Age) from Siberia sometime between 35,000 BCE and 10,500 BCE. These groups specialized in hunting the giant mammals (“megafauna”) such […]
Colonial North America
Early colonization The Spanish had long been in control of Mexico, and claimed a huge swathe of territory reaching from high into what is now the USA, by the time the first English colonies were being planted on the eastern seaboard of North America. At the same time, the French were installed along the banks of […]
Western Civilization
The modern West is the most extraordinary civilization that has existed in world history (so far). It has risen to become a globe-spanning industrial society espousing democracy and the rule of law.