The West in the World, 4th Edition (Sherman)

Chapter 12: Faith, Fortune, and Fame

Chapter Summaries

At the same time that Renaissance ideas spread northward and the Reformation created new martyrs, fame, fortune, and faith motivated daring Europeans to venture onto the high seas in search of trade routes, new lands, and new territories. These adventurers traveled east to China, Japan, and the Pacific, and west to a new continent. They encountered great empires in the Orient and in the Americas, and traded with peoples in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and North America. These explorations led to the introduction of new products into European markets, stimulating commercial activity on an unprecedented scale. The contact between Europeans and other peoples transformed the cultures of all. Unfortunately, this contact also took its toll, in the form of diseases, exploitation, and the slave trade.