Unit 5: Changing Ideas

From the 1400s through the 1700s, European scientists built upon Greek and Roman learning. During the Enlightenment, thinkers used reason to question their governments and traditions. Exploration of the world began during this time as well. Europeans looked east and west for sea routes to Asian markets. In the process, they discovered another continent. Europeans established colonies in the Americas and built trade routes between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Needing a workforce, European rulers enslaved Africans and brought them to the Americas, beginning the slave trade.

Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, revolutions occurred in England, France, and North and South America. In Europe and the United States, the Industrial Revolution changed how goods were produced, improved technology, and led to the development of new social classes. Needing natural resources and markets for their manufactured goods, Europeans established colonies in Asia and Africa. During this Age of Imperialism, European nations earned tremendous wealth from their colonies. The people in the colonies, though, often hated and rebelled against their rulers.