History of the Pre-Modern West

Experience the History of the Pre-Modern West with WisdomMaps: The Future of the Past!

Perspective

Our digital history of the pre-modern West begins with the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, whose antecedents gave rise to the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the Scientific Revolution, and liberal democracy. Both Celtic and Germanic peoples of pre-Christian Europe contributed to the cultural mix, as did Roman Judea and the early Jewish diaspora. Christianity also played a prominent role in the formation of Western civilization, which came to be seen as largely equivalent to Christian culture. Western civilization wielded immense global influence in the rise of the civilizations of modern Americas and the Pacific.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5^th century, Europe experienced a power vacuum that was filled by the Catholic Church. But the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire continued for another thousand years, and by the 12th century, art and learning in Western Europe were flourishing. In fact, great cathedrals were built, medieval universities were established, and contact with the Islamic world burgeoned in Spain and Sicily, where Arabic scientific and philosophical works were rendered into Latin. While the Renaissance endured from the 14th through the 17th centuries, it was interrupted by the firestorm of religious rebellion against the Church during the Reformation. In the same period, mercantile city-states in Italy ushered in an era of scientific and artistic advance, and the curiosity of the age lent impetus to the rise to the global empires of Portugal, Spain, France, and the Netherlands in the new Age of Exploration.

That said, here’s our assortment… please enjoy! When you’re done perusing a map, click the ⇠ back arrow link in the upper left of your screen (not the < link), and you’ll be back here. Any problems, please get in touch at [email protected]

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