From the search for gold and slaves in Africa and spices from the east, the voyages of Vasco da Gama around Africa to the Indies and Christopher Columbus to the Americas heralded the age of European imperialism, witnessed by the heroics & terror of the Conquistadors. Behind these adventures lay the stimulus of intellectual and technical innovations reflected in the new humanist philosophy and scientific methods, spread by the printing press. The diffusion of new ideas from Petrarch to Erasmus challenged the established Catholic Church and led to the radical pronouncements of Martin Luther and John Calvin. Such reformation was countered by the zeal of Catholic missionaries and the Spanish Inquisition. The potential of mankind was celebrated in the paintings, sculpture and architecture of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Filippo Brunelleschi, and in the political ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas More. All these experiences contributed to the transition from medieval to modern Europe.
This course is part of the Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA) programme.