Pre-1600: Science, Medicine, and Technology
Pre-1600: Chapter Nine: Science, Medicine, and Technology
by DAVID COLEMAN
CONTENTS
CHRONOLOGY 204
OVERVIEW 209
TOPICS IN THE NEWS
Background: An Age of Renaissance and Recovery 211
The Travels of Marco Polo 212
Background: Culture and Thought in Renaissance Italy 213
Background: The Printing Press and the Spread of Ideas 214
Europe’s Place in the World: Classical Geography and Its Legacy 214
Europe’s Place in the World: Evidence from Medieval Maps 216
Predictions of Other Lands 216
Europe’s Place in the World: Geographical Speculation in the Renaissance Era 217
Columbus’s Sense of Religious Mission 218
Exploring the Atlantic: Portuguese and Spanish Voyages before Columbus 218
Growth of an Idea: Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies 219
Mariners and Their Ships: A Revolution in Ship Design 220
Mariners and Their Ships: The Technology of Navigation 221
The Military Revolution and European Expansion 223
The Black Legend 224
Power and Patronage: Columbus’s Search for Financial Support 225
Reconnaissance: Columbus’s Voyages 226
Syphilis in Europe 227
Reconnaissance: The New Continents and Their Place in the World 227
Reconnaissance: Voyages to North America 228
A Revolution in Cartography: Mapping the World 229
The Transformation of Post-Columbian Europe: The Impact of Contact 230
HEADLINE MAKERS
Nicolaus Copernicus 232
Prince Henry the Navigator 233
Bartolomé de las Casas 234
PUBLICATIONS 235
Sidebars and tables are listed in italics.