History concepts and contexts

¶ … start of the 16th century. This was largely because society began to develop its initial modern practices during this time. Many things throughout this time had a large impact on the world, and still affect us today. Three things, however, can be singled out as being most important. The American Revolution, the founding of America by Christopher Columbus, and the reformation of the Catholic Church were all instrumental in affecting our world.

In the political arena, the American Revolution was extremely important. The revolution was not a single isolated event; rather, it encompassed occurrences from the 1660's all the way into the late 1700s. Many acts were passed during this time, including regulations on navigation, printed materials, and many everyday items. The Boston Tea Party also occurred during this time, as well as the Boston Massacre. Many battles were fought during the American Revolution which finally led to the drafting of the articles of Confederation. The Treaty of Paris ended the war that America was fighting with the British over who had control of the colonies, and the United States was born. After this happened, the Constitution was planned with delegates from all 12 of the states. The Bill of Rights guaranteeing Americans basic freedoms also occurred during this time. So much happened during the American Revolution that it remains an extremely significant event in the history of the world.

Before the American Revolution could happen, however, America had to be discovered. This was accomplished by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Columbus had sailed out in open waters looking to see what else might be out there. He came upon land on the coast of what is now the United States of America. It wasn't long after Columbus returned to England with tales of what he had found that people were interested in coming to the New World. Naturally, these new settlers had to have supplies, and most of the supplies came from England, their mother country. This opened up much trading between the American colonies and the British. The British were not the only ones to trade with colonies, however. Soon, explorers from other countries such as France and Spain came to the New World and established their own colonies. This opened up even more trade routes and even more trading possibilities as settlers and colonists from one country could trade with ships coming over from another. This was vitally important to the economy, not only of the New World, but of the countries that the settlers originally came from.