history

Discuss the innovations in shipbuilding and navigation that made possible the voyages of discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries.

What motivated Columbus to seek a western route to China?

Discuss the "Columbian exchange".  How were Europeans and native Americans affected by contact between the "old" and "new" worlds?

How did Spanish and Portuguese establish settlements and effective control over so much of the western hemisphere?

What changes took place in the institutions of monarchical rule in France, England, and Spain in the 16th century? What was the extent of the empire controlled by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor?

What was the "Atlantic Revolution"? Is it accurate to say that the center of gravity of Europe (political as well as economic) shifted in the 16th and 17th centuries to the Atlantic seaboard (to countries like Spain, Portugal, England, France, and the new state of Holland)?

What other factors (besides overseas expansion) contributed to economic growth in Europe in this period?