Chapters

1. History’s Story
2. Wanderers and Settlers: The Ancient Middle East to 400 B.C.
3. The Chosen People: Hebrews and Jews, 2000 B.C. to A.D. 135
4. Trial of the Hellenes: The Ancient Greeks, 1200 B.C. to A.D. 146
5. Imperium Romanum: The Romans, 753 B.C. to A.D. 300
6. The Revolutionary Rabbi: Christianity, the Roman Empire, and Islam, 4 B.C. to A.D. 1453
7. From Old Rome to the New West: The Early Middle Ages, A.D. 500 to 1000
8. The Medieval Mêlée: The High and Later Middle Ages, 1000 to 1500
9. Making the Modern World: The Renaissance and Reformation, 1400 to 1648
10. Liberation of Mind and Body: Early Modern Europe, 1543 to 1815
11. Mastery of the Machine: The Industrial Revolution, 1764 to 1914
12. The Westerner’s Burden: Imperialism and Nationalism, 1810 to 1918
13. Rejections of Democracy: The InterWar Years and World War II, 1917 to 1945
14. A World Divided: The Cold War, 1945 to 1993
15. Into the Future: The Contemporary Era, 1991 to the Present

• Epilogue: Why Western Civilization?

Links for Chapter 9
Making the Modern World: The Renaissance and Reformation, 1400 to 1648

The End of the Middle Ages and the Beginning of Capitalism

Terry Jones’ The Middle Ages of Reason: the late member of Monty Python criticized the Renaissance.

Famiglia De Medici: The Extraordinary Story Of The Family That Financed The Renaissance: review of the banking family.

The Medici Meltdown: brief article focuses on the failure of the family's bank.

Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance: materials connected to a PBS series.

 

On the Renaissance

Florence Art Guide: many pictures of great art and architecture from the city in which the Renaissance originated.

The Renaissance: Was it a Thing? - Crash Course World History #22; humorous video on the Renaissance by popular author John Green.

The Renaissance: The 'Rebirth' of science & culture: breakdown of some key elemments of the period.

Renaissance: What inspired this age of balance and order?

 

On the Reformation

A Witch Hunt: Germany 1628: an online simulation of persecution of alleged witches.

The Reformation and the Men Behind It: essays provided by a modern Protestant denomination.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: The Reformation: main page with links to essays about the period and its art.

The Lutheran Reformation: presentation by a French museum of Protestantism.

History 101: Protestant Reformation: video reviewing key points with images.

Luxembourg and the Treaty of Westphalia: video satire about negotiating the treaties ending the 30 Wars War.

 

On the Ottoman Empire

Discover the Ottomans: many short illustrated articles explaining the dynasty and its history.

The Ottoman Empire: links to some short essays about the empire and its parts.

 

On Western Colonial Imperialism

Did the Age of Exploration bring more harm than good?: several essays taking different sides on the question.

Mariner's Museum: Age of Discovery: a number of articles.

Europe and the Age of Exploration at the Met: short article and links to art.

The Portuguese Role in Exploring and Mapping the New World: links to several essays and sources

5 Surprising Ways the Age of Exploration Shaped Modern Civilization: a bit offbeat for some ways, but intriguing.

Causes and Impacts of the European Age of Exploration: good thought-provoking overview with some nice pictures.