THE FURTHER GROWTH OF SCIENCE 103 



opening of the Modern Period, the Near East was the 

 principal source of ideas, as well as the finer products of 

 industry, both of which were transmitted mainly by follow- 

 ing established routes of trade. 



The discovery of a broader world by the Portuguese and 

 Spanish navigators was the first step in the commercial 

 supremacy of western Europe. The Mediterranean became 

 insignificant, as a means of communication with the East, 

 upon the discovery of the sea-route to India and upon the 

 domination by the Turks of the caravan routes from the 

 Red Sea and Persian Gulf. The wealth of the western 

 hemisphere and of the Orient tempted both merchant and 

 adventurer. And thus the Europeanization of the world, 

 which has been characterized as "one of the most fateful 

 events of all history," was set in motion. Dissemination of 

 knowledge concerning the world and its peoples has been 

 rightly regarded as one of the major influences in the broad- 

 ening of the mental horizon that was distinctive of the 

 Renaissance. Much of this dissemination was due to the 

 intercourse of commerce and to the increased wealth and 

 leisure which was thus brought to western nations. 



While Arab civilization and later the Revival of Learning 

 were leavening the mind of Europe, the trade of the Italian 

 cities was producing a more tolerant and matter-of-fact 

 spirit which was further developed by the centuries of dis- 

 covery. Contact with peoples beyond the European pale, 

 even though they were regarded as inferior to Christians, 

 showed that Christendom contained the lesser portion of the 

 human race. Innovations became more easy when new and 

 strange customs had been observed elsewhere. The pirate- 

 adventurers, who harried the Spanish Main and brought 

 home booty to Elizabethan England, laid the foundation 

 for the extension of English trade and colonization in India 

 and America during the century which followed. But more 

 than this, they opened the way for new ideas. Knowledge 

 of the new geography was brought to Europe mainly as the 



