ECCLESIASTIC FEUDALISM 



pressible longing to expand which filled the breast 

 of the trading class. It had gradually dawned on 

 the thinkers of Europe, that this globe was a 

 good deal larger than the Ptolemaic system sup- 

 posed. The travels of Marco Polo, made possi- 

 ble by the unification of Eastern Asia under the 

 rule of Genghis Khan, had revived the ancient 

 wonder-tales which the conquests of Alexander 

 the Great had carried back into the Western 

 world. The invasions of the Huns had reminded 

 Europe forcibly of the fact that there was a vast 

 territory of unknown extent beyond the gener- 

 ally accepted boundaries of the globe, and the 

 temporary control of Eastern ports in the Medi- 

 terranean and Black Sea, together with the estab- 

 lishment of advanced trading posts in Asia 

 Minor, had given a substantial basis to the idea 

 that the Eastern world contained fabulous riches. 

 Besides, even in ancient times, the Ptolemaic sys- 

 tem had not been accepted by all thinkers as cor- 

 rect. . Now the doubts as to its correctness grew 

 still more. 



The improvement of shipbuilding had even 

 before this time permitted daring navigators to 

 venture out into the unknown seas of the West. 

 And when it became a vital necessity for the 

 trading class to get in touch with the East by 



43 



