The Renaissance of Rome. 15 
the products of the Orient for the goods and wares of Europe ; 
and when Constantinople fell and the church of, the east was 
overthrown, Rome a second time became the capital of the 
world, the church was separated from the state, and the pope 
became the spiritual head of the world. 
The practical and reasoning mind of the north could not long 
bear this rule. The discovery of America, the invention of the 
printing-press, and the personality and independence of northern 
Kurope produced Luther and the Reformation, broke up the old 
regime, and brought in a new life to Europe. 
Spain. 
From Italy the wave of civilization which rolled over the 
peninsulas of the Mediterranean at last reached Iberia—the 
Spain and Portugal of today. The greater part of this peninsula 
is an elevated plateau, dry and hot in summer, cold in winter, its 
southern and western coasts only having the climate and prod- 
ucts of Greece and southern Italy. The difference of climate 
and the admixture with more southern races has given to the 
Spaniards and Portuguese a different complexion, temperament 
and character from the inhabitants of northern Europe. The 
sea-coast and harbors of Portugal invited its people to send 
_ out ships on voyages of discovery and trade along the coast of 
Africa. ; 
The peace which followed the war of Ferdinand and Isabella 
with the Moors left a multitude of restless spirits ready for any 
rash undertaking; and for them the discovery of America opened 
a wide field of adventure and led to the conquest of the New 
World and the Orient. Gold and silver poured into Spain, the 
labor of slaves was substituted for that of the freeman, and 
Spain became the first nation of the world, extending her em- 
pire over central Europe and the Netherlands; but wealth, 
luxury, and the religious despotism which reached highest de- 
velopment in the Inquisition led to her conflict with Great 
Britain and finally to her fall. 
Great Britain. 
Great Britain, protected by her insular position from foreign 
invasion, with a mild climate, abundant rainfall, fertile soil, good 
harbors, and vast mineral wealth, is most favorably situated for 
a great nation; yet for many generations before the discovery 
