What Happened to the Muslim Majorities of Spain and Portugal?

During the Spanish Reconquest, they were forced to convert to Christianity or leave. Click.

Why Did the Protestant Reformation Happen?

Knowledgia: "Why did the Protestant Reformation Happen? ♦ The Protestant Reformation is widely known for Martin Luther’s publication of his “95 Theses” or “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” and marks the second schism of sorts for the Catholic church. In reality, the reformation of western Christianity was long in the making, and …

Why Care About the Renaissance?

A student assigned to an open-book, use-the-Internet quiz of multiple-choice questions about the Renaissance can't bother to finish even half the quiz, and turns it in with 30 minutes left in class. This communicates: "I don't care about this history! I don't consider it MY history." I wish she had said what she was thinking, …

How Leonardo Da Vinci Changed the World

Leonardo da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. He is best known for painting the Mona Lisa, created in 1517. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2pPhpAxXk&t=11s People Who Changed the World

Suleiman The Magnificent Represented Golden Age of Ottoman Empire

Suleiman I (1494-1566), "commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver in his realm, was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 until his death in 1566. Under his administration, the Ottoman caliphate ruled over at least 25 million people." Wikipedia. He codified a centralized legal system …

Time Traveler’s Guides to England in 1300s, 1500s, 1700s, 1800s

British historian Ian Mortimer (website; Wikipedia; Youtube.com) specializes in medieval history. Basing his books on the premise that "the past is a foreign country," he has created a series of books as if humans could travel back in time, and how to prepare for life in another century. He is best known for A Time …

How Did the Orthodox Christian World React to the Protestant Reformation?

History Matters "When the Protestant Reformation happened, the Catholic Church had an unsurprisingly negative reaction. But what about the other major Christian denomination at the time. How did the Orthodox Church react to the Protestant Reformation? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgYWbWUmLKE

How Far Back in Time Could An English Speaker Go and Still Communicate Effectively?

If you traveled back in time more than 500 years, certainly if you went back to the 1500s, you probably could not understand other English speakers and they could not understand you. Today I Found Out: "Contrary to what many a Grammar Nazi the world over would have you believe, language is constantly evolving, occasionally …

What Machiavellian Really Means

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUlGtrHCGzs&t=25s Ted-ed: "From Shakespeare’s plays to modern TV dramas, the unscrupulous schemer for whom the ends always justify the means has become a familiar character type we love to hate. For centuries, we’ve had a single word to describe such characters: Machiavellian. But is it possible that we’ve been using that word wrong this whole …

Michelangelo’s Italy. How Did It Produce Such A Genius?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcENr29rZr0 Michelangelo (1475-1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence. He exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. European Tour guide Rick Steves offered this lecture by Gene Openshaw, co-author of Rick Steves' Europe 101: History & Art, as he shares …