Brian Jeffrey Maxson is Professor of History at East Tennessee State University, USA

• Preface Acknowledgments Introduction1. The Italian Renaissance Ended the Dark Ages and Ushered in the Modern World2. Christopher Columbus Proved that the Earth Was Round 3. Early Modern Women Were Uneducated and Uninfluential 4. Humanists Introduced Secularism to Early Modern Europe 5. The Pope Was an All-Powerful Ruler in Early Modern Europe 6. The Moral Failures of the Catholic Church Made the Reformation Inevitable 7. Torture and Superstition Drove the Witch Hunts 8. A Few Geniuses Sparked the Scientific Revolution 9. The Crusades Ended in the Middle AgesBibliography Index

Brian Jeffrey Maxson is Professor of History at East Tennessee State University, USA

• Preface Acknowledgments Introduction1. The Italian Renaissance Ended the Dark Ages and Ushered in the Modern World2. Christopher Columbus Proved that the Earth Was Round 3. Early Modern Women Were Uneducated and Uninfluential 4. Humanists Introduced Secularism to Early Modern Europe 5. The Pope Was an All-Powerful Ruler in Early Modern Europe 6. The Moral Failures of the Catholic Church Made the Reformation Inevitable 7. Torture and Superstition Drove the Witch Hunts 8. A Few Geniuses Sparked the Scientific Revolution 9. The Crusades Ended in the Middle AgesBibliography Index