Having finished Tom Woods’ first history course on Western civilization, I decided to turn my notes into a timeline. This is hardly a comprehensive timeline. Much more happened during the thousands of years between the creation of the Earth and when Columbus discovered America. That being said, these were memorable events for me. Most of … More Western Civilization Timeline: Creation to Columbus
One of the biggest misconceptions in modern historical textbooks is that people—Christians—during the Middle Ages believed the earth was flat. There are a few reasons as to why this myth is preposterous, and why it is nothing more than a myth. All modern historians acknowledge that historically speaking, everyone has always believed in a spherical … More The Flat Earth Fraud
The Inca Empire and the Aztec Empire were two serious, sophisticated powers in the Americas before European colonization. Even though both empires were far more organized than their Native American counterparts in North America, both empires provided seemingly little resistance to the Spanish invasion. Their large numbers and organized military did not seem to impact … More Conquest of the Inca Empire
The kingdoms of Spain experienced immense centralization through the 15th century. It experienced unification on three fronts: political centralization, militaristic centralization, and religious centralization. This strengthened Spain and made it a future powerhouse during the Age of Discovery. The two most powerful kingdoms in Spain were Castile and Aragon. A marriage was arranged between the … More Centralization in Spain
Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) gained a reputation as a fiery preacher. His powerful speaking eventually led him to rise to prominence as a political and cultural critic. At his peak, Florentines considered him equivalent to the Old Testament prophets. Unfortunately for him, his success did not last forever, and at his low, he was executed as … More The Rise and Fall of Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498)
After the Avignon Papacy, which Rome derogatorily titled the “Babylonian Captivity,” Rome was in dire need of reestablishing the Apostolic See’s dominion over the Christian world. Cities were becoming increasingly independent from Rome following the disorder within the Catholic Church. To address this, the College of Cardinals went through a period of choosing popes for … More The Corrupt Renaissance Papacy
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael were the three most prominent artists during the High Renaissance. All of them studied artistic masterpieces from antiquity. However, they also built on the work of the Early Renaissance in separating themselves from antiquity by creating art that was far more realistic and beautiful. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) had … More High Renaissance Art
The Renaissance was a time of artistic reimagination. Prior sculptures and paintings depicted the ideal person, whereas Renaissance art depicted the realistic person. To achieve realism, many painters and sculptures started using perspective and shading to add depth. They also experimented with the mathematics behind art. In this respect, the positive impact the Renaissance had … More Early Renaissance Art
Machiavelli’s The Prince has become one of the most notorious pieces of literature from the Early Renaissance. This small booklet completely refuted the moral standards set by the Renaissance humanists, and it especially refuted the moral standards pushed by Christianity. All of his anti-Christian policies can be summarized into three main points. This first point … More The Prince by Machiavelli
When debating the merits of various economic systems, the concept of private property repeatedly comes up. However, is private property a social construct or an inalienable right given by God? That is one of the questions in the debate regarding economic systems. The socialist believes private property is purely a social construct that can be … More John Locke on the Origin of Ownership
Asher Sisneros 