- #1
Loren Booda
- 3,125
- 4
I asked my brother "What was the greatest date in world history?" He responded:
Well, if I had to pick one, certainly the most important date in recorded
history for most of the world would be May 29, 1453, the Fall of Constantinople.
Much more than just the conquest of the greatest city in the western world, and
the doom of an ancient empire, it also sealed off Europe from its trade sources
in the Far East. This forced enterprising explorers, initially from Portugal,
then from Spain, Holland, England, France and Russia, to make an "end-around" to
find alternate routes to those sources. This in turn led to the (re-)discovery
of the New World and a massive colonization push which substantially changed the
racial distribution of the world and caused huge growth in economic and cultural
exchange. Eventually this stimulated scientific inquiry as well.
Well, if I had to pick one, certainly the most important date in recorded
history for most of the world would be May 29, 1453, the Fall of Constantinople.
Much more than just the conquest of the greatest city in the western world, and
the doom of an ancient empire, it also sealed off Europe from its trade sources
in the Far East. This forced enterprising explorers, initially from Portugal,
then from Spain, Holland, England, France and Russia, to make an "end-around" to
find alternate routes to those sources. This in turn led to the (re-)discovery
of the New World and a massive colonization push which substantially changed the
racial distribution of the world and caused huge growth in economic and cultural
exchange. Eventually this stimulated scientific inquiry as well.