Grade 8 I&S Explorers

We can only understand the explorer Christopher Columbus, and the forces that motivated him, through an understanding of the 15th-century world in which he lived. It was a dynamic century, which saw many radical changes. New political, economic, religious and dynastic forces were at work throughout western Europe, and all of these challenged feudal society - sealing the fate of the landed aristocracy and, to some degree, that of the Church in Rome. Changes affected all classes of society, but none so profoundly as the bourgeoisie.