New Age (16th century - 18th century)

Explorations and Colonialism: In the early Modern Age, European sailors set out to explore different parts of the world. During this period, important events such as Christopher Columbus' discovery of America (1492) took place. European powers started a great era of colonialism by establishing colonies on new continents. States such as the Spanish Empire, the Portuguese Empire, the British Empire and the Dutch Republic laid claim to new lands and expanded their commercial networks.

Renaissance and Reformation: The New Age was shaped under the influence of important intellectual and religious movements such as the Renaissance and the Reformation. The Renaissance was a period of great revival in art, science and literature. A human-centered worldview was adopted, and artists, scientists, and philosophers achieved great success. The Reformation, on the other hand, was a religious movement that called for reform against the Catholic Church and started different branches of Christianity. Ideas such as Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517) and John Calvin's doctrine of predestination laid the foundations of the Protestant movement.

Scientific Revolution: The New Age was an important period of scientific discovery and scientific thought. The Scientific Revolution marks a transformation process in which observation, experiment and mathematical analysis take priority. Important scientific discoveries such as Galileo Galilei's laws of gravity, Johannes Kepler's work on planetary motion, and Isaac Newton's laws of motion occurred during this period. This period also witnessed significant advances in medicine, astronomy, physics, mathematics and many other fields.

Pre-Industrial Revolution Period: Towards the end of the New Age, important developments took place that prepared the industrial revolution. Factors such as improvements in agricultural techniques, the expansion of trade, and the development of major cities began to lay the foundations of the modern world.

The New Age is a critical period in the shaping of the modern world and includes many important developments in cultural, economic, religious and scientific terms. This period witnessed great changes in Europe and the world in general and formed the basic structures of today.