Description This volume opens with the history of ancient Mexico, the arrival of Columbus in the New World, the Spanish conquest, the Portuguese empire in Asia, and the formation of the first fully global system of trade and ideas. Next comes the Protestant Reformation, the expansion of Holland and England, and the birth of modern political philosophy and science. The final section covers the competition between France and Britain in North America and culminates with a global perspective on the American Revolution and U.S. Constitution.