In this episode of our podcast series The Empire: A 250 Year American Story, we continue our look at the old world, before the 1492 discoveries by Christopher Columbus. The story was not only unfolding in the Americas. Europe, too, was undergoing its own transformations. Far from the confident, technologically superior continent we often imagine, medieval Europe was emerging from centuries of instability following the fall of Rome. The Catholic Church dominated political and cultural life, often through fear, superstition, and corruption. Plagues, inquisitions, and internal schisms shaped the European mindset that would later encounter the New World.
Meanwhile, the true centers of global power lay elsewhere—in the Islamic empires of the Middle East and the vast Mongol domains that reshaped Eurasia. Europe was a peripheral, insecure region, only beginning to awaken through agricultural innovation, climate shifts, and the slow rise of centralized kingdoms.
By weaving these parallel stories together, this episode reframes the world before Columbus as a tale of two hemispheres—each shaped by climate, religion, power, and human ingenuity. The civilizations of the Americas were not primitive; they were dynamic, diverse, and deeply rooted. The civilizations of Europe were not destined for dominance; they were fragile, fearful, and searching for connection to the wealth of the East.
This is the true beginning of the American story. Before conquest. Before empire. Before 1492.
Recommended Reading
- 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
- Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Past
- Indigenous Continent: The Epic Conquest for North America
- 1493: Uncovering the World Columbus Created
[…] The Empire: A 250 Year American Story – The Old World (Part 2) […]
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