The Sixteenth Century: Century of the Compass

Overview

This was a century when the empires and religions of the world expanded aggressively. Diego de Landa, a Spanish missionary, converted thousands of Mayans in Yucatan, torturing them brutally when they continued to honor their former idols in secret. The biggest land gain was made by Ivan the Terrible, who extended Muscovite rule from the Baltic to Siberia. For every conquest, there were many failures. In Japan, a ferocious military dictator, Hideyoshi, dreamed of conquering the world, beginning with Korea and China. But the Koreans defeated him, with "turtle" ships covered with iron spikes and breathing cannon fire through dragon's head prows. Muslim conquests were even more spectacular. Akbar conquered northern India and created the sophisticated Moghul empire. In Europe, people were fascinated by strange objects brought back from exotic corners of the world. Cabinets of Curiosities, containing objects as diverse as a lock of hair from Petrus Gonsalvus, the Hairy Man of Tenerife, to fossils and souvenirs of exotic animals, were displayed by famous collectors such as Emperor Rudolf II of Prague.