Welcome to this course in World History with a focus on the development and impact of Western Civilization. The official historical starting point of this course is the 1450 A.D., which is generally considered to be the beginning of the Modern Period. However, to put this time period in context, you will briefly examine the historical background preceding the Modern Period. This first course will then progress to help set the stage for the events of the 20th Century. I want to preface this course by noting that it is important to keep in mind that, although it is history course, the units may not follow a perfect chronological order. That is to say that the study of one time period does not necessarily start chronologically where another ends. All of the time periods studied in these units overlap one another, and because of that, have profound effects on each other.