The Old World and the New

The Old World and the New, 1492–1650 is a famous history book by J. H. Elliott. It first came out in 1970. The book looks at how the discovery of America changed Europe.Main IdeasOld views challenged: Europe had to rethink old ideas about geography, history, and God.Human nature: Europeans questioned who the native people were and how they fit into the human family.Money and trade: Gold and silver from America changed trade and prices across the world.Power shifts: Wealth and power grew beyond the borders of Europe. The impact of Europe on a newly-discovered world of America has long been a subject of historical fascination. Yet the impact of that discovery and conquest for the European conquering powers has traditionally received less attention. In this pioneering 1992 book J. H. Elliott set out to show how traditional European assumptions about geography, theology, history and the nature of man were challenged by the encounter with new lands and people; trading relationships around the world were affected by an influx of gold and silver imports from America; while politically, the sources of power were no longer confined to European territory.