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The first chapter starts in the year 1404 as the Middle Ages are drawing to a close and the last chapter ends in 1779 as the Enlightenment is starting to emerge. In between, the European Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution played their roles in the development of mankind. These terms are not used in these chapters since they are names given to these times well after the times are in the history books. The first chapter starts on 27 September 1404 and the last chapter ends on 27 September 1779. This random 27 September date came about because the autobiography of my first 75 years (It’s All About Me) starts on the day of my birth, 27 September 1929, and ends on 27 September 2004. The seventy-five year periods in this book were selected as I went back in history seventy-five years at a time to find a place to start. Chapter 1 covers the period 1404 to 1479. That was before Columbus set sail in 1492 on his first voyage westward. What could be going on in the 1404-1479 time period that would be of interest? The answer is the Caravel sailing ship was developed then, which made his voyage possible. Another major event in that time period was the invention of the printing press. It has been argued that this had more impact on mankind than the internet. And so it has been for each of these periods, each of these chapters. Some accomplishment in one chapter making the events in the next chapter, or later chapters, possible. Building blocks of history.
For this book about history, the emphasis has been on the How and Why of history, not the Who, What, When, or Where. My feeling is the How and Why are more important and more interesting, but have included some parts of the others when needed to help fill out the picture. These chapters are written by one of the ordinary citizens, who lived during those times and recorded what he saw, or heard, or read. On rare occasions, he might have been a party to an event, but in all cases he recorded what he considered had been noteworthy in his first seventy-five years.
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