Choose one of the main topics discussed in this chapter: the Renaissance, the trading empires of Africa, the Age of Exploration, Spain in the Americas, the Protestant Reformation, or the colonization of the Americas by France or the Netherlands. For the topic you chose, identify one new idea and one way in which it caused a change for people living at that time. Explain whether it was a positive or a negative change, and why. Use examples from the text to support your opinion.