Arabia went from the golden region a few hundred years before with trade and advancements with Asia into an isolationist and advancement-fearful society, mostly due to a shift in Islamic thought.
We are seeing a similar reaction on a much faster scale due to liberalism of the same areas and Islamic extremism. This happened to a lesser extent in the west with the Roman church and to an extent in the Near-East with the Eastern Orthodox church. Islamic and E. Orthodox thought is generally not scientificly influenced and at times anti-intelectual. Catholic thought at a macro level is scientificly minded and pro advancement, but on a micro level had to focus on more important issues such as the plague.
Arabia went from the golden region a few hundred years before with trade and advancements with Asia into an isolationist and advancement-fearful society, mostly due to a shift in Islamic thought.
We are seeing a similar reaction on a much faster scale due to liberalism of the same areas and Islamic extremism. This happened to a lesser extent in the west with the Roman church and to an extent in the Near-East with the Eastern Orthodox church. Islamic and E. Orthodox thought is generally not scientificly influenced and at times anti-intelectual. Catholic thought at a macro level is scientificly minded and pro advancement, but on a micro level had to focus on more important issues such as the plague.
The Spanish in particular were rather fervent Catholics. You just couldn’t Torquemada anything.