"Traces the interwoven changes that led from the world of Columbus, Luther, and the Mughal emperor Babur to the world of Locke, Louis XIV, and the Kangxi Emperor. Wills encourages his readers to acknowledge the special features of the European experience and achievement without presenting Europe as essentially the only source of the modern"--Provided by publisher.

Prologue : Texas and the world -- Islam and a wider world, 1450-1490 -- Columbian exchanges, 1490-1530 -- Old ways made new, 1530-1570 -- New shapes of power, 1570-1610 -- Settlers and diasporas, 1610-1640 -- Time of troubles, 1640-1670 -- Toward an early modern world, 1670-1700.