800AD
Science kept alive by Islam while Europe goes through a "dark age."

1245
Roger Bacon's insistence on observation and experiment leads to his imprisonment.

1456
Johann Gutenberg invents the modern printing press, allowing widespread dissemination of information.

1514
Nicolaus Copernicus suggests the earth is not the centre of the universe.

1619
Rene Descartes has visions of a rational order.

1620
Francis Bacon pushes for a patriarchal science that controls mother nature; while older forms of knowledge are wiped out in witch hunts.