The year 1000

"[The author] argues that the year 1000 was the world's first point of major cultural exchange and exploration. Drawing on nearly thirty years of research on medieval China and global history, she presents an . . . account of first encounters between disparate societies. As people on at least five continents ventured outward, they spread technology, new crops, and religion. These encounters, she shows, made it possible for Christopher Columbus to reach the Americas in 1492, and set the stage for the process of globalization that so dominates the modern era"--Provided by publisher.