The "Three Worlds" during the beginning of 15 century were starting to make significant contact with each other. Before this, each place, Europe, Africa, and America, had different values and lifestyles. When they came together values were imposed and lifestyles changed. Civilizations were wiped out and new ones put in their place. European countries flourished while Americans and Africans became slaves.
Before any European contact America had its own religious beliefs. The Native Americans were less structured in their beliefs and had no literary traditions. They believed in spiritual and supernatural power. They believed that human life could be affected by rocks, water, sun, moon, and animals. In Africa the religious beliefs were similar in that they believed in deities associated with natural forces. Natural forces could be rain, fertility and animal life. The Africans worshiped their ancestors actively because they believed the ancestors mediated between the Supreme Creator and the living. Religion in Europe was much different. Christianity was the main religion in Europe. In the early 16th century the two main sects of Christianity were Catholic and Protestant. Both sects were similar. The main difference was that Catholics believed the Pope headed the church and the Protestants believed the Bible was the exclusive authority. These two sects rivaled each other heavily and created a lot of bad blood between each other.
In African and American society women were respected as well as highly valued. The women in many American and African tribes were the head of the household and the family was matrilineal. In Europe women were treated much differently. Women had no rights and were essentially property.
Trading was difficult for Americans because they had no transportation animals. When they did trade, it was not only to gain desirable goods, but also to preserve interdependence and equilibrium between the communities.
