: Navigators like Henry Hudson (1610) and George Weymouth (1602) searched for northern passages to the Indies, while companies like the East India Company aggressiveley expanded trade.

: Thomas Shelton (1601–1650) revolutionized communication by popularizing Tachygraphy , an early system of shorthand.

The period from marks the first half of the 17th century, a transformative era of global expansion, scientific revolution, and intense religious and political conflict . During these fifty years, the foundations of the modern world were laid through the establishment of permanent colonies in the Americas, the peak of the Dutch Golden Age , and the devastating Thirty Years' War . 🌍 Global Expansion and Trade