anity could be potentially an explosive power. The Tokugawa shogunate barred entry to all foreigners, except a handful of Dutch traders confined to the small island of Dejima in Nagasaki Bay. For two and a half centuries the Dutch were the only contacts between Japan and Western Europe. It was through the Dutch traders that Japanese scholars were able to acquire a basic knowledge of Western medicine and other sciences during the country's long period of isolation.In Europe the Christian church served as a leader that held Western Europe together. The Church was the key to the integration of cultures and the dominant institution during the Middle Ages. The missionaries helped spread government and justice to the barbarians and convert them to Christianity. During the invasions of the fifth and sixth centuries the church assumed many political responsibilities that the Roman Empire had previously preformed. So the church became a big part of the governing of Europe. Popes, Bishops, and Church leaders gained much power. The church even maintained law courts to punish the disobedient, it served as a hospital for the sick, and even as an inn for travelers. When the church supported the monarchy so did the serfs. The role of the Church was more powerful in Europe: During the feudal period, the church was the strangest force that held Europe together for three main reasons. The church baptized babies when they were born, it held wedding ceremonies, and it conducted the burial services when a citizen died. Many feudal lords gave fiefs to the church in return for services conducted to the church. As a result the church ended up owning the most land throughout Europe. The church also became very powerful by threatening expulsion from the church. Which meant to be cut off from the church completely and to give up hope of ever going to heaven. Another threat that the church held was to interdict. Meaning that all the churches on a lord's l...
