Western time scales not only differ considerably from non-Western, but, by using the example of Latin America, it is also evident that they have affected one another. The 16th-century crisis in Latin America, mainly attributable to the conquest, gave way in the 17th century to a period of economic growth that only began to slow in the mid-18th century. In contrast, 17th-century Europe experienced a time of decline between its growth periods of the 16th and 18th centuries. It was not, however, simply the economic and political changes that distinguished this long 17th century in Latin America from what came before or after; cultural transformations caused by European innovations and indigenous responses to them can also be identified as playing a profound role in the remaking of Latin America and Europe.
