The beginning of this period follow the Middle Ages when the ideas were ruled mostly by the church, it was also known as the Dark Ages because the humanity was under darkness (about knowledge). So Modern Era started in the 16th century, also related with the discovery of America.
During this era the scientific method changed a lot, because the goal was to prove a hypothesis by a logical way. Thus, many improvements were achieved like, technological progress, new civil politics, and the emergence of nations states.