Consequences of the Printing Press

The Consequences of the Printing Press In 1350 the renaissance had begun, it was the time to bring back and restore many things from the past. Many people from the renaissance time tried to make a living on their own by painting and writing books. Although it seemed very hard to spread their ideas around the world but until 1444 their worries began to shrink. A man from Germany named Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, which made possible for people to have copies of books and letters in much lesser time than they were used to. The invention of the printing press was one of most notable inventions from the last millennium because it brought very important changes and accomplishments in the whole world that we can still see now. Religion in Europe in the early 1500s was mainly Catholic. 60 years later after the printing press was already introduced, Europe was not only Catholic but also mixed with Protestant. [Doc. 2] Martin Luther was the creator of the 95 Theses in 1517. He took advantage of the printing press to spread around his ideas of the Church and indulgences. Martin Luther allegedly posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. His goal was to stir debate among theologians primarily around the issue of indulgences-payments to the Roman Catholic Church in return for official pardons for one’s sins and grants of salvation in the afterlife. Because of the printing press, the 95 Theses were known throughout Germany in a fortnight and throughout Europe in a month. [Doc. 3] Ever since the printing press was introduced the world had an impact of new technology and a vision of the globe. Once the printing press was invented, knowledge was shared between countries about how they viewed the globe. [Doc. 7] Henricus Martellus’ World Map 1489 showed a view of the world but as one whole land. 18 years later, Martin Waldseemuller’s World Map in 1507 showed much more detail but still had