How the Printing Press Brought Change to the 15th Century

The Printing Press The printing press brought mass change to the 15th century during the Renaissance era, revolutionizing communication throughout much of Europe and most importantly spreading religious knowledge and secular education of science and mathematics to all people of society (Doc 10). Immediate effects of the printing press were seen through its spread of information quickly and accurately. This created a wider literate reading public and would be influential for centuries to come (Doc 8). The printing press was a very notable invention because it brought important changes and accomplishments to the whole world that are still apparent today. One consequence of the printing press was new technology and a new vision of the world globe. After its creation, knowledge began to exchange quickly between different countries. This is seen through Columbus’ Letters, which spread after being printed in Barcelona, to Rome, Valladolid, Basel, Paris, Antwerp, and Strasbourg all in the same year (Doc 6). Knowledge was also exchanged between different countries because of the developing map of the globe. Henricus Martellus’ World Map in 1489 showed a view of the world as one whole land. 18 years later, Martin Waldseemuller’s World Map in 1507 showed much more detail but still had many errors. Then in 1570, Abraham Ortelius created a world map, being much more accurate and precise. Without the printing press none of these transfer of ideas would have been possible and exploration would have been limited (Doc 7). Finally, the most significant consequence and most important of the printing press was its impact on religion. Before the printing press evolution erupted, most of Europe was Catholic. But around the 1560’s the mainly Catholic country began to mix with Protestant (Doc 5). Martin Luther, the creator of the 95 Theses in 1517, took advantage of the printing press to spread his ideas of the church and its indulgences, his goal being to cause debate among the