How Did The Renaissance Affect The Future World

The Renaissance began after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This event would be one of the first to mark off the beginning of a new revolution in Europe, affecting the future world tremendously. The humanist movement of the European Renaissance the Protestant Reformation transformed Western Culture by developing a successful printing press, revoking traditional methods and ideas, and strengthening forces through intellectual reforms. The upheavals of the Catholic and Protestant reformations sparked wars of religion in Europe until the mid-1600s. At that time, issues of religion began to give way to issues of national power. Catholic and Protestant rulers often made decisions based on political interests rather than for purely religious reasons. Long term causes include: the Roman Catholic Church becoming more worldly, humanists urging a return to simple religion, and strong national monarchs emerging. Immediate causes include: Johann Tetzel sells indulgences in Wittenberg, Martin Luther posts 95 Theses, Luther translates the Bible into German, printing press allows spread of
Information once available to a small percentage of people could now spread to vast numbers. Today, thanks to new communications revolution, information can be spread around the world instantaneously. Faxes, instant messaging, and email all speed up our communication process. We can now share knowledge, experiences and emotions with people around the world. Consequently, the world today may seem no larger than a small village of Renaissance times. The printing revolution brought immense changes. Printed books were cheaper and easier to produce than hand-copied works. With books more readily available, more people learned to read. Readers gained access to a broad range of knowledge, from medicine and law to astrology and mining. Printed books exposed educated Europeans to new ideas, greatly expanding their