Top 10 Events of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Age of Exploration
1. Renaissance
2. Patronage
3. Humanism
4. Printing Press
5. 95 Theses
6. Christian Humanism
7. English Reformation
8. Treaty of Tordesillas
9. Columbian Exchange
10. Mercantilism
- Renaissance was a time period known as the rebirth, where there was a rebirth of classical Greek and Latin texts, and led to humanism and Christian humanism.
- 1300-1600
- The Renaissance era led to changes in education, religion, and art, surrounding and based off of Greek and Latin basics.
2. Patronage
- The act of wealthy cities, governments, groups, or nobles financially supporting artists or writers to have them make works according to their specifications or in their vicinities.
- 1350-1550
- In some cases, like for popes, the lower classes got mad that their money was being spent on extravagant shows when it could have been used for something they’d consider productive (leading to reformation.
3. Humanism
- Humanism was a group started by the Italians who advocated the studies of Latin and Greek classics, such as the art, writing, and educational techniques; also known as liberal arts.
- 1350-1550
- The effect of humanism on the renaissance time period was that the art became much more natural and realistic, education began to focus on subjects such as Latin grammar and rhetoric and Greek literature and philosophy, and finally, the individualistic ideas of humanism lead to Christians interpreting their own ideas about their religion.
4. Printing Press
- The printing press and moveable type was an invention mostly developed by Johann Gutenberg using metal stamps covered in ink and a heavy metal plate that presses the ink into the paper.
- 1450-55s
- The printing press led to faster copying, faster spread of information, an increase in literacy, and for governments and the church to attempt to stop certain prints with writing they didn’t find “acceptable” or “true”.
5. 95 Theses
- The 95 theses were written by Martin Luther to describe all the things he believed were wrong with the Catholic Church, indulgences being a major factor.
- 1517
- The 95 theses were printed in several languages and allowed quick dissemination of information, which led to more and more people reading about Martin Luther’s criticism of the church, and encouraged more people to act out on what they felt was wrong as well.
6. Christian Humanism
- When the ideas of humanism reached northern Europe and countries such as England, France, and Germany, the philosophers believed that the Greek and Latin classics were best combined with Christian ideas, and attempted to use it as a way to reform the church and bring people to have more faith in their lives.
- 1450’s
- Christian Humanism led people to have more faith and spiritual education in their personal lives and they began to make their own opinions on religion, also, the road to reformation and Protestantism began to develop.
7. English Reformation
- The English reformation was a result of Henry VIII deciding to break with the Catholic Church and create the Church of England.
- Early to mid 16th century
- The reformation happened because Henry needed an annulment, and the pope rejected it; it lead to the creation of the Anglican church, which was similar to the Catholic Church, it just lacked a pope.
8. Treaty of Tordesillas
- The Treaty of Tordesillas was the division of land in the new world between Portugal and Spain.
- 1494
- Pope Alexander VI divided the land with an imaginary line through the Atlantic Ocean: Spain got the land to the west and Portugal got the land to the east.
9. Columbian Exchange
- The Columbian Exchange is the result of the trades that happened with Christopher Columbus’s expeditions to the new world.
- 1492
- The effect of the Columbian Exchange meant that everything had been intermixed: plants, animals, foods, diseases, and people had been shared all over the world now, and people would be dying from diseases or succeeding with new agricultural additions.
10. Mercantilism
- Mercantilism is an economic policy with the goal of increasing a state’s status based on the idea that status was based on wealth, or gold and silver possession.
- Late 17th century
- Jean-Baptiste Colbert would apply the mercantilism policies to France, which led to many economic achievements for France such extremely as low tax increases.