Essay/Term paper: The renaissance

Essay, term paper, research paper:  History

In the 1400"s, the feudal system became weak and national

governments became stronger. People put more emphasis

on humanism than on the church. This period was called the

Renaissance. I believe that this period led directly to the

Age of Exploration. During this time, technology became

more advanced. Martin Luther started the Reformation

against the Catholic church. As the effect of the

Reformation, a middle class emerged making it possible for

people to travel more. During the Renaissance, technology

became more advanced and more available to the common

public. The printing press was invented during this time.

This invention made it possible for books to be published,

not hand written. Ideas of the Renaissance were spread in

some of these books and common people could own a

copy of the bible. Some other inventions were the

astrolabe, the quadrant, and the compass. These devices

were used in sailing. The astrolabe and the quadrant told a

person where they were at a direct point and the compass

told which direction was north. Two faster, larger ships

were also invented during this time. They were called the

carrack and the caravel. The weakening of the Roman

Catholic Church, brought about by the Protestant

Reformation, changed the way people felt about the church

and it"s importance in their life. Then, because the church

was not so dominating, people felt free to learn about new

lands. People started learning about Rome and Greece.

They learned about these two countries" culture and art.

This also helped the Age of Exploration to begin because

the Catholic church wanted more souls. They thought they

could go to America and convert Native Americans. As

trade grew, a wealthy middle class of doctors, bankers and

lawyers emerged. These people had more money so they

became more educated and more self- sufficient. They

didn"t have to rely on the feudal system anymore and

national government became more powerful. With more

money, the middle class could fund trips across the ocean.

They could also buy books, paintings and other classical

things. The Age of Exploration was caused by the

Renaissance period. Technology became more advanced,

the Catholic church was reformed and a middle class

emerged. These new ideas encouraged people to explore

and discover new things. In present life, we have a very

strong middle class, religious freedom and a lot of advances

in technology. If the Renaissance period wouldn"t have

happened, it"s possible that we wouldn"t have these things

or that America would even have been discovered.