A New Way to Think
It’s commonly held that the European Renaissance began sometime near 1300 A.D. and that it came to a close at about 1600(1). The Renaissance served to pull Europe out of the Middle Ages which were characterized by widespread ignorance and heavy handed authority figures. During this time period, also referred to as the “Dark Ages” (2), creative thinking, exploration, and innovation were put on hold to keep the political, societal, and religious leaders safely beyond the reach of the commoners. For students of more recent history, it should be apparent that this sort of dictatorial style of governance did not disappear from the earth with the arrival of the fourteenth century. Two names to consider are Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.
In the face of significant opposition, how did the Renaissance overtake the minds of the European people? It began with a few financially successful Italian cities, such as Florence, Milan, and Venice (3). The economic climate of these cities was such that they were protected in large part from being pushed around or otherwise threatened by either politicians or priests. So a culture rich with productive commerce, more or less free from the societal shackles of restraint, is housing a lot successful, forward thinking businessmen. What is it that successful, forward thinking businessmen do? They try to be more successful and forward thinking.
Toward that end, merchants saw fit to spend their money on art, education, and philosophy. This created an environment that cultivated creativity and learning. This time period saw advances in painting technique, banking and commerce, music, and technology. Arguably the most significant technology to be born out of Europe during this time was the Gutenberg Printing Press, which not only changed the face of Europe, it changed the world.