Notes

This period of intellectual and artistic creativity is known as the RENAISSANCE. The word Renaissance means "rebirth" In French. It refers to the rebirth of interest in classical Greek and Roman ideas. As the Renaissance spread across Europe over the next two centuries, it changed the way Europeans thought about themselves and the world. It also set the stage for an age of exploration and Discovery.



For Centuries, Europe had been a patch work of states by the 1400, however, a new, larger type of state had developed in western Europe. Strong Monarchs rose to power in Spain, Portugal, England, And France. They began to establish national laws, courts taxes and armies to replace those of the local rulers. These ambitious monarchs sought ways to increase trade and make their countries even stronger and wealthier. As early as the mid-1400's, powerful countries such as Portugal and Spain began to search for sea routes to Asia. They, too, wanted to engage in foreign trade. This placed them in direct competition with the Italian port cities that had become so powerful a century earlier. as a result, a new era of exploration began.