Essential Question Why did the Renaissance begin in

Essential Question Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?

The Death The Black Plague left Europeans with a feeling of depression. The failure of the Crusades added to it. Then Constantinople, the main Christian city fell in 1453. It was taken over by the Islamic Religion. It seems like even God wanted them to make a change.

New Ideas The people of Europe saw this as a wake up call. They wanted to return Europe to it’s former glory. Rome = Good Dark Ages = Bad

Humanism Ism means doctrine or philosophy Human means human

Humanism The study of man’s ability to improve the quality of life on Earth through studying the classics. Heaven is cool but old books can teach us stuff too! It is ok to enjoy life on Earth. Education and art mattered again!

The Printing Press -A device to more easily make copies. -Spreading to the common people since books became much cheaper. -The church lost it’s control of knowledge. (why? )

The Silk Road Economics When the Mongols took over China they reopened the Silk Road. This allowed Europe to trade with China. Marco Polo traveled this road (maybe…) and brought back many items and stories. These gave Europeans new ideas about the world

Geography The Renaissance started in Florence, Italy and spread north.

Italy’s location on the sea meant it had lots of travelers (travelers bring ideas!) It had the benefit of roads and architecture left over from the Roman Empire. It sat on some major trade routes. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=y. L 59 Wlc. WBQQ&sns=em