Key to it all was the development of the printing press, which provided near-universal access to learning. Knowledge had been made available to everyone who could read, and the effectiveness of printing for capturing and disseminating information insured that it would continue to spread throughout the world.
The spread of learning proved a great threat to religious and political power, and much effort was expended to prohibit "improper" investigations or speculations. The effort proved fruit-less—the march of science against ignorance could not be stopped, and the social upheavals that accompanied scientific and technological advance would transform society at every level. While theoretical science altered fundamental beliefs, technological advances brought a higher standard of living, advances in medicine, progress in hygiene and creature comfort, and an array of new products and capabilities. As always, technological advances were also applied to warfare, often with devastating effectiveness.
In short, this period encompassed one of the great shifts in human perspective, the Scientific Revolution, and laid most of the groundwork for another major change, the Industrial Revolution of the 1700s and 1800s.
The Renaissance Expands
The Renaissance, that stunning period of rebirth and renewal that began roughly around 1400, gathered force in the latter half of the fifteenth century.
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