In The Renaissance, many big ideas are being examined:

• The Spirit of the Renaissance
  • The Renaissance brought vast changes in culture and ways of life
  • Rational thinking gave rise to new attitudes and a new curiosity about the world
  • Science was embraced as a means of understanding the world
  • Scientists developed new views about the universe
  • New forms were created in painting, music, literature and architecture
  • Advances were made in medicine and the study of anatomy
  • The printing press made a major impact on the quality of life
  • The need to learn to read and write became critical for a new economy
    
    
• Economic and Social Changes
  • Trade became the key to prosperity, status and power
  • Expansion and exploration of the New World was the start of a profitable commerce in trade
  • Competition grew fierce and a commercial revolution resulted
  • Voyages were undertaken to conquer new territories
  • The spice trade with China, India and Japan was critical to the growing economy
  • Entrepreneurs and capitalists played key roles in the commercial revolution
  • Mercantilism rose
  • The commercial revolution brought about major change in the quality of European life
    
    
• Expansion and Exploration
  • New technologies made it possible for ocean explorations to the New World
  • Explorations of the world were led by the Portuguese and Spanish, to open new trade routes
  • North America was divided up, apportioned among Old World Empires
  • English settlers arrived in North America and began to build colonies
    
    
• Imperialism
  • The Spanish and Portuguese founded large empires in the Americas
  • Native Americans were subdued, repressed, murdered and decimated by disease and their civilizations destroyed
  • To make explorations profitable, Spain and Portugal began bringing slaves to America and established the plantation system
    
    
• The Age of Absolute Monarchs
  • The empires of the Old World grew big and rich, reaping harvests from their exploitation of New World resources
  • Monarchs rule with absolute power over their subjects
  • Nations increased their power and solidified their "nationhood"
  • Religious passions lead to holy wars
  • The Ottoman Empire becomes powerful in Eastern Europe
  • Russia rises as a new power
    
    
• Religion Becomes More Diverse
  • The Reformation occurs as a result of complaints about the corruption in the Church
  • The Catholic and Protestant churches battle for power, resulting in the Thirty Years' War
  • Protestantism spreads across Europe and breaks into many sects
  • Islam divides into different sects