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Renaissance: What Caused It?

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The Renaissance is the coined term for a period of rebirth that spread throughout Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries (Brotton, 28). All forms of knowledge, art, and expression manifested into new directions and aspirations. It was a major building block in the advancement of human thought. The Renaissance focused on learning through natural sciences and newfound knowledge rather than accepting older teachings (Brotton, 39). It fostered curiosity and innovation in many industries and aspects of life. In a sense, it was a new chapter or book in our human history index. The Renaissance also paved the way for the Protest Reformation to eventually occur (Brotton, 101). There are many factors that led the Renaissance to occur. It was a combination of the Crusades and the Mongols expansion that began under Genghis Khan that led to the fruition of the Renaissance. The Crusades brought the two worlds of Islam and Christianity in a manner like never before. The death toll of the Crusades varies among academia between one and five million people (Madden, 172). Besides all the bloodshed, the Crusades allowed Europeans to rediscover new forms of art, expressions, and ways of life. Europe became too involved in their feudal and monarchy type systems. They had forgotten the importance of the arts and sciences and were more focused on building fortunes and spreading salvation. Europeans, by way of the Crusades, were astonished at the advancements of the Muslim world and sought to learn and capitalize from it (Madden, 156). The Abassid Empire, the Muslim empire, stored the knowledge of past civilizations and continued to utilize them (Madden, 158). Greek and Roman teachings on mathematics, anatomy, medicine, biology, physics, and more were protected by the Abassid Empire (Madden, 159). These ancient Greek and Roman teachings that disappeared during the Middle Ages were

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