1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,000
The Renaissance first began in the Italian city-states and later spread to the rest of

2
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,000
Europe.

3
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,440
It was a period of great change and occurred across many different fields, including art,

4
00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,160
economics, philosophy, politics and social structures.

5
00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:44,440
The Renaissance occurred approximately between the 14th and the 17th centuries.

6
00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:49,200
Historians have identified several main causes of the Renaissance, including increased interaction

7
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:56,560
between cultures, the rediscovery of ancient texts, artistic and technological innovations,

8
00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:03,000
and the impacts of death in the Middle Ages.

9
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,600
Increased interaction between different cultures led to new ideas, views and beliefs in Europe.

10
00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:28,200
This was most evident during the events of the Silk Road and the Crusades.

11
00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:33,440
The Silk Road was one of the earliest and largest trade networks in human history.

12
00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:49,560
It occurred approximately from 120 BC until 1450 CE.

13
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,160
The Crusades were a series of religious wars carried out by European Christian crusaders.

14
00:01:54,160 --> 00:02:10,240
The Crusades took place from 1096 to 1272 CE.

15
00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,800
The next main cause of the Renaissance was the rediscovery of ancient texts.

16
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,080
The term Renaissance means rebirth in French.

17
00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,640
This refers to the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts by European scholars,

18
00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:23,760
which led to a rebirth of ancient philosophies and ideas.

19
00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,920
For example, Petrarch famously rediscovered the earlier work of Roman philosopher Cicero.

20
00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:33,200
Petrarch was a Renaissance humanist, which centered on the idea of studying ancient texts

21
00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:40,280
with the goal of promoting new ideas and values in society.

22
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:56,320
His work is considered to have sparked the Renaissance.

23
00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,560
The third cause of the Renaissance was related to new innovations.

24
00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,920
For instance, Johann Gutenberg, a German blacksmith and printer, developed the first printing

25
00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:11,960
press in the mid-15th century.

26
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,040
The printing press was an important innovation because it sped up the printing process and

27
00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,200
led to more printed works in European society.

28
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,440
Historians consider this an important step in the spread of Renaissance ideas in the

29
00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:35,800
Italian city-states.

30
00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,120
Artistic innovations were also incredibly important to the Renaissance.

31
00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,640
For example, Renaissance artists created paintings and sculptures that focused on the realities

32
00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:45,080
of everyday life.

33
00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,400
Famous artistic works from the time, such as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, helped

34
00:03:49,400 --> 00:04:12,560
to spread Renaissance ideas, which led to a shift in European worldview.

35
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,280
The Black Death was a major historical event in the time of the Middle Ages that led to

36
00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:26,160
the deaths of between 75 and 200 million people.

37
00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,160
It occurred in the mid-14th century and shifted the balance of power in Europe towards the

38
00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:31,160
Italian city-states.

39
00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:41,080
As such, historians view it as an important event related to the start of the Renaissance.