Their presence and encouragement promoted the study of classical literature and art of Greeks and Romans.

Following the Turkish occupation, a number of scholars, artists and artisans left Constantinople moving towards the Italian city states.

This acted as a catalyst for the birth of Renaissance. It also led to the discovery of new land routes.

In 1453 A.D. Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, was captured by the Ottoman Turks.

One of the most important outcomes of the conquest of Americas by the European colonial powers was the movement of plants, animals, technology, culture and strange diseases between the Americas and Europe or between the New World and the Old World. This is known as Columbian Exchange

(i) The Protestant reformation posed a threat to the Catholic Church.
(ii) In order to meet the challenge, Pope Paul III and his successors introduced a number of rigorous reforms in the Church. They dealt with corruption severely and stopped the sale of offices.
(iii) The Council of Trent reemphasized the importance of ceremonies and the significance of the mass.
(iv) Further, it revitalized the Inquisition to deal with opposition to the Church.
(v) It also gave official sanction to the Society of Jesus.
(vi) This reformation of the Catholic Church from within is known as Counter Reformation.

(i) Renaissance most important contribution was the idea of humanism.
(ii) It marked a definite shift towards individualism, secularism and nationalism.
(iii) The introduction and practice of writing in the vernacular language enriched the growth of vernacular languages.
(iii) Renaissance made a beginning in criticizing the corrupt and worldly practices of the Church.
(iv) The curiosity kindled by the renaissance played a decisive role in the discovery of new land routes and remapping of the world.
(v) The spirit of adventurism and quest for knowledge impelled the mariners to sail into the high seas.

(i) The invention of the printing press accelerated the process of modernisation.
(ii) Earlier, manuscripts were written by hand on animal skin called vellum.
(iii) Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany in the middle of the fifteenth century.
(iv) The printing press enabled the production of multiple copies of a manuscript and they spread all over Western Europe.
(v) In less than fifty years after the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, about six million books had been printed.
(vi) The invention of printing press not only spread knowledge widely, but also promoted critical thinking.

(i) The Italian city-states were centres of cultural activities since the fourteenth century.
(ii) With the coming of the scholars and artists from Constantinople, there was a surge of enthusiasm and interest in studying classical literature and art of Greeks and Romans.
(iii) This creative upsurge was reflected in their writings, art, architecture and music.
(iv) This cultural florescence is known as the renaissance.
(v) The origin of the word renaissance is from the Italian word 'renascita' meaning rebirth.
(vi) It is called renaissance because there was a rebirth or revival of classical Greek and Latin literature.
(vii) Many scholars in Italy went in search of manuscripts of classical literature.
(viii) Greek scholar Manuel Chrysoloras who taught Greek classics in Italy, Guarino and Giovanni Aurispa, to name just a few, visited Constantinople several times to collect Greek manuscripts.
(ix) Later they printed what they collected.
(x) This provided stimulus to the flowering of renaissance.

1. As a result of the discovery of new lands and new sea routes, the economic centre of Europe shifted from the Italian city states to spain and Portugal.
2. They brutally killed the natives in their conquest and the remaining were employed under harsh conditions in gold and silver mines, and in plantations.
3. Many natives also died because of epidemic diseases brought by the colonizers.
4. The native people faced the dangers of deadly diseases.
5. The natives had to encounter from these deadly diseases.
6. The introduction of sugarcane led to the establishment of sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean islands and South America.
7. The mass extinction of the native population led to the import of slaves from Africa. Africa became the centres of slave trade.
8. Geographical discoveries led to commercial revolution.
9. The seventeenth century witnessed the emergence of various East India companies.
10. They are English East India Company the Dutch East India Company and the French East India Company.
11. The Portuguese enforced its monopoly on the spice trade of East Indies.
12. The Spaniards established monopoly over the mining and transportation of gold and silver in its colonies in the New World.
13. The English East India Company had monopoly trade in India and amassed huge wealth.
14.  Thus, the chief feature of mercantilism was exploitation of the resources of the colonies for the benefit of the colonisers.
15. It represented an important stage in the development of modern capitalism.

(i) The Italian humanist Petrarch's Canzoniere, German theologian Martin Luther's Ninety-five theses and Portugal Prince Henry's Navigation School heralded the dawn of the modern era.
(ii) The Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Church became weak and discredited.
(iii) In their place nation states, new Churches that emphasized individual faith, and a commercial revolution based on mercantilism emerged.
(iv) The modern era was characterized by freedom of thought, individualism, rationalism, and economic and scientific progress.
(v) The changes ushered in were the Renaissance, Reformation and Geographical Discoveries.