The Renaissance period was around 1500-1750. Renaissance means ‘re-birth,’ it means a rebirth of learning, free from the controls of rulers and the Catholic Church. People could go back to trying out ideas and investigations, and revisiting Egyptian, Greek and Roman ideas that worked.
In England from the 1530s Henry VIII set up the Protestant Church, England was not a Catholic country under the power of the Church. This meant less control, freedom of education from monasteries and also dissection was permitted. People began to question the old ideas, and replacing them with new ideas.
New technology such as the Printing Press lead to a revolution in how quickly books and so ideas could be spread and shared. Vesalius and Da Vinci made careful studies of the human body these observations were printed and doctors could refer to them when treating patients. Microscopes and telescopes as well as pumps also advanced knowledge and ideas.
King Charles II was a patron of science and established the Royal Society in 1661 where scientists and leading thinkers could get together to share ideas and conduct experiments.
As countries funded exploration of new lands, new plants and animals were discovered and new peoples and tribes were studied for new ideas. International trade increased as war and conflict reduced.
Key Changes in Renaissance
The Renaissance was very important. Four reasons led to crucial new understanding:
- Scientific Ideas and enquiry: Questioning old ideas, using experiments,
- Dissection: Now permitted could see inside humans
- Printing press: Spread ideas and information quickly
- Decline of Catholic Church: No more emphasis on Galen and God, free to try new things.
These were important to unlocking new advances in Medicine and in other areas.
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