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Petrarch is oftentimes referred to as the father of Renaissance humanism. He led many quests to persuade others to join his cause and to track down Classical Latin literature.
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The printing press was finished in 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg. It allowed the mass production of documents and articles and helped lead the renewal of enthusiasm towards education.
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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who had this urge to find a new route to India that didn't involve going around Africa. He convinced the Queen of Spain to fund a trip West to "India", where he discovered the Americas.
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Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most influential and well-known Renaissance artists. Some of his most famous pieces are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.
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In 1454, the Peace of Lodi peace treaty was signed which ended a nearly 50-year war. This brought about a very peaceful forty or so years for the Italian states.
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The marriage of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon brought about a mutual alliance between two of the largest states in Spain.
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Martin Luther was a religious man born in Germany. He wasn't satisfied with the inner-workings of Catholicism and the papacy, so he led the Reformation towards Protestantism.
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After convincing Queen Isabella of Spain to fund his voyage, Christopher Columbus headed West, where he discovered the Americas, essentially the first time any Europeans had learned of its existence.
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After striking it rich in Africa, Portugal was able to build large, strong boats and colonization along the African coast. Then, having access to a larger pool of resources, the Portuguese set sail for India and reached it in 1498 after traveling South under Africa.
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Ferdinand Magellan, an avid explorer, set sail on the first attempt for humans to travel all the way around the globe. Although he was killed along the journey, one of his five ships did return safely, and it was considered the first circumnavigation of the planet.
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In 1521, after receiving Luther's letters regarding him and his followers' withdrawal from the Church, the papacy excommunicated him. He was loathed by the papacy because of his critiques of Catholicism's practices.
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The Spanish first came into contact with the Incans in 1530. The Spanish immediately took to conquering these strange new people using their guns, cannons, and horses, which were new to the Incans.
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Queen Elizabeth took over the rule of England after her half-sister Mary's death. After assuming the role of Queen, she brought her religiously-divided kingdom together and made it function extremely efficiently.
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This legal agreement that was signed in 1555 stated that the reformative strands of Christianity had equal standing as Catholicism, legally speaking. It also said that German rulers could decide the religion of their states.
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The Edict of Nantes was signed in 1598, marking the end of the French Wars of Religion. This agreement stated that Catholicism was the official religion of France, but the Calvinist reformers had equal standing with the Catholics.
