Transition to the Modern World

Black Death Hits Europe

1337

It came to Europe because 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. When people came to board the docks, they found most of the sailors aboard the ship were dead.

Printing Press

1440

Although it was already invented in China, Gutenberg became a revolutionary with his popularization of the printing press in Europe. His invention was very important to the evolution of government and religion. Martin Luther used the printing press to share his views of the Catholic Church and directly caused the downfall of the Church and sparked many other religions to be made.

Christopher Columbus

1451

Christopher Columbus was a pioneer in the transition age because he was the person to report to the queen of Spain that there was more land in the Americas. His voyages across the Atlantic Ocean is a journey that is still celebrated today because of what we now know because of it.

Nicolaus Copernicus

1473

Mathematician and astronomer were the first to make a map of the solar system showcasing the sun at the center. He was an inspiration to Galileo because he pushed him to rebel and prove that the Catholic Church was wrong in what they were teaching.

Mona Lisa

1503

The sitter’s mysterious smile and her unproven identity have made the painting a source of ongoing investigation and fascination. The painting presents a woman in the half-body portrait, which has as a backdrop a distant landscape.

David

1504

The statue is to represent the biblical hero, David, standing as a nude male. It was meant to be one of a series of large statues to be positioned in the niches of the cathedral’s tribunes, way up at about 80mt from the ground.

95 Theses

1517

Martin Luther made a document attacking the Catholic church’s profane practice of selling “indulgences” which states that if you pay money to the indulgence chest then you will spend less time in hell. And thanks to the printing press, he was able to spread this all over the town.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

1595

One of Shakespeares most popular plays. It includes different adventures such as the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.

Galileo's Telescope

1609

Galileo invented his telescope in 1609, it was modeled after magnifying glasses which were already invented. Later he went to make another kind of telescope that could magnify things a lot larger than the previous model.

Angilican Church

1867

The third largest branch of Christianity with over 85 million supporters this is a very popular branch. The Anglican Church was formed to stand up against the Catholic Church when they felt they were being cheated with the creation of the indulgence chest. This served as another branch that people could move to so they could have more freedom.