Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds

Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds — page 5
Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds many ideas from Asia including the produc tion and working of silk the use of gunpowder and the making of paper and porcelain These advances led to reduced dependence on agri cultural and production labor thus freeing people for other things such as the building of the great Gothic cathedrals If any single tech nological event marks the end of the Middle Ages it was the invention of the movable-type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century This eventually spread the written word beyond scholars and opened edu cation to the emerging middle class While the technological history of the Middle Ages was one of slow but substantial development during the succeeding early modern period 1500 1750 the tempo of change increased markedly and was associ ated with profound social political religious and intellectual upheavals in western Europe The emergence of the nation-state the cleav age of the Christian church by the Protestant Reformation the Renaissance and its accom panying scientific revolution and the overseas expansion of European states all had inter actions with developing technology This expansion became possible after the advance in naval technology opened up the ocean routes to Western navigators The conversion of voyages of discovery into imperialism and colonization 10