Citation of image can be found here: 13th Century Europe
Thoughts and Reflections on: Europe prepares for it's big Role
Europe had a big role during the 1400s. Before this time Europe was in the dark ages, which were punctuated by many problems. One of the problems was the problem of law, many people were under the rule of a regional lord, who would just "slit your throat" as a form of justice. In addition as long as a lord had a larger army he could control as much as he wanted. Another problem with having only regional lords who ruled with varying laws is taxation. Without a proper ruler and without rigid fair laws taxation is nearly impossible. Europe's big role was to serve as a geographical area of change for all of this and eventually house the birth of the Renaissance. Some of this change in France came from King Louis IV, who hunted down a robber baron who made his hatred of churches well known. In England the political system was extremely weak until a French king who was known as William the Bastard, fought and took over England in a series of bloody battles. William's son Henry I made a huge effort to restore the legal system and strengthened the economy and laws by hunting down counterfeit coin makers and cutting off several body parts as a punishment. By doing this he allowed the Catholic church to gain strength, which in turn allowed the promotion of learning and education and the discouragement of random killing. Eventually all of this safety allowed merchants to start trading again stimulating the economy and industry of early Europe. During this time period Marco Polo started writing his book "The Travels of Marco Polo." Which encouraged exploration. By the year 1400 Europe started using more advanced machinery which included water powered turbines, which in turn allowed the production of paper. In the 1470's the German Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, which allowed the printing of books to become much faster and cost efficient so books were no longer something only reserved for the rich and aristocrats. In Venice glass was invented for use in mosques. Kings now were trying to suppress the rich regional ruling lords by raising armies so that whole countries could be united under a single flag. Another invention that was made during the strife of conflict came from modified Chinese designs, the cannon, as well as primitive firearms resembling tubes. Meanwhile in Italy some of the most influential works of political philosophy were being written, "The Prince" by Machiavelli and "Utopia" by Thomas More. Both of these works are so influential that they are still relevant and applicable today. Europe's big role was to house and incubate the transition from the dark ages and lead the innovation and next step in human history.
