20. what brought europe out of the middle ages
Middle Ages The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is around 500,[11] with the date of 476 first used by Bruni.[5][A] Later starting dates are sometimes used in the outer parts of Europe.[13] For Europe as a whole, 1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages,[14] but there is no universally agreed upon end date. Depending on the context, events such as the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492, or the Protestant Reformation in 1517 are sometimes used.[15] English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period.[16] For Spain, dates commonly used are the death of King Ferdinand II in 1516, the death of Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1504, or the conquest of Granada in 1492.[17] Historians from Romance-speaking countries tend to divide the Middle Ages into two parts: an earlier "High" and later "Low" period. English-speaking historians, following their German counterparts, generally subdivide the Middle Ages into three intervals: "Early", "High", and "Late".[1] In the 19th century, the entire Middle Ages were often referred to as the "Dark Ages",[18][B] but with the adoption of these subdivisions, use of this term was restricted to the Early Middle Ages, at least among historians.[2]
Western culture Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of many elements of Western culture, with the world's first democratic system of government and major advances in philosophy, science and mathematics. Greece was followed by Rome, which made key contributions in law, government, engineering and political organization.[20] Western culture continued to develop with the Christianisation of Europe during the Middle Ages and the reform and modernization triggered by the Renaissance. The Church preserved the intellectual developments of classical antiquity, and is the reason many of them are still known today. Medieval Christianity created the university,[21][22] the hospital system,[23] scientific economics,[24] [25] natural law (which would later influence the creation of international law[26]), and numerous other innovations across all intellectual fields. Christianity played a role in ending practices common among pagan societies, such as human sacrifice, slavery,[27] infanticide and polygamy.[28] The globalization by successive European empires spread European ways of life and European educational methods around the world between the 16th and 20th centuries.[citation needed] European culture developed with a complex range of philosophy, medieval scholasticism and mysticism, and Christian and secular humanism.[29][pageÂ needed] Rational thinking developed through a long age of change and formation, with the experiments of the Enlightenment, and breakthroughs in the sciences. Tendencies that have come to define modern Western societies include the concept of political pluralism, prominent subcultures or countercultures (such as New Age movements) and increasing cultural syncretism resulting from globalization and human migration.