Technology in the Renaissance

Technology in the Renaissance

The Renaissance [1] saw the rebirth of European culture after the Dark Ages, and stretched from the 14th to the 17th century. It was famous for it’s art, literature, and the rediscovery of Roman and Greek culture, after the period of the Dark Ages were this knowledge had been lost. The humanists took the old script and translated them, in a wave of what was called the liberal arts. Europeans actually travelled to the Muslim world regularly since they had already translated the texts from the Greek. Cities were specialized by product, and trading flourished. Ship commerce was towards India and South-East Asia, mainly regarding raw materials: silk, spices, etc. In Europe though, people thought that the Earth was flat and that there were Sea monsters far away on the horizon. Europe was at the time not world leader in anything aside from Atlantic trade. Looking shorter routes for commerce to India and having the theory that the Earth was actually round, Colombus embarqued on a dangerous journey throughout the Atlantic. By chance, he came upon a new continent: America! The Spanish were not the first Europeans to set foot there though, the Vikings had already set foot in Newfoundland in Canada and there is evidence of them reaching all the way to Mexico, but they never established there. The colonization of America followed, enslaving the indian-americans and taking their natural resources, mainly gold and silver which enriched the Kingdoms involved. The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, occurred from the 1650s to the end of the 1700s. Rational thought was used to rid the world of superstition and ignorance. Tremendous improvements in mathematics and science occurred, same as revolutionary ideas regarding democracy. Bacon [2] and Descartes [3] were the two fathers of Enlightenment. Bacon believed that science could free people from ignorance, and allow them to live a more productive and comfortable life. He promoted and approach based on experimentation and arriving at generalizations as conclusions based on careful observation. Descartes meant that reason and mathematics were all that was needed to discovered truth in upon a new continent: America! The Spanish were not the first Europeans to set foot there though, the Vikings had already set foot in Newfoundland in Canada and there is evidence of them reaching all the way to Mexico, but they never established there. The colonization of America followed, enslaving the indian-americans and taking their natural resources, mainly gold and silver which enriched the Kingdoms involved. The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, occurred from the 1650s to the end of the 1700s. Rational thought was used to rid the world of superstition and ignorance. Tremendous improvements in mathematics and science occurred, same as revolutionary ideas regarding democracy. Bacon [2] and Descartes [3] were the two fathers of Enlightenment. Bacon believed that science could free people from ignorance, and allow them to live a more productive and comfortable life. He promoted and approach based on experimentation and arriving at generalizations as conclusions based on careful observation. Descartes meant that reason and mathematics were all that was needed to discovered truth in science. He was the inventor of analytic geometry. The scientific method is a series of steps that can be followed to solve even the most complications problems. Isaac Newton [5] developed a new branch of Mathematics called Calculus.  He also formulated the Laws of Gravity and Laws of Motion, calculating the weight of the Sun and planets, and to predict the path of comets. Chemistry, electricity and biology also had tremendous advancements. Robert Hooke [6] discovered cells by using the microscope, which helped him to discover a miniature world of living things. William Harvey was the first to describe the Circulation of Blood, and to make careful observations regarding Embryos. It was the rise of Natural Philosophers (people who seek wisdom, or knowledge), who were the first scientists. John Locke [4] believed that the power of the government to rule must come from the consent of the people. Humans beings are born with 3 rights: life, political equality and the ownership of property. He also promoted freedom of the press, educational reform and religious tolerance, and was a defender of human rights. Voltaire [5] championed the idea of freedom of speech. Montesquieu [6] called for a complete separation of powers to maintain balance within government, by separating executive, legislative and judicial segments. They also promoted the separation of church and state, since they thought they should not be involved with each other. Both the American and French Revolution based themselves in ideas from this era.

This was a time for the rise of science and technology, a fantastic period for Europe which left us with fantastic developments. Leonardo Da Vinci was the master inventor, many of his sketches and drawings not applied at the time but tried out later on. Let us see some of the inventions of the epoque.

   1. Navigation and Science: the nautical compass, the astrolabe for navigational purposes, telescope, microscope, eyeglasess, matches.

2   2. Machinery and Weapons: connecting rods applied to double compound cranks became part of machine design; the printing press gave rise to book printing the rise of literacy, learning and education amongst middle classes; lifting tower; submarine; rockets.

    3. Leonardo Da Vinci’s designs: Anemometer (instrument for measuring the speed of wind), Flying Machine, Helicopter, Parachute, 33-Barreled Organ, Armored Car, Giant Crossbow, Triple Barrel Canon, Clock, Colossus, Ideal City, Robotic Knight, Self-Propelled Cart, Scuba Gear, Revolving Bridge. The Renaissance set up the groundwork for later European development. By refloating Greek and Roman culture, new ideas came up. It was the basis for the liberal thinking that would end up in the French Revolution. It was the end of the “Witch Hunt” and the shining of science as we know it today. Whereas before philosophers theorized, now they relied on empirical evidence to sustain their views. Medicine, biology and chemistry took giants leaps; still life expectancy did not increase greatly. With all of this background, the scenery was set for Europe’s highlight: The Industrial Revolution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montesquieu