The Renaissance

The "Renaissance" refers to the changes that took place throughout Europe from the 14th through the 16th centuries (Annenberg/CPB). It was an age during which artistic, scientific, social, and political thought turned in new directions. The huge population decrease caused by the spread of bubonic plague in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance period caused an economic depression for merchants and tradespeople. In England, the recovery was slower than in the rest of Europe, and in the 100 or so years before the Tudor reign began with Henry VII, England was underpopulated, underdeveloped, and more isolated than other Western countries (Morgan 224). The population remained stagnant in number until the 1520s, but rapidly accelerated after 1525.

As the population recovered from the effects of the plague, a new middle-class emerged made up of bankers, merchants, and tradespeople, because the market for goods and services grew with the ensuing population increase (Annenberg/CPB). The 16th century saw the birth of the British pre-industrial political economy, balancing population against resources, economics against po

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Category: History - T