What led to the dramatic rise of literacy, particularly in Italy, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?
What will be an ideal response?
The basic technology of bookmaking became more widespread with the invention of the movable type press by Gutenberg in the mid-fifteenth century. Coupled with the production of paper in Italy, after initial importation from China, these two factors contributed to the widespread availability of books. However, several other factors significantly influenced the growth of literacy during this time period, including the final fall of Constantinople and the flood of refugees carrying their texts and knowledge with them. The commercial revolution in Italy particularly required the growth of a literate class for record keeping and inventories. The overall effects of humanism stirred the curiosity of not only clergy, but also laypeople interested in obtaining knowledge. Christian humanism contributed to this as well, particularly to the greater distribution of Bibles in the vulgate, which fed into a receptive audience eager to find answers for themselves. Finally, the continued growth of the university culture perpetuated a community of scholars in a variety of fields who could avail themselves of this new knowledge.
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During the late nineteenth century, cotton __________
A) fell steadily in price B) was the economic salvation of the South C) became less important to the southern economy D) was profitable enough to lift many small farmers out of poverty
The event that threatened to destroy the longstanding balance of free and slave states in the United States Senate was the
a. passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. b. potential admission of Oregon as a free state. c. attempt to acquire Cuba as a slave state. d. proposed building of a southern transcontinental railroad. e. discovery of gold in California and its bid for statehood.
In the fifteenth century, slavery in Africa
A. was made up of an exclusively African slave population. B. was introduced by Europeans. C. generally allowed certain legal protections for the enslaved. D. proscribed that children born of enslaved parents were also slaves. E. was considered a permanent condition for the enslaved individual.
Who was the architect of the Paris redesign?
A. Georges Haussmann B. Louis Pasteur C. Joseph Lister D. Robert Koch