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The black plague, crusades, trade, the church, and the Ottoman Empire all caused the Renaissance. The crusades went from 1096 to 1204. The crusades allowed the Europeans to discover new things and begin trading. Trading caused cultural diffusion. Learning and seeing these new cultures sparked inspiration. Especially the Ottoman Empire because of the Roman and Greek influences within their culture. Then the black plague happened from 1347-1351. A lot of people were infected and died, because of this people started losing faith in the church and began looking at science.

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The Italian Renaissance started in Italy, which had five major city-states: Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples. In 1434, Florance was under the control of the Medici Family. The wealthy Medici Family used their money and personal influence to run the government. During this time the Italian city-states grew richer and the the power of the Church began to decline. During the late 1400s due to economic decline, the people ended up rejecting the Medici's rule and turned to a Dominican preacher named Girolamo Savonarola. Savonarola's reign was shortlived and in 1498 the Medici family returned to power. After the Medici family came back to power, 29-year-old Machiavelli was arrested and tortured because he was appointed to a diplomatic position under Savonarola's government. In 1535 Machiavelli was released and wrote The Prince. In The Prince Machiavelli explains how a ruler should behave, as opposed to how Churchs and teachers want a ruler to behave. Machiavelli believed that it was better to be loved than to be feared. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was a painter, scientist, inventor, composer, and mathematician. One of Leonardo da Vinci's famous art pieces was the Mona Lisa which incorporated many aspects of Renaissance art including light and shade, linear perspective, and realism. Another famous Italian Renaissance artist was Michelangelo (1475-1564) who painted the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, in 1494, French king, Charles VIII led an army of 30,000 men into Italy. Later on May 5th, 1527 Spanish mercenaries arrived in Rome for money. They ended up invading Rome causing bloodshed and looting. The Italian Wars would only end in 1559.

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Eventually the Renaissance happening in Italy spread to the North through trade. The North was inspired by Italy's wealth and culture. Thus begins the Northern Renaissance. The north was different from Italy because it was ruled by a hereditary monarchy with Elizabeth 1 being the most important because she encourages the Renaissance to happen welcoming poets and artists to the north. The Northern Renaissance was more religious based than the Italian one. They started creating more art but it was more religious, realistic, and inspired by every day objects or events. The north didn't have the same availability to Greek and Roman inspos. The Northern Renaissance also included Christian humanist like Thomas More and Erasmus. Thomas More was the author of "Utopia". Utopia is about Thomas Mores opinion on what an ideal society would look like. So his opinion on how everybody should act, dress, spend their time, ect. Erasmus was another famous Christian humanist. He wrote "The Praise of Folly"(Folly meaning foolish). He used humor to criticize the church and say that they didn't have Christ-like values. Shake sphere is a famous northern Renaissance play creator and writer.

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The early stages of the Reformation sparked off by Martin Luther's 95 theses in 1517. This was a list of proportions written by Martin Luther. The main point of this was to criticize the Catholic Church's selling of indulgences. This caused a big split in Christianity when Luther went against the church. the printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg, helped ideas spread faster across Europe. Erasmus was a Dutch humanist who criticized the church's cooperation. He thought that the church's teaching wasn't from Christ and called for a reformation. He wrote a book called "Praise of Folly" that criticized the church and its teachings. His book helped influence the Reformation. William Tyndale was an English scholar who translated the Bible into English. He did this so scriptures of the Bible were more accessible to people. This helped them interpret the Bible for themselves. The invention of the printing press made it much easier to spread the word of the Bible. This was a key event for the early stages of the Reformation. Heretics were also key to the early reformation stages. these people that were key to the early reformation, were all heretics. Heretics are people who challenge the church's teaching and authority. All of these events were key to making up the early stages of the Reformation. They all tie together.

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The English Reformation is part of the Protestant Reformation. King Henry VIII was best known for the scandal when he created the Church of England. He created the Church of England to divorce his wife, Katherine of Aragon. He wanted a divorce from Katherine because she gave him a girl instead of a boy. He hoped to marry Anne Boylen instead. When he asked the Pope to grant him a divorce, he refused. The Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church, combined Catholic and Protestant beliefs. Anglicans believed that people should be able to interpret the table to their own beliefs. Unfortunately, this led many people to be against K. Henry, one of these individuals was Thomas Moore. Moore believed that a couple should stay together unless one was caught cheating. Moore was against K. Henry for divorcing Katherine of Aragon. K. Henry did not care and married and divorced who he pleased. Throughout his life, he had six wives. His second wife, Anne Boleyn, was executed for treason. His third wife, Jane Seymour, died while giving birth to his son Edward VI. His fourth wife, Princess Anne of Cleaves led to Henrey annulling their marriage due to her loyalty to Francis I. Catherine Howard became his fifth wife, but she was executed for having a secret relationship with one of King Henry's friends. His final wife was Catherine Parr who outlived Henry. After King Henry died, Mary I took the throne. Mary I was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. Mary I hated the father for the fact that he divorced her mother. Mary I received the name, "Bloody Mary," for the way she treated Protestants. During the years she was in power, over 800 Protestants left England. After Mary I died, her half-sister Elizabeth I ruled a reign of peace and prosperity. Bringing back Protestism and the Anglican Church.

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John Calvin was a key person in the reformation across Europe. John Calvin was a French theologian. He created a religion named "Calvinism." At the time, the main religion across Europe was Catholicism, so when this was created, it sparked a change. The main belief of Calvinism is predestination. this is God knows where you are going, either heaven or hell, right when you are born. So indulgences have nothing to do with where you will go. John Calvin also created a reformed church that helped grow Calvinism across Europe. The Edict of Nantes was a decree issued by King Henry IV in 1598. This granted freedoms to Huguenots. Huguenots were French Protesters. This allowed them to practice their religion without persecution in France. At this time, Catholicism was the main religion, so it was considered the norm. The edict aimed to promote religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants across France. These key events helped shape the reformation across Europe.

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The counter-reformation can also be known as the Catholic reformation. This was a period of catholic rivalry beginning with the Council of Trent. The Council of Trent was a council in response to the Protestant Reformation. It addressed issues that were being raised by the protestant reformers. They made key decisions and even implanted significant church reforms in church practices. It helped the Catholic Church in many different ways. The Spanish and Italian Inquisition were both created by the Catholic Church. It was a response to protestant reformers. They were both created to reinforce religious orthodoxy. They often punished heroics (people who went against the teachings of the Catholic Church). The goal to get out of the inquisitions was to maintain a catholic orthodoxy in Spain and Italy. Missionaries also played an important role in the counter-reformation. Missionaries were people that spread the word of catholicism, to new territories. They did this so that they could strengthen their religion and convert nonbelievers. They were vital people when it came to teaching catholicism. This contributed to the goal of the counter-reformation. Fernand and Isabella were catholic monarchs of Spain. Their contributions to their Spanish Inquisition. They had the same goal to keep catholic orthodoxy across Spain. So as a result, they helped maintain and establish the Spanish Inquisition. They also played crucial roles in the counter-reformation. Pope Paul III also played a very important role in the counter-reformation. He created or convened the Council Of Trent. He was the founder of it. So he contributed to the counter-reformation because his main goal was to spread and keep catholicism across Europe, and he did everything in his power to do this. Indulgences also were very important in the Catholic Church. indulgences was paying for your sins to be forgiven by God, so you could make it into Heaven. The Catholic Church Loved indulgences, but that created lots of dispute and outrage. It contributed to the Protestant Reformation. It also fueled the making of the Council of Trent. That is how those key events/people contributed to the Counter-Reformation.