Log inSign up for FREE
Library

How Gutenberg's invention changed political thought. 7.C&G.1.4

Last updated about 4 years ago
6 questions
Watch the video. Then read and answer the questions
The impact of the printing press is nearly impossible to measure. On the surface it allowed for a rapid spread of accurate information but, below the surface, it had an enormous impact on the nations and population in Europe at large.
1

The Printing Press helped information spread faster than before it was invented.

Thanks, in no small part to the press, literacy began to rise as well as the types of information people could be exposed to.
1

Look up the word "literacy" and write the definition below

Around this time Europe was recovering from the devastating impact of the Black Death. This disease had killed a large portion of the population and had led to the decline in the power of the church, the rise of the money economy, and the birth of the Renaissance.

On the back of this, the printing press was 'in the right place at the right time' to help in the secularisation of Western culture. "Secularisation" means that government and daily life is not related to religion or the Church. Of course, many early texts were of a religious nature but more and more were beginning to be more secular in nature.
1

The invention of the printing press had what kind of impact on teh power of the Church?

Science was able to flourish (grow) at this time with early scientists suddenly being offered an incredible tool to collaborate with each other around the continent.
1

In your opinion, how did the invention of the printing press help scientists collaborate (work together)?

The printing press also ripped absolute control of the contents of religious writings from the hands of the church. No longer would it be possible for church leaders to control and censor what was written on topics of the Christian, and other, faiths.
1

In your opinion, how would an average person's life change in response to the invention of the printing press?

By the 1600's the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment was in full force, which would radically change Europeans perspective of the world and universe forever. A new way of looking at the world through scientific observation and not through religious writings would become the social norm. This way of thinking would eventually lead to the Industrial Revolution. Thank you, Gutenberg et al!
1

Identify three (3) lasting changes in response to the invention of the printing press.