The Power of Innovation: Inventions that Shaped Empires and Societies Roman Perry World History - E Block 6/12/2023 Throughout time, there have been many different empires that have had their own unique skill sets, the products of which ultimately became inventions to further society into new eras. There has been lots of change throughout time of certain empires as they develop their new ideas and put them into action. As these new ideas develop, society changes to grow and advance in ways that make the overall organization of society more efficient. Undoubtedly, the biggest drivers of societal change are new physical inventions that help to adapt different parts of society, such as common life, the economy of these societies, …show more content…
This evolution of the culture is also demonstrated in the mid 15th century with the Gutenberg press, which allowed new religious and cultural ideas to spread widely across Europe through the use of the printing press. Additionally, the Gutenberg press changed the life of an average person in medieval Europe by significantly improving literacy rates. “Through the use of Gutenberg's mechanized instrument of reproduction, numerous exact copies of books could be generated in a short period of time… Though this influx of printed books was initially limited to the moneyed and literate upper and scholar classes, the growing availability and affordability of printed texts later resulted in increasing levels of mass literacy and provided for the free flow of information essential to scientific progress, capitalism, and modern democracy.” The invention of the Gutenberg press was also influenced by the new availability of materials such as new types of paper and metal that made printing books easier. As one academic article, The Birth of Print Culture: The Invention …show more content…
The first known recipes for gunpowder came from The Book of Fire, or Liber Ignium, and documented various ways of making gunpowder, although the recipe of saltpeter, sulfur, and carbon became the primary way of manufacturing the explosive. Initially, these materials were only available in China, but as they spread throughout Europe, gunpowder became a necessity for European warfare that would change how weapons were used. As Sebastian explains, these materials for making gunpowder became commonplace in the middle ages of Europe. “Gunpowder appeared in western Europe in the mid13th century, although its formula had been known in East Asia long before that date. It consists of a mixture of carbon, sulfur, and saltpeter. The first two were available from charcoal and deposits of volcanic sulfur in Europe, whereas saltpeter had to be crystallized by a noxious process of boiling stable sweepings and other decaying refuse. The consolidation of these ingredients into an explosive powder had become an established yet hazardous industry by the close of the Middle Ages.” Because of this prevalence of gunpowder, new warfare tactics and new artillery spread widely throughout Europe that were not in ancient China, especially with the use of naval warfare. As noted in the article, The Chinese Invention of Gunpowder, Explosives, and Artillery
Before the mid-1400s the literacy rates in Europe were not good. Books were hard to get a hold of because they were hand-printed by monks which were hard work and took a long time. Not only that but books were also written in Latin instead of the vernacular and the only people who could read Latin were those who were well-educated and heads of churches. The invention of the printing press greatly altered the lives of Europeans through increasing literacy rates which then influenced philosophy and knowledge, inspiring the reformation of the Catholic Church, and triggering the scientific revolution.
These gases were the most feared of all weapons in the war, for the reason that their effects were unknown in the battlefield. The majority thinks Germans were the first to utilize them, however, it was actually the French ("Poison Gas and World War One - History Learning Site", 2018). They attempted to use tear gas against the German army in 1914. Tear gas is light-yellow colored with a powerful and pleasant smell.
During the early Modern era to the present, the printing press has made a dramatic effect on the Western society. During the early modern era, the printing press was a cheap and effective way to spread the word of the Bible to anyone that could read, increase knowledge and provide education to the world. The printing press allowed people to create and copy the Bible so anyone can have access to the Bible. Along with the Bible, more books were created such as textbooks for schools, reading books for education or entertainment, research and more. As time continues on, printing press created different ways to spread information around.
The Chinese came up with all of this before inventing any sort of gun. The fire lance, one of the earliest ancestors of the firearm, was first used in 1132 (Max Distro, 2013). The fire lance consisted of a spear attached to a flamethrower, and it was capable of firing projectiles from a barrel made of bamboo or paper (Max Distro, 2013). It wasn’t until the late 14th century in Europe when the safety and thoroughness of incorporation was improved by wet grinding the ingredients of gunpowder (Max Distro, 2013). The paste was then rolled into balls to make travel and storing more
This widespread literacy produced a market for the printing press and printed materials. By this time three-quarters of the male population and one-third of women could read and write (Foner 154). Due to the increase of printed materials libraries appeared in many colonial cities. The first library was established by Benjamin Franklin, it was called the Library Company of Philadelphia (Foner 154). The Library Company of Philadelphia was the largest public library at the time and had a wide arrange of books and documents (Library Company of Philadelphia, “Program in Early American Economy & Society”).
For instance, the murder weapon, which was poison, had been mentioned by Lelio in letter seven: “For he will find a bottle of poison with certain powders, also poison. ”5 The poison was again revealed by Mario Orsini as he said, “a bottle that was almost full of a water that seemed ordinary, and in a packet she found a certain white powder that had a smell.” In Felice’s testimony before the magistrates, she also confirmed the “little glass bottle” and “a certain white powder in a packet.”
Global History & Geography Final Exam Part II: Enduring Issues Essay Throughout history, many communities and societies made their own technological advances. Some medical advances, others transportation advances, etc. All still play an important part in the development of human civilizations over time. However, an Enduring Issue that has appeared throughout time is cultural diffusion and technology.
The scientist first began by researching what exact ingredients are used to create bath bombs. Bath Bombs come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors but they all have the same three main ingredients; citric acid, Epsom Salt, cornstarch and baking soda. Overall these ingredients have a purpose in a bath bomb. The source Pinpossible: Bath Bomb, states “The Epsom salts are used to give the bath a more therapeutic soak and are
Reformation was an important consequence of the printing press however, an even better and more important consequence was Exploration. Exploration was clearly the most important consequence of the invention of the printing press. The explorers of Europe have claimed they were the first ones to discover the “New World.” They traveled far looking for a short route to Africa but came across something else, the Caribbean.
Many advances were made in fields of literature, arts and science. Things such as literature, the arts, and science helped during the Renaissance to contribute advancement of the human society. Renaissance literature refers to European literature. In document 5 it tends to mention the "Printing Press" which people gained knowledge about medicine, geography and mining. During this process more Europeans learned to read and write.
, and as the US expanded further west, the manufacturing of goods increased a considerable amount leading to new innovations. Early Expansion of the United States The Market Economy Large scale manufacturing and commercial agriculture surfaced in America during the early 1800s, which produced a substantial amount of economic growth and raised the American standard of living. Transportation made a major breakthrough with inventions like railroads, steamboats, canal systems, and clipper ships. These improvements led to faster transportation of goods and people (Shi and Tindall 267-270).
Chapter 19: Describe the impact of the printing press on the protestant reformation. Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press led to mass production of information that was, for the first time, available to the public. The printing press created a new era of the informed individual with the ability to develop their own opinions. In the 16th century, the Roman Church’s Greedy and Immoral acts began to escalate; This made it clear that there was a need for change. One man, Martin Luther, noticed the offenses made by the church and decided to act by writing the 95 subjects he disagreed on with the church.
Throughout U.S history, new innovations are being developed constantly. In other words, society has fallen in reliance to the new technological innovations, as a result making the U.S constantly evolve. With evolution, new technological innovations are becoming more and more complex rewriting our history. Although technological innovations have positive effects on society and mankind, it also has its fair share of flaws. Such innovations include but are not limited to is cotton gins and the invention of automobiles.
Coming out of the 15th century, the modern nations of the Europe, namely France, England, and Spain, were looking to free themselves of the past powers that dominated them which was mainly the Catholic Church and the German empire. Along with his questioning of institutions of the past, came the invention of the printing press that
Printing press developed a different method of producing books. According to woodcut images from 16th century, scribes were writing the books by hand from the dictation of a scholar before the invention of the printing press and after the invention print shops were created for printing books in the mid-1500s (doc 1). Before Gutenberg’s press, monks and scribes were handwriting books with pens in scriptoriums and this took them many months and even years to finish a certain book, no matter is it small or big. The invention of the printing press was an advantage for creating books, because it facilitated the creation of books and took less time for the production. It made possible the creation of thousands of identical copies by pressing one button instead of handwriting them for years.