World History 20 flashcards ~10 min

The Renaissance and Age of Exploration

About this deck

The Renaissance and the Age of Exploration reshaped Europe's art, thought, and relationship with the wider world, and this deck of 20 flashcards covers both movements together. You'll start with the origins of the Renaissance in Italy, key humanist ideas, and the era's most influential artists and thinkers, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli, along with the impact of the printing press on spreading new ideas. The deck then moves into the Age of Exploration, covering the technological advances that made long ocean voyages possible, and the major explorers — Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Magellan — and what each of their voyages achieved. It finishes with the Columbian Exchange and its profound global impact on food, disease and populations, along with the beginnings of European colonial empires. Suited to AP World History and A-Level History, this deck connects cultural rebirth in Europe to the global consequences of European exploration.

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Italy, particularly in city-states like Florence, in the 14th century.

An intellectual movement emphasizing human potential, classical learning, and secular achievement over strictly religious focus.

Leonardo da Vinci.

Michelangelo.

Niccolò Machiavelli.

Johannes Gutenberg.

It made books cheaper and faster to produce, dramatically increasing literacy and the spread of new ideas.

A powerful and wealthy Florentine family who were major patrons of Renaissance art.

The astrolabe, compass, and improved ship designs like the caravel.

Spain.

He reached the Americas, initiating sustained European contact with the New World.

Vasco da Gama.

Ferdinand Magellan (though he died partway through; his crew completed the voyage).

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old World and New World after 1492.

Potatoes, tomatoes, maize, and cacao, among others.

European diseases like smallpox caused massive population declines due to lack of immunity.

The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494).

Spreading Christianity, gaining national prestige, and acquiring wealth through trade and resources.

An economic system where colonies existed to enrich the mother country through controlled trade.

Colonial empires and global trade networks that reshaped economies and populations worldwide.