What were the major causes of the European Renaissance?

Question: What were the major causes of the European Renaissance!?

!?!?!? also please explain the causes!. Im not asking for a lot, just a tiny bit of info about each cause!. Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Increased trade - new ideas were coming in from more advanced cultures in the Middle East and Far East!. Therefore the Renaissance started in regions exposed to more trade and then spread slowly through the rest of Europe!. So the italian city states were first (Venice for example was very involved in trade) and then slowly the more Northern countries!. England/Netherlands/Holland were all very sea-going people so they also were able to get new resources (like silk and cotton clothing that could actually be WASHED) and new ideas (science, medicine, the Arts)!.

The Plagues also had an impact!. They were caused by the heavy trading, rats carrying plague road on ships into Europe then it was spread person to person across the continent!. But the death of 1/3 of the population had a HUGE impact on culture!. The serfs/working people could not flee cities the way the very few wealthy people could!. So the working classes were decimated by plague (There were very, very few rich compared to poor people, but yes some aristocrats died too)!. The reason this cause the renaissance is this: The medieval system required that old pyramid society of lots and lots of poor serfs working the land and creating goods, a small number of tradesman/merchants, some aristocrats and very, very few truly powerful or wealthy people!.

Now the plague took out the bottom of the pyramid and there wasn't anyone to harvest food, make clothes and so forth (food being the big one because job skills were taught by parents so most rich people had NO idea how to farm)!.

So the result was that suddenly people of "poor" classes who knew how to work the land, care for animals and crops and so on went from being disposable and without rights to being NEEDED and able to DEMAND rights,payments, education and so forth!. Suddenly farmers childern were in government, marrying into higher classes and becoming artisans, merchant sailors, writers and so forth!.Www@QuestionHome@Com