Explain the following statement with reasons: The European Renaissance is supposed to have reached its zenith in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Answer: The statement is true.

• After the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, Greek scholars fled to Italy with ancient manuscripts, giving new life to the study of Greek and Roman learning.
• Gutenberg’s printing press (1440) made books cheap, so new ideas of humanism and reason spread quickly.
• Rich patrons like the Medici family of Florence supported artists, so great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael produced their masterpieces in this period.
• Science advanced: Copernicus (1543) said the earth goes round the sun, and Galileo built on this. Voyages of discovery by Columbus and Vasco da Gama widened European knowledge.
• Thus literature, art, science and exploration all reached their peak together in the 15th and 16th centuries.