The Middle Ages
As the power of Rome declined, Europe entered a period
known variously as the 'Dark Ages', the 'Middle Ages'
or Medieval, which lasted until the fifteenth century
AD. During these years scholars living in isolated
communities in Ireland and other parts of Europe recorded
and passed on the knowledge from Classical Greece
and Rome. For much of the largely illiterate population
of Europe, life was harsh, religion important and
they endured conflict, as competing populations and
ideologies fought for land and power. From Scandinavia,
Vikings travelled across Europe, sometimes invading,
other times trading and establishing settlements.
As the centuries passed, nations such as England,
Germany,
Spain
and
France began to
emerge and hundreds of 'Medieval' castles and churches
were built. The human population grew and with it
the number and size of towns and as literacy spread,
universities such as Oxford and Cambridge were founded.
The growing military strength of European countries
enabled them to push back invading forces coming from
outside of the continent. As the wealth and power
of Europe increased, the 'Dark Ages' came to an end
and the Renaissance began.
The Renaissance
During the Renaissance, people across Europe rediscovered
the culture and knowledge of the civilizations of
ancient Greece and Rome. Helped by the Printing Press,
information could be spread more widely than was previously
possible, inspiring scientific and artistic developments
and encouraging new generations to challenge old ways
of thinking and living. At the same time European
explorers were visiting and mapping parts of the world
previously unknown to Europeans. During the centuries
that followed, countries such as
Portugal,
Spain, France, England and the
Netherlands
fought for the control of regions such as the Americas,
Africa and Asia. The Empires established by these
European nations, enabled them to spread their trade
routes and influence across the planet. Concepts such
as individual rights and democracy, led ordinary people
in Europe to struggle for freedom from aristocratic
rule, as in the French Revolution and colonies such
as America to seek independence from unelected rulers
in Europe. These competing ideologies resulted in
decades of conflict across the continent, but eventually
a more stable and democratic Europe began to emerge.
