Introduction
The Renaissance is a widely discussed period in the world’s history as it altered the objectives and speed of the humanity’s progress. The processes of the fifteenth century significantly affected all European countries. The life of ordinary people, as well as that of the aristocracy, changed greatly and started to resemble the life of the current population. The general purpose of this work is to argue that the modern state of matters is similar to the one in Europe in the first century of the Renaissance, and the main differences are associated with the higher speed of the world’s development.
Argument
The Renaissance is usually limited by the late fourteenth and late sixteenth centuries. This term is translated from French as ‘rebirth.’ The time is characterized by cardinal changes in the European communities (Burke, 2014). Trade began to thrive, many new cities were established, and that is why feudal relationships came to their end. Citizens received an opportunity to earn more while the growing cities were quickly inhabited by traders, sailors, bankers, and employees, who were deprived of traditional feudal values. They formed a new philosophy called humanism that viewed the human, the personality, and creative activity as the main values (Burke, 2014). One more factor that took part in the formation of the Renaissance is that its beginning coincided with the fall of the Byzantine Empire. The people who fled from there to Europe brought the Ancient Greek culture and aesthetics with them. That is why great scientists, artists, and writers have become symbols of the epoch.
Although the Renaissance is, in most cases, positively spoken about, it began with a devastating plague pandemic that affected all the countries of Europe. The deadly bacteria killed most of the rural and urban population (Burke, 2014). The plague especially quickly spread in big cities. It caused a grave decline in the economy as traders could not receive enough customers who could buy their products. The pandemic also caused a moral decay, which manifested itself in desperation, grief, marauding and the fall in the value of the human life.
However, soon after the pandemic ended, the population started to increase rapidly, and a demographic boom took place. The booming population caused the creation of a new market for such economy branches as industry, banking, and trade (Agnew & Duncan, 2014). The European community constantly grew wealthier. People erected tall buildings, purchased costly jewelry, and demonstrated the interest in fine arts. At the same time, citizens had more free time than before to study natural sciences and humanities and be engaged in art. The most prominent changes are characteristic of Italian cities. The nation turned into a center of commerce and education (Burke, 2014). Such places as Florence, Venice, and Genoa became large and wealthy. Sailing also had a huge influence on the European community of the described time. Sailors started to practice using more effective techniques and instruments. Bigger vessels began sailing across the sea to faraway lands. This enhanced commerce as seamen received an opportunity to bring back to Europe new goods like silk, ivory, and spices.
The described economic boom and the influence of the ancient classic culture brought back to Europe by the Byzantines caused a new era in philosophy, science, art, and literature. Philosophy was represented by such prominent thinkers as Michel de Montaigne, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, Martin Luther, Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella, etc., who promoted humanist views. The most notable scientists were Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Giordano Bruno, who settled the basics of the modern physics, astronomy, and cosmology. As for arts, Burke mentions such outstanding figures as Donatello, Michelangelo, and Titian, who brought painting and sculpture to a new higher level (2014). Their techniques and plots are well-known, studied, and enjoyed all around the globe. As for literature, Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio revived ancient fiction genres such as novel, novella, and poem, which have been existing and thriving since the Renaissance.
Therefore, the general specific characteristics of the first century of the Renaissance were the development of banking, city boom, thriving arts, and developing trade. However, these phenomena are characteristic of the modern society as well, but their scope is much larger. Nowadays, not only trade and political interactions are industries, but art has also become this kind. The film industry may serve as a vivid example of how commercial art has been spreading around the world. According to Crane (2013), there are only 34 countries that release more than 25 films each year. Although in some of them, state policy is practiced to support the movie-making industry, none of them is able to compete with Hollywood which is entirely commercial. It means that the demand for commercial art around the world is higher than that for non-commercial one.
Another factor that makes the modern world different from the Renaissance is that nowadays, multinational corporations play a significant role in the society. It is possible to note that such powerful enterprises as Apple and Uber have conquered most of the local markets (Curran, 2016). These are two instances which demonstrate that the industries of both goods and services are becoming transnational: Apple’s smartphones and laptops are extremely popular in the majority of countries while Uber has introduced its taxi service to all the inhabited continents. Moreover, this tendency in the economy is forcing states to unite, which may be seen in Europe. In the times of the Renaissance, national borders used to play a significant role, while nowadays, a relatively solid European community (the European Union) has formed, and its initial purpose is to develop a common economy. During the Renaissance, European countries did not use to adhere to fulfilling this objective.
Further on, nowadays, the progress has made people around the world closer to each other as quick air traveling allows visiting remote countries without spending a lengthy period of time. Like the revolution in sailing gave a push to the progress of the community in the first century of the Renaissance, air traveling and the Internet make the modern world develop faster in the geometrical progression. According to Curran (2016), “the internet entered every domain of social life” (1). Due to the existence of social networking services, people from almost any countries, with a small number of exceptions, are able to communicate and exchange information at once, without spending time or effort. This factor is closely connected with the economic one, described in the previous paragraph, as brands actively use the social media (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.) to promote their products, art included, all around the globe.
Having considered the above-mentioned factors, one may conclude that a significant difference between the Renaissance and the world of today is that the latter is more cosmopolitan than the former. Borders between various nations are being erased, and the English language has become a global one, or a lingua franca, which has also improved communication and cooperation of nations. The improvement brings about the need for a faster development all the time. The progress requires not only sufficient investments of money but also time and effort. Because of this, citizens in today’s society have time to spend on their hobbies and interests because of their busy everyday routines. Thus, the speed of the world’s development is significantly faster than in any of the previous periods due to the global community’s getting ‘smaller,’ and this is the key factor that prerequisites the interests of modern citizens.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Renaissance and modernity are similar due to their rapid development in economy, science, and art. Simultaneously, the most significant difference between the two societies is the development speed. Because of modern means of transport, devices, and gadgets, people can travel and exchange information at an unprecedented pace. Business and commerce have experienced growth and globalization illustrated by the existence and functioning of multinational companies. Arts have commercialized significantly, which is proved by the global popularity of Hollywood. Despite the positive tendency, progress bears certain drawbacks as well. One of them is that people have more duties to perform and cannot spend time on their interests. However, it is a predetermined consequence of the tendencies that began in the first century of the Renaissance as nowadays, development requires more resources than it used to.
References
Agnew, J. A., & Duncan, J. S. (Eds.). (2014). The power of place (RLE Social & Cultural Geography): Bringing together geographical and sociological imaginations. New York, NY: Routledge.
Burke, P. (2014). The Italian Renaissance: culture and society in Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Crane, D. (2013). Cultural globalization and the dominance of the American film industry: Cultural policies, national film industries, and transnational film. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 20(4), 365-382.
Curran, J. The internet of dreams: Reinterpreting the internet. In J. Curran, N. Fenton, & D. Freedman (Eds.), Misunderstanding the internet (2nd ed., pp. 1-48). New York, NY: Routledge.