1. Faith no longer was the main face in peoples lives as science drifted in and slowly took over what people thought was true and what was told of them. As exploration became more popular, people had more choices regarding what they wanted to do and it gave them more opportunities to explore.Contact with the 'outside world' in small towns was helped greatly by exploration and commercialism.
2. I think that the use of water routes had the most impact during the Renaissance. For a long time, people have wanted to travel to different places, but their only problem was the biggest issue of all: getting there. In Europe, much of the countryside is hilly and mountainous so the explorers were forced to stop. When the Portuguese first set out to find trading routes, they set an example for other countries and were quickly followed. As more countries sailed and made relations with other places, trade became a major factor for countries. Goods were transported back to the country and the people could then try them and even become dependent on them. As food was bought, the country received more money and could then afford to build and expand. The people had more opportunities and were influenced by many other cultures instead of just their own. Differences in art, music, culture and religion were then founded and people began to practice them instead of their old ways. Pretty soon the whole culture and way of living changed as change came sweeping into Europe. The influence of other cultures still has impact on European countries today...and it's all thanks to water routes!
3. As change and individualism was introduced in Europe, people began to look and think in different ways about life. Philosophy became a very popular subject and many great philosophers (like Locke, Smith and Rousseau) influenced people and with their beliefs. Science was brought in and people began to look at the world in a whole new way (instead of what they heard from the Bible). Some people began to question God and Christianity because they couldn't imagine some of the things happening, and so new religions formed. Deism was a religious philosophy based on reason and natural law. Philosophers then began to form new ideas about government, religion and economics. Many philosopher's ideas still influence life today: instead of Christianity being the one major religion, there are now many different religions that are practiced all over the world. Also, there are different types of government thanks to old philosophers-such as Montesquieu- who formed the idea of types of governments for specific places. The thoughts of philosophers still play into life today because they were well thought out and they showed the right of freedom.
4. Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau formed a very practical and true believe on how we follow our governments. He proposed the Social Contract where we as citizens go along with the government's decisions because that is what we are expected to do and if we don't then we will be punished. I think that now days in our society, there is much more fairness to the way we are governed, but the Social Contract still applies to us:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B84B520101210?type=smallBusinessNews
In this article, it talks about how the House is most likely going to pass the new tax cut bill. The tax cut is supposedly going to lower estate tax 10%, which would be good for homeowners. But as homeowners we can't have any say in this bill--to be passed or not to be passed. We have to learn and listen to our government because they make the rules, and so even if we don't like their way, we still have to have faith in them because nothing we can do can change it. Just like the Social Contract, we listen to our government and put our affairs in their hands because it is them who makes the rules and them who can solve our problems.
5. I think my trip to Europe this past summer has changed me a lot. I think the experience of actually going to places I'd really only ever seen on TV really made me experience and realize how cool the world actually is. I had to put myself out there a lot on the trip (like staying with a German host family I'd never met before) and so I got used to taking risks. I now find myself thinking and trying new things I never thought I'd do because I was just too shy. I learned that I really love to travel and visit different places in the world because there is just so much that people don't hear about. I got to visit a 300+ year old flour mill in the Austrian Alps, this is something no one can experience when just going on a vacation. I got to be a part of 'rebuilding' a castle, a medieval dinner, go inside the European Parliament and explore the city of Rome with a few other people. I would say that I learned so much on this trip about history and the world outside little Vermont. Vermont is great and all with all it's hills and 'mountains', but now, I can't think of mountains any other way then the Swiss Alps. They were just so beautiful and amazing and so big compared to the Green Mountains. From my European experience, I realized that I want to learn about the world, I want to go places and meet people and learn about them. There is just so much to explore and I want to see it all and my trip really opened me to that. It's weird to think that what if I hadn't gone on the trip. What if I took one look at that cost and wait "Nope, this is not happening."? I would have never be able to experience and learn all that I have and so I think that my European trip was probably the most influential experience that has ever happened to me.
