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In 1347, the Black Death began ravaging Europe. Ironically, by killing a large percentage of the population, the plague improved the economy, allowing wealthy people to invest in art and display, and engage in secular scholarly study.
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Leonardo Bruni offer his Panegyric to the City of Florence, describing a city where freedom of speech, self-government, and equality reigned
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The artist, humanist, scientist, and naturalist Leonardo da Vinci was born. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople, compelling many Greek thinkers and their works to move westward. That same year, the Hundred Years War ended, bringing stability to northwestern Europe.
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Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488; Columbus reached the Bahamas in 1492; and Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498.
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Renaissance was impacting and impacted by political events throughout Europe. In 1503, Julius II was appointed pope, bringing in the start of the Roman Golden Age. Henry VIII came to power in England in 1509 and Francis I succeeded to the French Throne in 1515
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Temporarily eased the tensions arising from the Reformation, by allowing the legal co-existence of Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. Charles V abdicated the Spanish throne in 1556, and Philip II took over; and England's Golden Age began when Elizabeth I was crowned queen in 1558.