Middle Ages & Renaissance
1) The Black Death started in the 13th century. It first originated in China. Rats which carried the disease climbed onto yhe boat, and fleas were also on the rats, and they spread the disease to humans. The Black Death was brought over from China to Europe. Disease struck the boat's passengers, and they were told not to dock, so that they wouldn't spread the Plague. But unfortunately, it was too late. The rats and fleas climbed on the ropes off the boat and into town. In just a couple days many people had the plague disease. The disease spread and spread until eventuallly 1/3 of Europe's population had been killed by the disease. The disease brought the population down and many villages and places had been burned or closed down because of the plague. The plague caused devastation but also encouraged people to change their hygiene habits and believe in God and religions. The Bubonic Plague had a huge impact on Europe.
CRUSADES
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2) The Crusades were a group of Christian soldiers that were unhappy with the Islamic people. There was a war between the Christians and the Muslims. The first crusade was during 1095-1099, in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Crusades attacked the Muslims and battle struck out. The Crusades had a huge impact on Catholics, and helped spread Christianity. There were nine crusades, and the last Crusade ended in 1272. The Crusades were successful in spreading their religion, and encouraged many others to do the same.
RENAISSANCE
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3 ) The Renaissance was an important time of humanistic values. Many people discovered a passion and/or talent of theirs. Some people, for example Leonardo da Vinci, became famous artists, and published many famous art pieces. The term Renaissance literally means "rebirth ". It was characterized by a surge of interest in classical values and activities. Many people found an artistic or special talent/hobby of theirs.
MARTIN LUTHER
4) Martin Luther was a very great and couragious man. He at first wanted to be a lawyer, so he went to law school. One night he almost got struck by lightning so he took that as a sign to follow God and become a Monk. Once he became a Monk, he wasn't very happy with the descisions the church was making. They were basically forcing people to pay them and saying that "If you pay, all of your sins will be gone." Martin Luther didn't like that, so he came up with a list called the "95 Theses" and he posted them on the church door. Then, the Pope and people of the church did not like that, and called him to an important meeting in the church. He did not feel sorry for what he did and so he left. He did invent a religion called Lutheranism, where people followed the 95 Theses. He was a very couragious and great man, and he helped make Christianity nice and kind.