Prining
The printing press had a tremendous impact on three main areas of life: social, religous, and economic.
However, in order to truly track the affect that the printing press has had upon society, it is imperative to look as to how it has changed the course of the development of new technology. The printing press allowed for the spread of ideas to new areas which allowed scientists to have a significantly larger amount of information available to them which in turn allowed them to come up with new technologies quicker. For example, old Arabic texts, as well as classic Greek and Roman texts, were found and distributed which greatly improved technology and its effects.
Another huge impact the printing press has had is on religion. The protestant Reformation is the first clear example of how great an impact the printing press could make upon society. Martin Luther was the first person to use the printing press in a manner that has had lasting and significant impacts even to this day. If it were not for the printing press, Martin Luther would have never been able to get his theses or ideas out to the public, and the church and government would have been able to continue to collude in order to ensure Martin Luther and keep power for themselves. Would the Catholic Church have ever split if it wasn’t for Martin Luther’s ability to use the printing press. What would the Catholic Church look like today? “In the first hallf of 16th century martin luther had written ⅓ of all germanic books and there was nothing the church could do to shut down all the avenues he could sell them to. Half of German teritories had broken off from the Roman Catholic church before his death in 1546.”
The third huge impact that the printing press has had has been on society. Not only has the printing press been perhaps the most significant tool for social religious change, and technological development, however, it has also played a huge role in some of the greatest revolutions the world has ever seen. Whether it be Propoganda in the English Civil War or in World War II, without the ability to get information out and across the globe, none of these revolutions would have ever taken place, and it is very likely that the government today would still have absolute power and control over the people as the spreading of the news was the greatest and only way to mobilize a large group of people
Roos, Dave. “7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Aug. 2019, http://www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance. “The Effects of the Printing Press - History of Printing.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/historyofprinting/the-effects-of-the-printing-press. Rodgers, Jamal. “The Protestant Reformation at the Hands of the Printing Press.” Medium, Practice of History, Spring 2018, 27 Apr. 2018, medium.com/practice-of-history-2018/titlw-of-papweer-2adc4210dd24. Rodgers, Jamal. “The Protestant Reformation at the Hands of the Printing Press.” Medium, Practice of History, Spring 2018, 27 Apr. 2018, http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-english-civil-war-and-the-rise-of-journalism/.
