Humanities & Classics 1002
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Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
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I can't help but see a relationship between Renaissance Humanism and Colonization. The Renaissance prompted many scholarly individuals to believe that humanity had the god-given right to go out and do whatever they pleased. There was a new energy in the air, the sky was the limit and they were venturing into places that were previously unstudied during the Middle Ages. Soon people began to literally venture into unknown territory and the age of exploration began. The problem was that as soon as they entered a new land or "discovered" it as they say, they planted their flags there and started taking over. To quote another prof of mine, "I love the British. They go into a country where people have been living happily for centuries and they say, 'This is a nice place. It's ours now'" It seems so silly, but it's true. That's exactly what they did over and over again. Renaissance explorers must have been brave and confident to travel to such distant lands, but their confidence manifested itself in a terrible way. They were so confident that they thought that there way was the best way. Isn't it ironic that these people are exhibiting the same kind of behavior that the church was being blamed for at this time? People had problems with the church because they were not being flexible about their beliefs. They believed in only one set of beliefs, the churches beliefs. Yet, these same people go into another country and treat the natives there the same way that the church has been treating them. Seems that humanity is pretty flawed after all.