1. JESUITS IN CHINA
By the 11th century Italy dominated commerce in the Mediterranean and Western Europe, this enabled them to amass great wealth and a certain sense of self-confidence. The Italians, through organization and cleverness exploited their advantages, and by the high Middle Ages strong, wealthy and independent city-states, unlike the manors of Europe, had evolved. In addition, Italy was consistently exposed to not only the large-scale flow of goods, but also to new ideas and knowledge. It is important to note that although Italy had become independent, the Church still remained powerful and religion continued to be a governing factor. But, pre humanists began to question the teachings of the church and the corruption evident in the Papacy. Many pre Renaissance and Renaissance individuals felt torn between the pious teachings of the church and the earthly pleasures which wealth and independence brought. Until this point, education was scarce and only monastic schools existed, mainly for educating the clergy. The wealthy Italians, dissatisfied with the monastic schools, established independent municipal universities with a secular approach to learning, based on the classics. This was one of the decisive steps away from the church and towards a humanistic approach to life.
Humanism is thought to be the most significant and defining intellectual and literary movement of the Renaissance. The leader of the Humanistic movement was Francis Petrarch (the anglicized name of Francesco Petrarca, 1304-1374). He is often referred to as "the Father of the Renaissance." Petrarch characterized the earliest glimmerings of humanism in a mindset dominated by the Christian church. He is seen as the writer who most clearly had one foot in the Middle Ages and the other in the Renaissance. Through persistence and industry he brought Western Europe into contact with antiquity and the values of the Roman Empire.