The Renaissance

 Everyone knows that the dawning of the Renaissance lifted the Europeans out of a long dark age, and that the Enlightenment followed the Renaissance. But much of the story is left out in contemporary school boooks.

 There were two events that together triggered the Renaissance of Western Europe. In 1347, the Black Death spread to Constantinople. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured the city and renamed it Istanbul.

 The mainstream view is that Arabian philosophers such as Ibn Rushd (or Averroes) preserved philosophy's spark. After the fall of the Roman empire, the Byzantine Empire lasted another 1,000 years. Although staunchly Christian, the proximity of Constantinople and Athens enabled the Byzantine empire to become the torch holder of ancient wisdom.

 After Constantinople was captured by the invading Muslims, the intellectuals of the city fled. They crossed the Adriatic and reached Italy. By this time the Black Death had killed off so many that wealth was redistributed across Europe. A youthful rising power in Italy led by nouveau riche elites welcomed these intellectuals and became their patrons. They flourished, and created the Renaissance.