What was the impact of the Renaissance and Reformation on European Exploration?

Question

What was the impact of the Renaissance and Reformation on European Exploration?

Answer 1

"...the position of Italian cities such as Venice as great trading centres made them intellectual crossroads. Merchants brought with them ideas from far corners of the globe, particularly the Levant. Venice was Europe's gateway to trade with the East, and a producer of fine glass, while Florence was a capital of silk and jewelry. The wealth such business brought to Italy meant that large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned and individuals had more leisure time for study."

The story of European exploration and discovery in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries starts with the international fishing community off Newfoundland-a group of fisherfolk, mariners, and merchants who swarmed to fish the waters and to swap supplies and gossip at St. John's. The tales traded by these ordinary seamen and traders featured the exploits of "great men"-the Portuguese explorations of the coast of Africa and their charting of a new route to Asia; the efforts of John Cabot to find a northwest passage to the Orient; and, of course, Columbus's discovery of America.