DBQ for AP World History
The printing press was transformed by Johann Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, and more than 8 million books were printed in Western Europe between 1456 and 1500. This invention had an effect with the Protestant Reformation. It not only furthered the knowledge of geography, but it also expanded knowledge throughout the countries and whether you were wealthy or poor, printing made books available to the general public. By 1560, many people were either Catholic, Protestant, or mixed (Doc. 5). Non-Catholic Western European Christians were the followers of Luther. Luther’s goal was to stir debate around the issue of indulgences. He believed that is was wrong how the churches would encourage indulgences onto the people. Written in one of the 95 Theses, if people bought indulgences, then they would be “eternally damned” and because of the printing press, the 95 Theses were known throughout Europe (Doc. 3). Luther would compare criminals to the Popes to get his point across. In document 4, Luther used the word “robbers”. Robbers steal and he used this word against the popes. The popes were taking money from the people in exchange of an indulgence. Lucas Cranach, a close friend of Luther, made a woodcut to demonstrate not only the comparison between a pope and Jesus, but also how money was a key factor (Doc. 4). Having a point of view from a Catholic German pope in 1521 could give details and evidence of how indulgences were for the better of the people and not for the pope himself. In 1471, the printing press was not known widely. About thirty years later, the invention spread and along with it was a letter (Doc. 2). Christopher Columbus wrote about his experience of inhabited islands he found in the letter and because of the printing press, his letter spread throughout Western Europe (Doc. 6). He wrote this to keep the king of Spain updated and to let the public know his findings. Columbus was a skilled voyager. He wanted to find new routes and to bring back goods. In