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Numerous inventions transformed European society such as the compass, paper and gunpowder. However, none had the dramatic impact as the invention of the printing press by Johannes Guttenberg in the mid 15th century. The printing press allowed for rapid creation of printed works due to the hand mold, a new technique which used moveable metal type. By increasing the speed by which printed works were created, quantities of books increased rapidly and became far more widespread. By the beginning of the 16th century, over 20 million volumes had been printed in Western Europe and over 240 printing shops were established. Initially religious works, such as the Bible, were primarily printed. Wider access to such materials allowed for individuals to form their own interpretations about religion. Individualism increased which spurred the development of movements such as the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Enlightenment. The printing press fuelled an information revolution as knowledge was quickly and more accurately spread. Literacy increased along with education as forms of learning were revolutionized, and the universal language changed from Latin to French. As the printing press became more common throughout Europe, new forms of printed works and themes began to be seen in society. The printing press promoted the development of reform movements and changed dynamics within European culture. Prior to the invention of the printing press, the majority of writings and drawings had to be created and copied manually. Scribes who lived and worked in monasteries were given the task to carefully and precisely hand copy texts from books. The material used for books was not paper, but more commonly parchment, wax, or papyrus as the...

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... goals in life. Literacy was initially defined as the ability to sign ones name but later changed to the ability to read and comprehend. There was a slow yet very noticeable increase in adult literacy throughout Europe as book production increased. In the 1500’s, around 5 to 10% of the European population was literate. By 1800, some countries achieved slow growth such as Spain which reached 20% adult literacy whereas other countries developed rapidly such as the Netherlands which achieved a 68% literate adult population. Using France, a major printing nation, as a case study, at the beginning of the 17th century only 29% of males and 14% of females were literate. A century later, over 50% of males and 34% of females were literate. Literacy slowly increased in Europe but did not become common throughout all levels of society until mass education was focused upon.

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