Part 1

The term "Renaissance" is French, meaning "rebirth." Do you believe this is an accurate term for the era that bears its name? If so, what justifies this term? If not, why, and what term would be better suited to describe this era of creative expression?

Part 2

With the end of the Thirty Years' War and the permanent rise of Protestantism, economic power in Europe shifted from the Iberian Peninsula to northwestern Europe, particularly in England and the Netherlands. How much of a role did the Protestantism that rose in these northwestern European countries have in their emerging economic structures?