How+did+the+growth+of+cities+contribute+to+a+changing+worldview?

Maddy & Chris

__**How did the growth of cities contribute to a changing worldview?**__ -Urbanization: Make or become urban in character. -Merchants hired adventurers/sailors to go to North Africa and the Middle East to pick up trade items. (i.e China-Silk and spices, Egypt-Cotton) -Due to the rapid increase of trading most cities began to grow. -This increased contact with society and cultures through trade, Europeans were exposed to intellectual knowledge and ideas as well as other religions and beliefs. -Cities became like a home base for trades and traders. -Others saw that their belief wasn't the same as others, and they started questioning their own god. -With more and more resources in the cities, people began to see different scientific advancements. -Most came in contact with Islamic societies who were located between Europe and the Far East parts of China. -In Europe the number of Merchants as with their wealth increased greatly. -People all around Europe noticed that they could move out of the class they were born in. (i.e. Peasants or Lower Clergy -Wealth began to create jobs that were outside of the feudal system. Conclusion: Due to the rapid increase in urbanization of cities, they started becoming "home base" for trades. This exposed many different races, cultures, and beliefs to already bias people. Those people began questioning their own beliefs because of the increased contact with foreign groups such as the Arabs and Chinese. This opened up more possibilities for beliefs of the Europeans.