1400luvulla

The 1400s (1400–1499), or 1400-luvulla in Finnish, denotes a period bridging the late Middle Ages and the early modern era. It featured political consolidation in Europe, demographic shifts after crises, and growing global connections that reshaped economies and cultures.

In Europe, the Hundred Years’ War ended around 1453, and Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in the same year, signaling a shift in regional power. The era also saw Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press (circa 1440–1450), which accelerated the spread of books, literacy, and administrative efficiency.

Maritime exploration expanded global links. Portuguese voyages along Africa’s coast, under early royal patronage, opened new sea routes. In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Americas under Spanish sponsorship, while Vasco da Gama’s 1498 voyage reached India. These explorations laid the groundwork for a burgeoning global trade network and intercultural contact.

In Asia and the Middle East, the Ming dynasty supported early sea expeditions under Zheng He in the early 1400s before shifting to more inward policies. The Ottoman Empire continued its expansion, growing into a major imperial power across the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean.

Culturally, the Renaissance gained momentum in Italian city-states and spread to northern Europe, fostering humanist scholarship, new artistic forms, and greater emphasis on learning. Advances in cartography, mathematics, and navigational techniques complemented these cultural shifts and aided exploration and administration.

Overall, the 1400s established enduring routes of exchange, power, and ideas that shaped political, religious, and scientific developments in the centuries that followed.