The Italian Renaissance—localised largely in the nordicised stock of Italy—was a rush of creativity starting in the 14th century. From Da Vinci to Canova, the arts and human cultivation flourished. Within this period, the inception of the German Printing Press and their Protestant Reformation simultaneously spread literacy and knowledge across Northern Europe, a fateful enlightenment.

Britain picked up the torch, sparking the Scientific Revolution. Bacon, Prophet of Method; Newton, guarantor of universal law; Boyle, father of chemistry; Thomson, subatomic pioneer; Franklin, a wizard in mechanics and humanities. Practical maths, geometry, wires and wireless, computation, biology, eugenics, the industrial revolution. Massive advances thanks to the British.