Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press around 1448 had a significant impact on the spread of ideas in Europe and beyond. Printing technology traveled quickly across Europe and, at a time of great religious change, played a key role in the success of the Protestant Reformation. Reformation leader Martin Luther could only preach to a small number of people, but the printed word could spread his message to thousands more
The printing press drastically cut the cost of producing books and other printed materials. Prior to Gutenberg’s invention, the only way of making multiple copies of a book was to copy the text by hand, an laborious and intensely time-consuming occupation usually performed by monks. The materials involved were also costly: Monks wrote on treated skins, known as vellum, and a single copy of the Bible could require 300 sheepskins or 170 calfskins. Printing onto paper made copying cheaper and faster.
My source:
http://classroom.synonym.com/impact-did-invention-printing-press-spread-religion-6617.html
While the northern colonies were originally established as a way for people of all religions to practice freely, the Southern colonies were established as a way for settlers to make money. Settlers were to eager to find economic prosperity that they could not find in Europe.
Given the Southern Colonies' relatively stable climate and rich soil, settlers were drawn to cash crops such as cotton and tobacco. They created new and lucrative markets in the New World and made plantation owners very, very rich.
