Final answer:
The printing press is considered crucial for its role in the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment, increase in literacy, and in forming modern nation-states through the spread of ideas and standardization of languages. Johannes Gutenberg's invention allowed information to be mass-produced, challenging power structures and aiding the rise of capitalist merchants.
Step-by-step explanation:
Historians regard the printing press as the most important invention of the past millennium because it revolutionized the way information was disseminated, leading to profound cultural, scientific, and societal developments. Johannes Gutenberg's improvements to printing technology around 1440 played a pivotal role in this transformation.
His invention facilitated the mass production of texts, resulting in increased literacy, the spread of humanistic and reformist ideas, and the promotion of knowledge from classical antiquity. The printing press also challenged existing power structures by making it possible to produce works that criticized the church and monarchies, such as those by Martin Luther and Galileo, thus contributing to the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment.
The impact of the printing press extended to the development of European nation-states. It helped establish a unified language for each emerging nation-state through the standardization of dialects and spread ideologies that were crucial in forming nation-state identities.
In addition to the cultural and societal impacts, the printing press aided the economic rise of capitalist merchants, further advancing the decline of feudal monarchies and contributing to the development of modern European nation-states.