Controversially regarded as the progression from Medieval Times to the the beginning of the 'modern' ages, the Renaissance saw continued poverty, warfare, religious and political persecution. Such events included the rise of Machiavelli, the Wars of Religion, the corrupt Borgia Popes, and the intensified witch-hunts of the 16th century. Many people who lived during the Renaissance did not view it as the "golden age" imagined by certain 19th-century authors, but were concerned by these social maladies.
