How did Mathematics change/improve in the Renaissance Era?

Early Renaissance thinkers followed Plato in emphasizing
mathematics as the key to understanding nature. He had established the philosophy that
the physical world was merely an imperfect reflection of the perfect forms.  However,
during the Renaissance the concept that the physical world was indeed a perfect
reflection of Divine intent.  These Neo Platonists  included Copernicus, Galileo, and
Kepler, all of whom used geometric measurement to begin to explain the structure and
motion of the physical world.  Although the culmination of their efforts came very late
in the Renaissance, their efforts led to the foundation that Isaac Newton established in
the 1700's  through his calculus to perfectly describe motion and rates of
change.