Modern Age Europe 1348-1789 Analysis: The Discovery of New World, Reformation and the Religion Wars in Europe - Term Paper Example

? Introduction Colonization in Europe and America was phenomenal. Trade and religion were the mostaffected. Spain and Portugal asserted their positions in leading the exploration. They were joined by other European countries with the same interest. Trade on natural resources, slaves and spices were introduced. As a result, Europe exploited America’s resources and grew tremendously. However, goods and diseases were exchanged between the two continents. This led to the spread to religion. Religion became intertwined with governance and was misused by tyrants provoking a wave or resentment. This paper explores the discovery of new world, reformation and the religion wars in Europe. Thesis Colonization opened up Europe and America to new spheres of trade and culture. This interaction influenced the evolution of culture, trade and religious reformation over time to redefine freedom and democratic government. The impact of contact and colonization on both Europe and the Americas The scope and capacity of Europeans expanded enormously with the discovery of Americas. This can be explained both in terms of intellect and geography. New economic forces we set in motion with the discovery of new inhabitants in different parts of the world. The desire to exploit minerals gave rise to new cultures, which influenced human wealth. This was most common in Western Europe, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.303). The quest for supremacy grew gradually from the fifteenth century. There was a shift from Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic region. This set the stage for expansion of the globe. Prince Henry, brother to the Portuguese king captured Ceuta City. This was a city in North Africa. Ceuta was a Muslim city and Prince Henry was inspired by both religious and mercenary motives. He wanted to convert Muslims and pagans into Christians and at the same time look for gold. This answers how Portuguese began their exploration on the African coast. It was all a search for gold, spices and slaves. The Portuguese ships had to turn to the deep ocean every time they met a cape. This gave them the experience required to sail to Asia and America, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.305). The slave trade thrived with tribal chiefs trading slaves for finished goods. This earned the Portuguese allies in the Western Europe begun to increase as the trade on spices flourished. This fireship also grew among Muslims who were previously arch enemies. Most of the Portuguese exploration was concentrated around the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese empire had grown with explorer colonies being established at Calcutta and Goa. The Portuguese encouraged to Arabs to take control of the spices industry. The Spanish decided to go west. They believed that by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, they could find a shorter route to East Indies. What followed was the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1451-1506. The Spanish voyages of Columbus. In October 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in eastern Bahamas, San Salvador. This was three days after he departed form Canary Islands. The natives of the new world were extremely friendly and supplied all the things he needed. This included corn, sexual favors and yams. Columbus did not know that he had discovered a new continent because he was using a faulty map. The called these residents Indians, thinking that he were in East Indies. He would discover later that Cuba was not Japan and that South America was not china. The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus marked the start of rise of Spanish empire in Americas, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.309). The voyages later turned out to be conquests. This revealed the desire for the Spanish explorers to convert non Christians. The voyages created the largest trading bloc immensely to the benefit of Spain. This motivated other European countries to conduct their own ventures with a colonial ambition. Spain got wealth from America and used it to finance both religious and political wars. This created an economic expansion in Europe. This expansion had a profound impact biologically. Trade between Europe and America led to spread of new species and diseases to and from both counterparts. The Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism to both north and South America. They also introduced social structures, which are hierarchical and economic dependency. Some of these imprints are visible to date. Aztecs in Mexico The Aztecs were a subservient people who arrived in the valley of Mexico in 12th century. They begun to expand in 1428 and went on to rule the central Mexico from their capital, now known us Mexico City. Spanish conquests met the Aztecs in power and were worshiping multiple gods, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.311). The Aztecs believed that their gods had to be appeased with human blood. The Spaniards tried to introduce trade to them. The Spaniards became friendly to them, but after some time, the Aztecs became openly hostile. This led to Spaniards being wiped out. However, the Spaniard laid siege to the modern day Mexico City, and after fierce resistance, the Aztecs were defeated in 1495-1525 under the leadership of Cuauhtemoc. The Spaniard leader Cortes ruined the city and rebuilt it and renamed the empire to be the New Spain. This increased the economic and cultural influence of Spain in both Europe and America. This happened through trade between South America and Spain. The Incas in Peru. The Spaniards spread their conquest to Peru to the Incas Empire. The Incas began to expand in the fifteenth century. They compelled the subjects to work for the interest of the state, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.308). Francisco Pizarro, under the inspiration of Cortes, arrived in South America and lured the Incas leader into a conference than seized him. The resistance continued after the Incas capital was captured. The Spaniards introduced European diseases like small pox. This also led to the spread of the Roman Catholic even further. After the entire America was subdued, the Spaniards dominated freely. The church could not challenge to colonialists. The main interest of the Europeans was to mining gold, silver and mercury. The Spaniards owned large agricultural farms and used forced labor to achieve their results. It also led to interaction of Europe and the new world in both trade and culture. The exploited resources helped built new research centers and gave rise to the printing press. If the Catholic Church and the Catholic monarchs had taken Martin Luther more seriously and if they had moved against him earlier, could the Reformation have been prevented? In the first twenty years of the 16th century, a strong religious movement spread in northern Europe. The movement started in Saxony Germany and was led by protestant reformers. The protestant reformers were against the medieval church which glorified human nature and loved traditional religion, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.322). The people, drawn from all social classes wanted simplified religion but insisted that magistrates, parents and teachers had to do their role of instilling discipline effectively. The reformation challenged renaissance in general. They wanted access to the original scripts like the Hebrew Scriptures. The aim was to challenge the authorities and religious institutions with biblical knowledge. The socio-political experiences caused religious reforms in the entire northern Europe. Protestants began preaching and praising freedom especially in Germany and Switzerland. John Calvin led a revolt against the bishop to enforce the reformation in Geneva. Martin Luther instigated a following that preached priesthood where all believers were equal and free. They scorned the papal laws and the religious landlords, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.320). The Martin Luther's followers had begun affecting political nerves of the traditional leaders. However, the reform was a demand from all social classes and not a single person. For instance, in Germany, the local prince viewed people as subjects and not as free citizens. This caused people to develop resentment. The feeling was spread from towns to villages. The protestant reforms promised a certain extent of liberation and social betterment to the peasant farmers. The feeling had been embraced by, the town dwellers, and the peasants were beginning to feel that their traditional freedoms drawn from fishing were beginning to be taken away by the secular leaders and the religious landlords of that time. The Roman Catholic Church had unified Europe in terms of religion. However, regional identity and nationalism was beginning to weaken the Roman Catholic. The emergence of secular leaders was also weakening the Roman Empire. The people had been used to powerful ecclesiastical leadership and oppression extortion of revenues, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.319). Town dwellers and peasants were used to do mechanical clerical duties without a real heart commitment. People were beginning to be fed up with this. This meant that people had no real knowledge of God. This system was against the vibrant faith suggested by the protestant reformers. The reform was unstoppable even if martin Luther was never in the picture. The communities rejected and protested both spiritual and financial abuses of the medieval church. Martin Luther was forced to publish articles to address the economic grievances. Germany, unlike some European countries like England lacked the political will to put to force the religious reforms of the age. This means that there were no provisions in the law compared to France and England, limiting or checking papal authority and revenues. What happened in England and France occurred mildly in Germany, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.324). Therefore, resentment grew, and people rejected clerical immunity and medieval church abuses among German urban dwellers and peasants. This provoked a national rebellion or opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. For long, the German humanists were patient with these criticisms up to 1516. In 1517, the criticism instigated the protest from martin Luther. Martin Luther was against what he called indulgences and laws that were designed to justify them. Therefore, martin Luther was only voicing what other people from different social classes had expressed. Therefore, had the Roman Catholic Church taken him more seriously and moved against him earlier, the reformation would still have happened. Martin Luther disagreed with the definition of righteousness. He argued that the righteousness of God described by the Roman Catholic was not attainable. He insisted that righteousness comes by faith alone. He attacked indulgence and redefined morality. He posted his 95 theses on the door of the castle church in 1517. Martin Luther, using his scholarly skills argued for the sovereignty of the scripture alone. He continued to release pamphlets justifying his position. He encouraged the German authorities to force the Roman Catholic Church to reform. He also wanted the Roman Catholic Church to release both economic and political power, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.320). Martin Luther was building on the resentment that people had developed, and he justified it with scholarly evidence and reason. He was not afraid to challenge the government of the day. He did this out of conviction and became the voice of the people. Martin Luther presented his views to Emperor Charles, but then he was ordered to recant. He failed to recant, and this led to him being ban and was taken to hiding. Martin Luther took the reformation that people started a notch higher. The reformation gained momentum even in the face of government condemnation. The reformation spread to Denmark, Sweden, Scotland, Poland, England and eventually the new world. Reformation proved to be unstoppable. The age of religious wars; political and religious connection. Between 16th and early 17th century, there were wars and bloody conflicts across Europe. The Protestants and Catholics were fighting. The wars were triggered by genuine religious convictions, and political dynastic rivalry, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.364). There was an emerging trend where members of a certain faith would believe in a certain form of governance. This led to conflict between Calvinists and Roman Catholic rulers in England, France, Scotland and Netherlands. The Calvinists wanted the right to govern themselves in their own territories where they would practice their religion openly. The war was perceived to be religious by the Calvinists. However, the Roman Catholic rulers were not ready to release power because they felt that the wars were political. Lutherans were agitating for territorial control. English puritans revolted and overcame Stuart monarchy, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.360). The Anglican Church was also challenged by the Puritans. This happened during the period of the thirty years of war in both central and the north parts of Europe. During this time, religious intolerance was at its peak. However, intellectuals perceived importance of religious tolerance and relativism much more compared to politicians. In England, France and Netherlands, Protestants and Catholics fought for control of power. The start of the thirty years of war in the year 1617 brought an expansion of conflicts across the European borders. Religious wars caused many European countries to end up in either direct or indirect conflict. The Protestants in France had caused the government to be on high alert. Calvinism was spread out in the entire nation of France although this group was only dominant in few sections of France. The group embarked on converting both ordinary people and the elite in power, Religious groupings formed alliances to protect their territories. Papal conspiracies existed and were feared by the Lutherans and Calvinists across Europe. These religious divisions were continued to fan both internal and international conflicts Religious groupings formed alliances to protect their territories. Papal conspiracies existed and were feared by the Lutherans and Calvinists across Europe. These religious divisions were continued to fan both internal and international conflicts. This is what culminated in the formation of military organization Conde. Coligny and Conde merged to form a formidable military organization which then merged with French Huguenot churches’ religious organization. This combination benefited from both religious and political factors. Calvinism imposed itself in a catholic dominated nation of France by creating political resistance, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.359). However, the sharing of secular and religious values cast doubts on the attractiveness of Calvinism. Protestants never opted for war until they were face with suppression. They initially practiced their faith and submitted to authorities until they were provoked by the political leaders. This caused Luther to grudgingly approve resistance to tyranny. Protestants accepted that political war can be connected to religious freedom. There was a perception that fighting a political war with an aim of getting religious freedom was a religious event. When politicians merged with religious groups to increase their influence, it was a political event. In France, there was hostility between Catholics and Protestants. This led to a catholic fanatic killing king Henry IV. There was a call for one faith and one law and one king. This taught Europe that religious war can be devastating. In 1562, Protestants were massacred by Guise in Champagne. A massacre happened during Saint Bartholomew day in 1572 that left thousands dead. In conclusion, religious groupings formed alliances to protect their territories. Papal conspiracies existed and were feared by the Lutherans and Calvinists across Europe. These religious divisions were continued to fan both internal and international conflicts. In Netherlands, Calvinism gave rise to political resistance. Religion played a role in liberation of Netherlands from Spain. This was significant in the removal of Alba from power in Spain. The northern provinces of Ghent which were catholic came together with southern provinces with were protestant to defeat Spain. The southern provinces are the modern day Netherlands. Religion was starting to be used as a political tool to achieve political objectives. In that context, religion became used as a political tool in an international conflict. When the need arose, politicians capitalized on religious differences to achieve their intentions, (Kagan and Ozment, 2010, p.365). Religious groupings like Lutherans, Calvinists and Catholics fought for territorial control in many parts of Europe. In most of these fights, Catholics were fighting to preserve their political grip. Religion became a tool for fighting for control of resources and power especially in France and England. After England and France signed a mutual deference pact, the queen Elizabeth of England became the only source of protection for Protestants in France. This is after the Saint Bartholomew day massacre of Protestants. Religious wars and conflicts were beginning to take an international approach, with countries feeling that they were responsible for each other. Mary, queen of Scotts, impressed both Protestants and Catholics by establishing a French international court culture. Works Cited Kagan, Donald, and Steven Ozment. The Western Heritage. 10th ed. Pearson, 2010. Print. Read More