Protestant Reformation: Catalysts and Global Impact

Allison Brown World History Since 1500 Dr. Blackler February 26, 2021 Exam #1 I.D. Questions Akbar I - The 3rd Emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from 1556-1605, his reign is detailed with “flowery language” by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, the author ofAkbarnama. the This biography and historian’s knowledge of Akbar notes his role of acceptance within the Mughal Empire. As a Zoroastrian himself, Akbar promoted religious tolerance and built on the cultural complexity and cosmopolitanism of the Empire. Hernan Cortes (1485-1547) - An infamous Spanish conquistador who would travel to the new world, spending time in modern-day Cuba before prompting the fall of the Aztec civilization with his arrival in 1519. Cortes’ actions and violence against the Aztecs, their leader Montezuma, and Tenochtitlan is detailed with two different historical accounts, one written by Bernal Diaz the other by indigenous populations (Broken Spears), to highlight how Cortes in the new world would seize the empire and set a precedent for the treatment indigenous populations and attempts at conversion to Christianity. Columbian Exchange - Is a modern term named after Christopher Columbus given to denote the travel of animals, culture, technology, disease, plants, and ideas between the “Old World” and the “New World” in the 15th and 16th centuries. Alfred Crosby’s book in 1972 increased the term’s popularity and established five main tenets of the exchange that caused both positive and negative global impacts. Positively, new food sources were available to different populations, like the spread of the Andean potato and maize to the old world, and crops like sugarcane along with animals such as Chickens to the new world. The Columbian Exchange had an unprecedented impact as well with spreading disease between the two continents. Zheng He (b.1371)-Was a Chinese explorer during the Ming Dynasty who explored Southeast China through various different naval expeditions from 1405-1433. Previously, exploration from China was lacking due to no immediate necessity for different goods. The accounts of his travel and his finding were essential in growing the diversity of species and in the creation of trade routes. Essay Question #1 Arguably the most impactful religious movement for both the European continent and the broader world, the protestant reformation entirely redefined Catholicism and spurred the creation of other Christian religions. A myriad of social, economical, as well as the broader, public, discontent led to revolt and reform of the Catholic institution, changes that would directly lead to mission-work in the New World and a more humanistic approach to Christianity. To start, the social and economical issues that led to reformation. Socially, corruption was obvious in the Church’s appointments and leadership. The Sacrament of Penance including contrition, confession, penance, and absolution led to a system in which Catholic leadership was able to use their own knowledge and status for their own gain. Economically, the Sale of Indulgences and the Catholic construct of “purgatory” required congregations to give the church money for slips of paper that would lessen their own time in purgatory or additional payments to save a member of one’s family in purgatory. These church requirements were unnecessary, but parishes had no option but to abide by the word of their Pope and Bishop until Martin Luther began to call for reform alongside other Christian intellectuals who were speaking up and out about the Church. This “breakthrough experience” mentioned in lecture, occurred over a span of time in the early 1500s. Essentially, it was the broader notion that salvation is based on faith rather than works, how the Catholic Institution had been preaching, and that the religion was inevitably corrupted. Luther pinned the 95 Theses to the door in October of 1517, boldly stating that faith isn’t determined by wealth and your salvation isn’t dependent on your church contributions. Desiderius Erasmus with theof Folly Praise (1509) prompted Christianity to show people how to live good lives on a daily basis rather than a belief system individuals had to follow in order to achieve salvation. Thomas MoreUtopia with (1516) built on this idea, that Christianity should be a guide to people's lives, not a “black and white” set of requirements. Although both Erasmus and More spoke out against corruption and changes to be made in the Catholic Church, Martin Luther advocated for a complete religious split from the Catholic institution. Martin Luther’s beliefs and theses were amplified by Gutenberg’s printing press, a revolutionary technology that made the Protestant Reformation possible. Luther and other scholars speaking for reformation did so out of a direct desire for change in the general population, economic and social factors pushing for new practices. The waves of reformation were not limited to Europe and crossed the Atlantic with the counterreformation and the urgency for more Catholic conversion. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) as was stated in lecture, “was the embodiment of counter-reformation”. The council condemned the principles and beliefs of Protestantism, agreed to effect some change within the Church regarding administrative corruption, and established that the Catholic Church was the main, and only, legitimate interpreter of scripture. The Council established their clear definition of faith and good works, which directly contradicted (now heretic) Luther's “...justification by faith alone”. Looking to the New World, the Catholic Church was looking to boost its number of followers to account for the loss of congregations in Europe. Ignatius of Loyola would be a key figure in Catholic conversion who would eventually found the Jesuit Order. He believed that the Church had to gain new followers of Catholicism through education, not through direct conquest and violence. Loyola would travel far into Northern America in an attempt to spread Catholicism to indigenous populations, protestantism would later follow and partake in the missionary work as well. After the Reformation, the Catholic Church saw its future outside of Europe. In conclusion, the Protestant Reformation occurred because of a handful of social, economic, public issues in Europe that was only heightened with the words of Martin Luther and other Christian intellectuals that would push the continent into newfound Protestantism as well as drive the Catholic institution to shift their focus to new territories.