Ap World Religions Dbq Essay

The Wars of Religion in the 17th and 18th centuries were some of the bloodiest conflicts of all of European history before the World Wars. They spanned the entire continent, involved nearly every member of society, and resulted in the deaths of millions. Reactions to these wars varied– some were in favour, some were opposed. However, despite the fact that people’s reactions deviated wildly, the evidence shows that many rulers had a similar attitude towards the Wars of Religion, and manipulated them for the benefit of themselves or their country.

In terms of reactions, the largest segment of the population was presumably those who were shocked and horrified by the bloody warfare, especially the vicious St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. As shown
The Spanish King Phillip II also took advantage of the situation in Europe for the gain of himself and his advisors. The section of the Dutch Declaration of Independence presented in Document 9 speaks at length about how Phillip would, “tyrannize at pleasure,” the Low Countries, primarily the Netherlands, while supposedly attempting to quash Protestantism. Instead, it seems, he violently subjugated the Dutch so that he could increase his own, “reputation and grandeur,” all the while allowing those close to him to have positions in, “the richest abbeys,” making a mockery of the supposedly sacred duties of bishops. The Declaration also plainly states that this was all done under, “the mask of religion.” In addition to his violence in the Netherlands, Phillip also tried to use his religion to fulfil his agenda against England. As Pope Pius said in a letter to the Guises, he supports, “all such means as shall be deemed necessary,” to reclaim England and save it from being, “oppressed by the heretics.” Even though the Pope intended to do this by supporting Mary, Queen of Scots, he still allowed Phillip to attempt to invade England after Mary’s execution, especially after Elizabeth started overtly supporting the Protestant rebellions in the