Unit Summary Question 4

The Spanish and Portuguese Catholic predominance gave them superiority through Treaty of Tordesillas in which these two countries were given the right to the Western World. After Isabella's and Ferdinand's marriage, the country of Spain was reformed in a matter that caused a bloody reformation of the nation's religion. The Spanish Inquisition of the late sixteen century had killed tens of thousands of Protestants and other non-Catholics. Through this reformation, the country was 'purified' into a Catholic stronghold. Portugal, already being a Catholic stronghold, was also in strong support of the Papacy. Once the New World was discovered, the Portuguese and Spanish claim to it was granted by the Pope due to their strong Catholic makeup. The effect allowed the countries to take advantage of the New World several years before other major countries such as France and England could. Though most of the European countries disagreed with the treaty, religion played a key role in supporting the newly acquired claimed of the two Catholic countries. Spain and Portugal were able to become vastly superior in Europe through their export of American goods. Other countries such as France and England, were forced to wait in order to found colonies since they were not supported by the Vatican which was the backbone of the European continent. The founding of colonies in the far northern Americas by the French and English showed that their lack of pure Catholicism had caused them to endure worse conditions in the New World. Overall, Catholic support proved to be the factor that allowed Spain and Portugal to become the dominant leaders in the new world.