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King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain

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King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain

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In addition to unifying Spain, in their reign from 1475 to 1504, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella oversaw the completion of the Reconquista and funded Christopher Columbus's expedition which resulted in the discovery of the Americas. Instead of simply directing the Reconquista, it was orchestrated to establish Christian superiority by granting special privilages to Christian soldiers and mercilessly 'cleansing' Spain of all non-Christian religion with no exceptions. The high from such intense extermination most likely contributed to their hunger to spread Christianity, and the world altering decision to fund Columbus's 1492 voyage.

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Desiderius Erasmus, the dutch scholar and philosopher, was also a Catholic priest in his position of great influence during the Renaissance. Arguably his most notable published work was his edited version of the New Testament with Pope Nicholas V. With a pope and Catholic priest collaborating on a religious text, there was incentive to secure loyalty to the papcy and Catholocism. His contributions to the intellectual movements of the Renaissance are immense, though he had the power and means to circulate pro-Catholic sentiments within these developments.

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This is the edict on Buddhism written by empress Wu Zetian. Differences in religion caused a divide amongst the Tang dynasty and society as a whole. This edict is describing the evil and the good of the world as well as specifically discussing the Buddha.

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Martin Luther, a German monk and theologist of the 15th and 16th centuries, would lead the Protestant reformation, eventually establishing Protestantism as a sect separate from Catholocism. His burning of the Papal Bull and 95 edicts with the Catholic church would also inspire individualistic perspectives of society, taking some degree of power in the form of blind loyalty from the all powerful papcy.

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Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz 1882

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Historical Context B2: European Exploration and Colonization

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Historical Context B2: European Exploration and Colonization

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In Columbus’s Letter in 1493 for treasurer, Christianity is not the main focus though it is woven in and mentioned in the conclusion, asserting "our Redeemer has given victory to our most illustrious King and Queen...with fervent prayers for the high distinction that will accrue to them from turning so many peoples to our holy faith" (Columbus 5). Christinization is present as something destined and beneficial to the recipients. Columbus included this in a letter appealing for funding, therefore incentives or justifications are still reliant on religion.

Columbus's letter to the treasurer of Spain in 1493
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Historical Context B1: European Exploration and Colonization

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Historical Context B1: European Exploration and Colonization

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Before Christian exploration was able to occur in Ibera, the Reconquista had to occur. Christians engaged in crusades against the existing Muslim communities in Spain. The need for non-Christian cleansing resulted wiped out Muslim and some Jewish populations, the soldiers fighting for this revered and romanticised as heroes. This superiority complex of Christian supremacy emerging from the Reconquista would feed the hunger for Christinization in the approaching years of exploration.

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Historical Context A1: 1300-1500CE Renaissance in Western Europe

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Historical Context A1: 1300-1500CE Renaissance in Western Europe

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The intellectual revitalization quintessential to the Renaissance was spurred by Christianity and the church's need understand and distribute the Bible during the Catholic Reform. This incentivised the printing press and resulted in Gutenberg’s Bible, reaching 10 million copies in 1500 and spreading literacy as well as ideals.

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Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland
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These are Chinese woodblocks from the Tang dynasty that helped the spread of Buddhism and encouraged followers

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These are Chinese woodblocks from the Tang dynasty that helped the spread of Buddhism and encouraged followers

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This is a painting of Empress Wu who advocated for Buddhism during the Tang dynasty

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This is a painting of Empress Wu who advocated for Buddhism during the Tang dynasty

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This is a headstone of a High Tang Buddhist from the time. The Buddha was a very important and desired symbol for Buddhists. Putting together this sculpture of a High elite Buddhist depicting it almost as the Buddha itself shows that the elite Buddhists held great religious power and authority in this dynasty.

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Historical Figures from the Tang dynasty:

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Historical Figures from the Tang dynasty:

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- Wu Zetian (Wu Zhao): The 1st and only women ruler in China who ruled the Tang dynasty and favored Buddhism as the state religion
- Xuanzong (Li Longji): The 7th emperor of the Tang dynasty who made the Tang dynasty a Golden Age in China allowing for the spread of religions such as Buddhism
- Han Yu: A neo-Confucian poet, government official, and writer in the Tang dynasty who voiced his opinions openly
- Taizong (Li-Shimin): The 2nd Tang emperor who is one of the greatest rulers in China because of his tolerance to religion, reforms, laws, government rule, and prosperity. He was married to Wu Zetian.

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This is a sculpture of the head Tang Dynasty that represents the importance of the Buddha

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This is a sculpture of the head Tang Dynasty that represents the importance of the Buddha

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Created in 1512, Raffaello Sanzio's School of Athens features the leading scholars of the time, though some are looking up to what is theorized to be God in the heavnes.
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Historical Context Tang dynasty (Pt. 2)-Buddhism promoted egalitarian life and independence for women- Wu Zetian was a big part of this during the Tang dynasty:

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Historical Context Tang dynasty (Pt. 2)-Buddhism promoted egalitarian life and independence for women- Wu Zetian was a big part of this during the Tang dynasty:

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Buddhism promoted more equal rights for women and more of an independent lifestyle. Empress Wu Zetian (also known as Wu Zhao) was a ruler of the Tang dynasty. Empress Wu supported and promoted Buddhism to her supporters  to promote gender equality as well as power. She wanted to go against the classic Confucian beliefs that women could not rule and were not as good as men. She built Buddhist temples and had writers write Buddhist texts. During her reign, the practice of Chinese Buddhism heightened and became more influential.

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Historical Context A3: 1300-1500CE Renaissance in Western Europe

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Historical Context A3: 1300-1500CE Renaissance in Western Europe

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Europe's first universities originated as cathedral schools which eventually evolved into the specialized institutions in the later Renaissance like medical schools in France, law in Italy and theology in the UK. Although the content was derived from different cultures, the four year degree progam with exames was unique to the Catholic foundations. Although the later Renaissance began to encourage secularism, the defining works of the time are meant to embody Christianity, such as Michelangelo's David and St. Peter's Basilica, Da Vinci's Last Supper and lesser known works where scholarly settings were intertwined with religious influence.

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These are Buddhist sculptures from the Tang dynasty. One is the Buddhist heavenly king and the other being the demon guardian sculpture.

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Historical Context Tang dynasty (Pt. 1)-Golden Age of Chinese culture, arts, and ideas:

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Historical Context Tang dynasty (Pt. 1)-Golden Age of Chinese culture, arts, and ideas:

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Religions in Tang included Buddhism, Taoism, indigenous religions, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. The most prevalent religion during the time was Buddhism. Buddhism spread across Asia through trade routes and through scriptures that had circulated. Buddhism became popular because it offered the end of suffering and nirvana (a state of perfect happiness with no suffering, desire or selfishness). Woodblock printing was used during the Golden Age which helped the spread of Buddhism become more efficient because Buddhists could now mass-produce their texts. Art such as sculptures and paintings were created with the Buddha's head on it as well as other religious figures. This made religion prosper and more and more people started following Buddhism as well as Taoism.

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Historical Context A2: 1300-1500CE Renaissance in Western Europe

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Historical Context A2: 1300-1500CE Renaissance in Western Europe

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Societal mindsets during the Renaissance shifted towards individualism, a concept stemming from Christian humanism. For the sake of familiarity, Chruches turned Greco-Roman texts from Aristotle, Plao and other scholars who encorporated classic Christian beliefs into their text. Church and bible revitlization was the priority, though the individual freedoms and individualisms of christian humanity and the Greco Roman texts would serve as the bread and butter for classical humanism and advancements in literature, the arts and sciences.