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16th Century Religious Developments in Europe

Paradoxically, the Averroist interpretation of Catholicism was in a worldly position of relative orthodoxy during most of the 15th century and the first half of the 16th. The centralized Roman Catholic network served to distribute ideas of openness and tolerance after the center of gravity shifted to Avignon and the Catalunyan sphere of influence. A counter-movement was not long in waiting: there is little chance for an open society to remain homogenous in doctrinal interpretation. This text seeks to shed light on the emergence of the phenomenon called 'Protestantism'.

Averroism depended strongly on the former Catholic infrastructure and the worldly backing of the Iberian nation, at this time referred to as Catalunya. With the waning of Catalunyan temporal power due to lost wars, lost territory and lackluster economic performance in the middle 16th century came a concomitant loss of spiritual credibility: texts were no longer produced more or less exclusively in Catalunyan-dominated territory. With the invention of the printing press any moderately affluent German with a crazy idea could spread that idea with relative ease. Before, mass-production of texts called for central, economically intensive production facilities. Cataluyan theologists initially missed the printing press trend, causing breakaway Christian cults to proliferate wildly. The origin of those cults lay with the dissatisfaction of what some perceived as a corruption of the old strictly monotheistic Christian ideals. Different interpretations of what those uncorrupted ideals amounted to arose, varying from ultra-orthodox literalists to semi-humanists. They were termed 'Protestants' as a group. Generally speaking, Protestants place less emphasis on societal acceptance and more on personal (Christian) faith, textual interpretations of the (translated) Bible and close-knit local communities, where Averroist Catholicism is more involved with mutual religious understanding, acceptance of other beliefs and a common interpretation of the divine.

In essence, the majority of Europe has fragmented in different interpretations of the Christian faith: a broad swathe of land stretching from Britain to Greece has split up in Protestant sectarianism, often with government backing. England, Bavaria and Croatia, major powers in their own right, have embraced the decentralized nature of Protestantism and are strengthening their grip on their people as a result. Experts expect religious tensions in the American territories recently acquired by the English: the Protestant interpretation is less accepting of native beliefs than the Averroist one.

Another crucial factor in the emergence of Protestantism is the change in Averroist theology as a result of the Age of Discovery. As the main power of Averroism has traditionally been in Iberia, proceedings in Catalunyan society have had a profound impact on Averroism as a whole. Most of the 15th century Catalunyan society revolved around the discovery of several New Worlds. The pantheistic religions of the Americas and the native polytheism of the Kongolese in particular deserve mention. With the incorporation of many native Americans in Catalunyan society, it was only a matter of time before Averroism included pantheistic ideas in its theology. Many throughout Europe not as invested in the New World as Catalunya was rejected this new direction, so different from the Abrahamic ideal of one god. Reconciling the Arab God, the Jewish God and the Christian God was one thing, but accepting the divinity of everything was a step too far for many. The Kongolese case deserves special mention, as here it was Averroism that influenced a nation before those religions influenced Averroism back. In essence, many Averroist ideas returned to the fold after African reappraisal and application to Polytheistic principles. This caused a strong academic current, but had relatively little societal impact.

Finally, a word on the last major European denomination: The Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox are another major religious bloc in Europe, named thusly after the Great Schism of 1054. Orthodoxy can (and does!) claim the most direct descent from the early days of Christianity. They are most prominently present in Slavic Europe, with the backing of the powerful state of Novgorod, recently reaffirmed in its legitimacy by the reconquest and conversion of Constantinople. Interestingly, Novgorod as a whole is part of the now-Protestant Holy Roman Empire. This is sure to cause religious tensions if the relationship between Croatia and Russia ever cools down.
 
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I love the Russian steamroller.

That Russian steamroller is nice but vR's diplomacy seems to be the real engine behind his success. Having Persia occupied by the African three because of good relations is good. I doubt even vR, with Croatia's help, could have beaten Bavaria, Catalunya, and Persia in wars without them.
 
That Russian steamroller is nice but vR's diplomacy seems to be the real engine behind his success. Having Persia occupied by the African three because of good relations is good. I doubt even vR, with Croatia's help, could have beaten Bavaria, Catalunya, and Persia in wars without them.

Well, the Africans were also friendly with Croatia so it just fit. It would have been a tougher fight but if push came to shove, Croatia would have ceded the Levant to Persia for its neutrality without a fight. It was the last card to be played in the event of a serious Persian threat.
 
Well, the Africans were also friendly with Croatia so it just fit. It would have been a tougher fight but if push came to shove, Croatia would have ceded the Levant to Persia for its neutrality without a fight. It was the last card to be played in the event of a serious Persian threat.

Well, Africa also had good relations with Catalunia (though Kongo's relations with Catalunia were less good), and Kongo at least had warm relations with Bavaria. So I'm not sure if we would have joined unless Bavaria had allied with the Mongols. That was certainly the descisive factor for me. I was a little annoyed when Bavaria ignored his strong African friend, and started persuing a very pro-Mongol foreign policy (his attempts to mediate in the Mongol invasion of India were shockingly pro-Mongol).

fasquardon
 
Well, Africa also had good relations with Catalunia (though Kongo's relations with Catalunia were less good), and Kongo at least had warm relations with Bavaria. So I'm not sure if we would have joined unless Bavaria had allied with the Mongols. That was certainly the descisive factor for me. I was a little annoyed when Bavaria ignored his strong African friend, and started persuing a very pro-Mongol foreign policy (his attempts to mediate in the Mongol invasion of India were shockingly pro-Mongol).

fasquardon

Bavaria needed someone else willing to fight vR. Getting attacking continually will do that for you. The Mongols fit that description it seems.

Now, maybe it wasn't right in relation to you but he was looking for help. Can't say I blame him too much.
 
Bavaria needed someone else willing to fight vR. Getting attacking continually will do that for you. The Mongols fit that description it seems.

Now, maybe it wasn't right in relation to you but he was looking for help. Can't say I blame him too much.

Bavaria put its stock in the wrong ally. If Bavaria and Spain had not shut Croatia out, Russia would have been contained.

1) They failed to turn over Italy to Croatia as promised. (Catalunya tried to use Croatia as a shield against Russia in exchange for the Ukraine.)

2) They prohibited Croatia from expanding East at the expense of the Persian Heathens. (Catalunya mentioned concern over Russian aggression on Persia, yet after the Persians agreed to a humiliating treaty with Russia which ceded EVERYTHING Russia wanted, Catalunya maintained its support of Persia and kept Croatia from conquering Greek Anatolia.)

3) Bavaria and Spain went free trade. Massive empire's like Bavaria and Spain are typically mercantilistic generally because they control so much trade out of their centers. If Croatia was to be contained to the Balkans, then it would have to rely heavily on foreign trade.

4) Bavaria and Spain pointed Croatia east, yet Bavaria invaded China with the prospects of conquering southern China.

It took almost 130 years but Croatia was finally convinced that Spain's inferences that it would eventually fight Bavaria to Croatia's benefit was a ruse. A stall tactic to keep Croatia tamed and passive.

It's impossible to overstate how powerful Bavaria and Catalunya were. Aside from each having the top income in the world (nearly doubling the income of the third richest power), Spain had an intricate web of treaties which somehow had most of the world obligated by treaty to protect him. The breaking of German and Spanish world domination was not easy.

EDIT: KoM, if this is AAR worthy I suppose Yoshi can take advantage.
 
Bavaria put its stock in the wrong ally. If Bavaria and Spain had not shut Croatia out, Russia would have been contained.

1) They failed to turn over Italy to Croatia as promised. (Catalunya tried to use Croatia as a shield against Russia in exchange for the Ukraine.)

2) They prohibited Croatia from expanding East at the expense of the Persian Heathens. (Catalunya mentioned concern over Russian aggression on Persia, yet after the Persians agreed to a humiliating treaty with Russia which ceded EVERYTHING Russia wanted, Catalunya maintained its support of Persia and kept Croatia from conquering Greek Anatolia.)

3) Bavaria and Spain went free trade. Massive empire's like Bavaria and Spain are typically mercantilistic generally because they control so much trade out of their centers. If Croatia was to be contained to the Balkans, then it would have to rely heavily on foreign trade.

4) Bavaria and Spain pointed Croatia east, yet Bavaria invaded China with the prospects of conquering southern China.

It took almost 130 years but Croatia was finally convinced that Spain's inferences that it would eventually fight Bavaria to Croatia's benefit was a ruse. A stall tactic to keep Croatia tamed and passive.

It's impossible to overstate how powerful Bavaria and Catalunya were. Aside from each having the top income in the world (nearly doubling the income of the third richest power), Spain had an intricate web of treaties which somehow had most of the world obligated by treaty to protect him. The breaking of German and Spanish world domination was not easy.

EDIT: KoM, if this is AAR worthy I suppose Yoshi can take advantage.

This fits with my knowledge of events.
 
Bavaria needed someone else willing to fight vR. Getting attacking continually will do that for you. The Mongols fit that description it seems.

It's never wise to trust your defense to KOM. ;)
 
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Oh, come now. The Siberian front was a scene of unbroken ROMAN VICTOGLORY in the last war. It was the defense of the Oder that failed.
 
It's impossible to overstate how powerful Bavaria and Catalunya were. Aside from each having the top income in the world (nearly doubling the income of the third richest power), Spain had an intricate web of treaties which somehow had most of the world obligated by treaty to protect him. The breaking of German and Spanish world domination was not easy.

Mad Bugger, since Fasq said pretty much the same thing, I will bow to your greater knowledge. After all, I am just a peanut from the outside looking in.

It just, again from the outside looking in, that a Russia that can project power into Central Europe, Central Asia, and Siberia is kind of alarming for me. I mean, with his NAPs, it seems like Russia can only go south into Punjab and Persia, if he wanted.
 
If he is on another continent on the other side of your opponent, maybe a little trust is ok. :)

A little thing like half of the Eurasian landmass stop KOM from finding a vulnerable kidney? Perish the thought.
 
The African brotherhoods policies regarding KoM, not gonna lie but they seem to border on paranoid delusions.
 
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Well its certainly not intelligent but I decided to veer on the side of caution and avoid what could be considered a personal attack as this isnt the MP forums.
 
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