Ap World History Dbq Essay

Between 1450 and 1750, many majors changes were going on in Europe and South Asia. In Russia, strong leaders such as Peter the Great and Catherine the Great made various social reforms. In the Middle East, the Gunpowder Empires were flourishing and spreading Islam. In China and Southeast Asia, several power struggles occurred, as well as European trade starting. Although these changes affected society and created unity and conflict, religion being part of politics created both unity and conflict in Europe and South Asia through the Protestant Reformation and the policies of some of the policies of some Mughal rulers.

The Protestant Reformation in Europe caused conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants, but ultimately ended up in unity. The first religious war was fought between the Schmalkaldic League and Charles V. That war ended up in the Peace of Augsburg, which let each German state choose their leader, and all of the people

would have to be the same denomination as the ruler. The next war occurred in France, but was very similar to that in Germany. This war ended in the Edict of Nantes, which gave religious tolerance to Huguenots in France. The last religious war between the Catholics and Protestants was the Thirty Years War. Although this war caused widespread destruction, it ended in the Peace of Westphalia, which let each area choose their religion. All three religious wars in Europe were fought between the Catholics and Protestants, and each war resulted in a peace treaty that unified each religious group.
In Mughal India, the two main religions were Hinduism and Islam, and to a lesser extent, Sikhism and Sufism.

Akbar was considered the best of the Mughal rulers partly because of his tolerance of all religions. Akbar did his best to unify the Hindus and Muslims by giving both religions positions in the government. Traditionally, only Muslims would could be rulers zamindars while most of the population was Hindu. Akbar also married women of both religions, as an attempt to unify Hindus and Muslims. Akbar himself was interested in religions, inviting different people to discuss other religions with him. Akbar's greatest impact in trying to unite the Hindus and Muslims was creating the Divine Faith religion, but most people did not convert. When Akbar died, the following rulers did not support the same religious tolerance policy that he had. Aurangzeb tried to rid the empire of all Hindu. This caused revolts from both Hindus and Muslims, which created a period of instability allowing Europeans to come and take

control.
Overall, the Protestant Reformation and policies of Mughal rulers contributed to times of unity and times of conflict throughout Europe and South Asia. The reason behind people wanting religious freedom can apply to other conflicts and explain the motives behind other conflicts because it is a universal want to have freedom.