Spain Looks Westward Read page 193

Geography and Religion Spain’s location between Africa and Europe greatly influenced their religious history At the beginning of the Middle Ages, almost everyone in Spain, as in the rest of Europe, was Christian Internal struggles and a series of weak rulers left the region vulnerable to attack Muslims eventually conquered Spain and Portugal Many Christians converted to Islam, but some did not

Muslim Culture and Society Learning was greatly valued The world’s first university was established in Cairo Most historians agree that Muslim Spain was a society that was relatively tolerant of religious minorities Eventually a series of ineffective rulers lead to the loss of a unified Muslim state The Reconquista began as a way for the Christian kingdoms to expand their power and infuence

Creating a Christian Spain It took 100s of years but eventually Spain became a Christian land King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were so devoted to their religion that the pope in Rome gave them a special title – Catholic Monarchs The first step King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella took to unit Spain under one religion was to take of the Spanish Inquisition from the Church The Inquisition became a state-run system of courts where Church run officials put believers of religious ideas other than Catholicism on trail Muslims and Jews were given a choice – convert or be exiled

Spain Began to Expand As you read the King and Queen changed their minds and allowed Colombus to sail westward to what he thought was Asia There were three main reason for this: God, Gold and Glory! Research Assignment