Charles I of Spain and the Defense of Christianity in Europe: Scope and Perception in the 21st Century

Abstract

By conquering the Iberian Peninsula in the 3rd century, the Romans enriched it with their economic policy and land management. Also, the contribution of religious culture was important because it left traces until today. They entered first with their religious beliefs which they progressively abandoned in favor of Christianity in 313. But, if the peninsulars accepted this religion, it was confronted respectively from the 5th and 8th centuries to the Visigoth and Arab invasions. These situations of invasions have stopped its expansion. In 1492, after the Reconquest of territories by the Catholic Monarchs, they restored and defended it. Charles I of Spain (1500-1558) in turn consolidated this religion and defended it at the universal level to establish its power. But he was confronted with nascent Protestantism and the Turks he had to eradicate so as not to harm Christianity. From a historical perspective, in this analysis, it will be a question of showing the impact of religion; how religion was yesterday an instrument of domination and can still be today.