Diary Entry - Aztecs

  Dear diary,

   There is always some crazy and adventurous tale told by my grandparents anytime they come for dinner. Although, this time it was somehow different. I was interested in the story, maybe because it had been retold by my ancestors ages and ages ago.

                “In 1519, it was said that white men arrived in the beach shore in big wooden ships looking for gold.  They bought along extremely large deer with insanely long hair, holding along weird sticks that spit out fire. They were the conquistadors, trying to take away our land.  Unfortunately, they were too strong for us. If you ever wondered how that was possible, well you see we were betrayed by our fellow citizen, Malinché. She had helped the conquistadors’ powerful leader, Cortez by teaching him the Aztec language. She was considered a devil, whore and traitor.  Cortez had pale skin, and bright blue eyes. Along with Malinche and the conquistadors came several hundred native Indians, our worst enemies.

                It wasn’t just the sight of that vicious battle that frightened us. It was the fact that Quetzalcoatl, the god of the wind was prophesied to arrived in 1519 for revenge. This haunted our minds and soul, that’s why we had to find a way to get rid of them. So we then decided to drug the Spanish with our harmful juice found in our farm. The conquistadors also disagreed with the demanding of blood for human sacrifice. Clearly, the Spanish represent disaster and chaos. ”

Why did Lutheranism appeal to the Princes?

     Lutheranism is a branch of western christanity founded by Martin Luther in Germany. Martin Luther tried to reform and strengthen the theology and pratice of the church but it led to the Protesant Reformation. It began with the Ninety-Five Theses; writings about the problems with the Roman catholic church, especially the sale of indulgences. The writings spread the idea of the reformation beyond the church's authorites. Many people, including the Princes agreed to the suggestions of changing the Roman Catholic Church. Lutheranism emerged and not only did it become a revolution in religon, but it was also against the political power of Rome. Lutheranism had become a great success to every indivdual, mostly to the German Princes.

      Because of Lutheranism, German Princes had control over more parts of their own territories. They were able to shut down monasteries, seizing  more land and wealth. By getting rid of monasteries, the Princes would be able to collect the abundant amount of money gained by that area which make them really powerful.
     Lutheranism allowed Princes's freedom of political control. They were now able to choose their own ministers. This led to increase in political power, ability assert the primacy over the church and less argument among bishops. German Princes no longer had to fight for power anymore.

   The princes that converted to Luteheranism  no longer had to send money over to the churches in Italy. They didnt have to pay taxes to the Roman Goverment, so therefore they were richer because the money that was supposed to be spent on the church, was now spent on themseleves, and their land.

   The major reason why Princes converted into Lutheranism was because of the idea that catholicism was preaching many wrong beliefs to the people. One of the main argument of Martin Luther was that you had to have strong faith in God in order to go to heaven, while Catholics believed that you just had to do good deeds to recieve God's grace. Also, Luther explained that Jesus, was the head of the church not the Pope and that you dont buy your way to heaven so therefore, the indulgences is just a way of collecting money from the citizens. Therefore, people were worried that they had been following the wrong beliefs for a long time so they converted to Lutheranism, hoping that their souls were saved and they were on the right path to heaven.
  Futhermore, Lutheranism appealed to the Princes because of the huge amount of money, absolute power, freedom and control over everything they know and owned. Most importantly, Luther's message of Catholicsm wrong ways made most of them to switch their religons. The idea of lutheranism and the Reformation in "95 Theses" spread internationally to every one.

Leonardo Da Vinci