Diary Entry

Dear Diary,

Today I went with my fellow friends from back home to Mexico for the first time. It turned out to be the complete opposite of what we thought it would be. It is a very civilized country. They have well-made buildings called ‘temples’ where they practice their religion, they were the largest buildings in town. We were originally here to find gold. Instead we found other things too like horses, giant homes made out of stones; and learned more about their religion and culture. They worship many different gods, and follow this kind of practice called ‘human sacrifice’ which is very cruel and evil; they kill people and animals and think they are pleasing their gods, and by pleasing them they would bring rain and good harvest. They usually give the people they’re going to kill a drink called ‘the juice of cactus steep’ to calm them down before they kill them. They wanted to eat us with chilies! We got our muskets thinking that would help us, and they did. We killed one Aztec. They then thought we were gods that came for revenge for what they do. They have a very different way of thinking than us. 

Why did Lutheranism appeal to the Princes?

The Princes by that time liked the idea of Lutheranism; the word comes from the Priest's name 'Martin Luther'. The Princes were from Northern Germany. They liked Lutheranism because it had many benefits for them.

Martin Luther supported the Princes by saying "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar". Lutheranism gave people power. He did not support the Church because of what they did. He even wrote a list called the '95 Thesis' and nailed it to the church's door.

The Princes controlled more land because the Church's power decreased so they took their land. They also shut down monasteries. In the end, they became richer and more powerful.

That led to greater political power for the princes, so they appointed their own minister and became more powerful than the Church.

The princes got more taxes because peasants and all the other people paid more. No more ecclesiastical dues for the Church.

To conclude, the princes in the end became richer and more powerful and Martin Luther was one of the main reasons the Church became less powerful so they took over.

Michelangelo Interview

Michelangelo Interview