How did the Protestant and Catholic Reformations change power structures in Europe and shape European colonial expansion?
Jesuits in ChinaThis European image depicts early Jesuit missionaries baptizing converts in South China. (Archiv Gerstenberg — ullstein bild/The Granger Collection, NYC — All rights reserved.)
AAS A RESULT OF A MOVEMENT of religious reform known as the Protestant Reformation, Western Christendom broke into many divisions in the sixteenth century. This splintering happened not only for religious reasons but also because of political and social factors. Religious transformation provided a source of power for many rulers and shaped European colonial expansion.