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The main point of Chapter 4 is to show the causes of the rivalries between the European nations between 1500 and 1650. With the realization that the seemingly “New” World possessed many riches, materials, and labor, the European nations entered into what seemed to be a rat race for exploitation of the New World. The economic benefits of the Europeans’ involvement in the New World allowed them to further build up their armed forces and wage costlier war, particularly the Spanish. Classmate David Zamarripa points out the importance of religious influence on Atlantic interactions. While this was a key factor, it was not the only one to set the tone of Atlantic interactions. During this time, European nations recognized the religious authority of the Pope, who played a key role in politics and international relations. It wasn’t until Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church that some European nations isolated themselves from papal authority. As a result, numerous Protestant factions developed, all missing uniformity. Some religious leaders sought to take advantage of Europe’s religious divide for political gain. Nations would brutally torture and execute any religious dissenters. One example would be the Spanish Inquisition. Under Philip II Spain purged itself of non-Catholics, halted the westward advance of the Ottoman empire, and ultimately bankrupted Spain. In addition to the conquest of material wealth, the European religious divide inspired more religious motivation among competing Europeans. Protestant European nations were determined to liberate Catholic converts in the Americas and convert them to their own religion. Northern European nations even turned to piracy, or hiring privateers to loot Spanish ships. For example, England encouraged privateers to loot the Spanish when at war with Spain, but they quickly became enemies of both sides when there was peace. The relationships and interactions between European powers in this time period demonstrate that colonization was not necessarily at the heart of Atlantic history, at least not at this point in history, but rather commerce and disrupting other nations’ ships in the Atlantic.