Space making practices in the Atlantic were established based on religious divides and commitment to a monarchy based on heredity. The Spanish had begun establishing permanent residence in South America, forcing the rest of Europe to work around them if any benefit was to be had from the area. The text explains how the Dutch were , \u201cmost successful when they focused their intervention on commercial and maritime opportunities, not settlement,\u201d and other, \u201cEuropean rivals found themselves in the fringe regions of the Americas.\u201d (Egerton 117)
\nThe posting of the Ninety Five Theses by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517, \u201cshattered the religious unity Western Europe had known for centuries.\u201d (Egerton 120) Spanish dedication to Catholicism influenced the social separation from Protestant and Calvinist Europe despite their continued aspiration of political dominance. Queen Elizabeth adopted Spanish methods of religious colonial intervention when she chose to thwart an Irish Catholic rebellion violently and based on, \u201creligious antagonism,\u201d and \u201ccultural differences.\u201d (Egerton 127) The British were able to quell the uprising with a mass settlement in Ireland with inspiration from, \u201cthe Spanish example in the Canaries and the Americas.\u201d (Egerton 127)
\nIndigenous populations were either forced to assimilate to Colonial customs, or eradicated from the desired space. Native American’s would adopt Spanish Catholicism to an extent, but would keep important elements of their traditional religions. The Protestants saw it as their duty to rescue the indigenous people from Catholic oppression. Developments in the Americas, whether religious or economic, were always fueled by European politics. Atlantic geographic borders and populations that inhabited them during the sixteenth century emerged as powerful European states continued attempts at empire building and economic domination.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n