Evaluate the impact of the Jesuits on the Catholic Reformation between 1540 and 1572.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact that the Jesuits had on the Catholic Reformation from their formation until 1572. Candidates may argue that the Jesuits introduced a new ideology, mixing military discipline and a strict vow of obedience to the doctrine of the Catholic Church. They may also explore the impact of their educational philosophy that was humanist and theological and was meant to capture the Renaissance and resist the ideas of the Protestant Reformation. Candidates may also explore the Jesuits’ success in terms of the scale of their membership and the number of houses and colleges that they had across Europe and the impact that their adherents had in challenging non-Catholic practices in several European states. Candidates may wish to contextualize the role of the Jesuits by evaluating their impact in light of other Catholic reforms, for example the spiritual movements and the wider impact of papal reforms such as the convening of the Council of Trent.