The following article is a lengthy discussion of all things Catholic I could find in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII’s in-game encyclopedia, judging what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and what it’s missing. I originally wanted to include this analysis in my review, but that article was already incredibly long so I made a compromise for the sake of a better reading experience. Please enjoy one last deep dive into Civilization 7’s Civilopedia!

I’ll go over the most notable successes and failures of the Civilopedia in roughly chronological order, but don’t think for a second I’ll be using anything other than BC and AD for the dates. The antiquity age subjects rarely touch on organized religions outside of the article on the altar, which cites Catholicism as an example and even references the concept of transubstantiation. Most cases however, are a lot like the article on the Roman Empire, which mentions that the Romans converted to Christianity in 395 AD, but never fully acknowledges the subject.

In the exploration age things start to get more interesting. In the article on Charlemagne the Father of Europe receives a bit of a scoffing at for appealing to the concept of holy war to galvanize his campaigns into Spain against Muslim invaders and for claiming to be the only true Christian ruler of his time at the expense of non-Catholic denominations. That being said, the rest of Charlemagne’s article is pretty solid and paints him as a very lively individual. The only addition I would make is a paragraph touching on the Carolingian Renaissance, a golden age of art, education, and prosperity fostered by Charlemagne’s rule.

On that note, the Civilopedia also points towards medieval monasteries as the primary centers of education and the arts both in the article on monasteries specifically and in the article on Iceland, which credits the written preservation of old Norse history and mythology with the arrival of Catholic monks and nuns to the island. Heck, in-game you can unlock the ability to build monasteries by becoming suzerain of a scientific city-state! Additionally, the Civilopedia article on hospitals credits medieval Catholic institutions for the foundations of modern hospitals in Europe.

Moving on to Normandy, the article mentions the foundation of Crusader-States by Norman knights among the Normans’ accomplishments, but on the whole this article was much more interested in the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent transformations that made way for modern Britain. Ultimately a very narrow and disappointing showing for the Normans. Furthermore, the deeply Catholic roots of chivalry have been omitted from the articles on knights or any Civilization specific variation of the knight, such as the Norman Chevaler, but there is reference to Catholic organizations of knights like the Order of Malta and the Order of the Dragon.

Of course the days of knights were ultimately numbered by the introduction of gunpowder and in Civ 7 this latter period of the exploration age is represented solely by the Spanish Empire, at least in terms of Catholic Europe. The articles on Spain and Queen Isabella cover a lot of similar information so I will weave between the two in roughly chronological order. The Civilopedia wasted no time establishing Spain as a quintessentially Catholic country by noting how the Gothic kingdoms established after the fall of Rome converted to Catholicism very quickly. This precedent in the Spain article however, is bafflingly undercut by a line in the Isabella article where it places the phrase “restore Christian rule” in quotations when discussing the Spanish Recoquista and the end of Muslim occupation, implying Isabella’s motivation was somehow based on a false narrative even though the Civilopedia admits Catholic Spain was established centuries before Islam even existed.

Furthermore, the articles touch on Isabella’s role in the commissioning of the Spanish Inquisition. They don’t go into much detail about the Inquisition, but the implications provided would have you believe that its primary goal was the expulsion of Muslims from Spain which is simply not the case. The Spanish Inquisition was a self-policing function of the Catholic Church which sought to investigate those promoting heretical theology and rehabilitate those found guilty. The Inquisition wasn’t a perfect institution by any means, but it was a far cry from the tyrannical witch hunters some people would have you believe they were. The Inquisition’s own archives reveal an organization that was very meticulous in the way it handled heresy cases, so much so that criminals would blaspheme while being arrested hoping they would be handed over to the inquisitors because they believed its investigative prowess would help clear their name if they were innocent.

The end of the Reconquista also coincided with Christopher Columbus’s historic voyage to the new world, which Isabella sponsored in hopes of finding a westward trade route to Asia that could bring in resources for a crusade against the Ottomans. This of course leads to the contentious topic of Spanish colonization of America, which the Civilopedia correctly states that Isabella was against her colonies taking Native Americans as slaves because she saw them as potential converts to the Catholic faith. The Civilopedia is wrong however, about Christopher Columbus being a supporter of Native subjugation and enslavement. Columbus saw the Natives as potential converts as much as Isabella did, but he was surrounded by political rivals like Francisco de Bobadilla who used accusations of abusive conduct to oust Columbus and take his place as governor. It’s also worth mentioning that Bartolome de las Casas, who was the first Bishop of Chiapas and one of the most ardent defenders of Natives in the new world, supported Columbus through all of the accusations.

On a related note the Spanish conquistadors that followed in Columbus’s wake, who appear in-game as one of the Spanish Empire’s unique units, are found in multiple Civilopedia articles as well. The article addressing conquistadors specifically mainly focuses on the fact they often focused their efforts on enriching themselves with American gold and silver, but it does acknowledge that the Spanish’s original intentions when commissioning these adventurers was to establish footholds for the army, missionaries, and merchants to expand into permanent settlements. It’s always nice to see conquistadors treated with a little more nuance than the usual “irredeemably evil” rhetoric found in pop-culture histories.

This nuance is further recognized in the articles on Mexico and Inca through Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro respectively. The Mexico article admits that during Hernan Cortes’s conquest of the Aztec empire and the founding of New Spain, he was joined by thousands of Natives who wanted to overthrow the Aztecs. I was shocked to see Cortes treated with actual complexity when more often than not he’s characterized as a bloodthirsty monster. In the case of Francisco Pizarro, the Inca article states that the conquistador attempted to communicate with the Inca before resorting to violence.

Moving into the modern age, let’s keep the continuity with Spain going and talk about Mexico. The Civilopedia makes no attempt to hide the fact that the Catholic Church played a key role in the organization and expansion of New Spain into the Mexico we know today. That being said, the article is guilty of omission by cutting itself off after The Mexican Revolution when a socialist regime came into power. This stopping point conveniently leaves out the Cristero War, an uprising of Mexican Catholics against President Calles’s radically anti-Catholic policies.

Mexico is also notable in Civ 7 by having the caterdral as one of its unique buildings. Part of me is really annoyed that a building as universal to Catholicism as a cathedral is relegated to a single civilization, but I’m happy it’s at least somewhere in the game. The Civilopedia article on caterdrals places a strange amount of emphasis on the early Aztec-Catholic syncretism practiced by the Natives in the early years of New Spain. Syncretism isn’t uncommon among early adopters of Catholicism in largely pagan groups, but this emphasis almost feels like the article wants to say Mexican Catholicism has somehow retained these roots and has become its own sect. The article does pull itself back together however, by ending on the importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the basilica built in her honor.

From the western reaches of the Spanish Empire to the eastern, there’s Filipino polymath Jose Rizal. The Civilopedia focuses heavily on Rizal’s activism, advocating for the Philippines to be granted all the rights of a full Spanish province with freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the promotion of Filipino clergy to higher positions within the Catholic Church’s hierarchy. Rizal was arrested by Spain and sentenced to death during the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, because his writings had influenced the rebels, even though he never advocated for full independence from Spain and maintained that he disapproved of violent solutions. The Civilopedia also notes that his last words before being executed were “consummatum est”, but fails to mention he was quoting Christ’s last words as he died on the cross. Indeed the article fails to mention, despite his youthful playboy phase and many criticisms directed at the Catholic Church, Rizal still considered himself a Catholic and went so far as to retract all previous statements he made against the church hoping to reconcile himself with God.

My final subjects of note from the Civilopedia are the articles on Imperial France and Napoleon, topics I am personally rather fond of. In regards to the French Revolution, the Imperial France article depicts the uprising as a grassroots revolt against the ruling elite. This is a common misconception because the revolution was actually spearheaded by academics and merchants against the aristocracy and clergy, the new elites overthrowing the old elites. If you want an actual grassroots uprising in French history, look towards counter-revolutions like the Vendee War in which Catholic peasants rebelled against the revolutionary regime demanding their religion and their king be reinstated.

On the subject of Napoleon, the Civilopedia makes almost no reference to his relationship with the Catholic Church outside of inviting the Pope to his imperial coronation. No mention is made of the fact that he restored the Catholic Church in France shortly after becoming first consul, though it does mention that his nephew Napoleon III expanded the church’s influence in France as a reaction to the rise of the secular Kingdom of Italy. There’s also no mention of Napoleon’s intense ideological conflicts with Pope Pius VII, who Napoleon held prisoner for several years. The most disappointing omission however, is the fact that Napoleon reconverted to Catholicism during his final years in exile and mended his relationship with Pius VII in the process.

To bring this analysis full circle for everyone who’s read my full review, I also want to mention that the article on Imperial France is probably the one hit the hardest by the Marxist leanings of the authors outside of the articles specifically about ideology. Since Karl Marx was a contemporary of Napoleon III, a large chunk of the article is dedicated to Marx’s perspective on France and it’s just as insufferable as it sounds. If you haven’t read my full review of Civilization 7, there’s more information on the Civilopedia’s Marxist biases if you’re interested in learning more.

Thank you for reading this final extension of my Sid Meier’s Civilization VII coverage. Unless future DLCs include the Papal States as a playable civilization or a canonized Saint as a playable leader I’m quite happy to leave this project behind me. Have a blessed day and see you again in Civ 8!

About Gaius Requiem