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The Jesuits were a Catholic religious order who became known as ?the school masters of Europe?. Founded in the 16th century by the ex-soldier Ignatius Loyola, they became a major force throughout the world, from China to South America. ?Give us a boy and we will return you a man, a citizen of his country and a child of God?, they declared. By the 17th century there were more than 500 schools established across Europe. Their ideas about a standardised curriculum and teaching became the basis for many education systems today. However, their alleged influence over monarchs, their wealth and their adaptability to local customs abroad provoked suspicion, prompting their suppression in the late 18th century. Re-established in 1814 they now have more than twenty thousand members. So why was education so important to the Jesuit movement? How much influence did they really have in the courts of Europe and in the colonies? And were they really at the heart of conspiracies to murder kings?