With his approach, Friar carried a cross in one hand and a bible in the other. He offered the book to Atahuallpa who wasn’t amused and threw the book back in spite of not understanding what it was. This angered Friar and he reported back to Governor Pizarro. Immediately, he gave his signal to his men who came out and started attacking the Indian tribes.
As a slave, “he befriended his captors and was therefore allowed to serve as a trader”(Document B). The Spanish conquistador met four Indian groups along his journey, which were the Charrucos, Mariames, Yguases, and Quevenes(Document A). Also, when the Spaniards, also known as the “Christians”, contacted “Cabeza, his fellow survivors, and the Indians following him”(Document D). When the Spaniards tried to convince the Indians that Cabeza was a person they should distrust, they were “not at all convinced, saying that the Spaniards were lying”(Document D). Because Cabeza respected the Indians, they grew trust in him so they helped the Spanish soldier to survive.
In Serra’s first mission in the new world to Serra Gordon we see both successes and failures. Serra successfully “converted” many of the Indians, and helped with the construction of several new churches of
This power imbalance and these payments are key in the subjugation of the natives. Furthermore, the paternalism of the Spanish toward the Indigenous peoples is obvious: “Captain [Cortes] stared at him [Cuauhtemoc]…then patted him on the head” (p.117). Post-conquest, and still today, “difficult relations” between the descendants of the Indigenous peoples and the “others” (p.117) still exist. The European view of the natives “as idolatrous savages” or, on the contrary, as “models of natural virtue” (p.175) demonstrate the versatile and often contradictory views held. Similarly, the Aztecs at times saw the Spaniards as gods, and other times as gold-hungry savages who “fingered it like monkeys” (p.51).
Riding on a wave of religious righteousness, the Spaniards wanted to “help” the natives of Columbus’s island by introducing them to their amazing religion, or at least, that was what happened from their perspective. The natives of the island, however, saw it in a different light. They had strangers arriving in boatloads with strange animals, looking for gold. On top of that, they were forcing them to abandon their animism for this religion which in no way celebrated their values and beliefs. The Europeans were not suggesting a trade of information and a compromise, like the consensus statement suggests, but instead, forcing an unwanted change on the Native Americans.
There was a lot of language that he used that made him look like he thought he has superior to the people of the Native tribes. We also learned a lot about how the Natives reacted to Catholicism but with this source we see how the Spanish responded to that. They were just as insulted that the Pueblos did not condone their religious views as the Pueblos were of the thought that they had to be converted. This is something that we have seen all throughout history and to see this in New Mexico too is sadly not too surprising.
In the 16th Century, Spain became one of the European forces to reckon with. To expand even further globally, Spanish conquistadors were sent abroad to discover lands, riches, and North America and its civilizations. When the Spanish and Native American groups met one another, they judged each other, as they were both unfamiliar with the people that stood before them. The Native American and Spanish views and opinions of one another are more similar than different because when meeting and getting to know each other, neither the Spaniards nor the Native Americans saw the other group of people as human. Both groups of people thought of one another as barbaric monsters and were confused and amazed by each other’s cultures.
While the spreading of the Christian faith was said to be a motivator of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the historian Fernández de Oviedo claimed the majority of conquistadors were, “the sort of men who have no intention of converting the Indians or of settling and remaining in this land. They come only to get some gold or wealth in whatever form they can obtain it”(Thomas 137). The desire for Catholicism to dominate religion on a global level was said to be a basis for the Spanish conquest, yet many individuals didn’t actively pursue this goal because motivators such as gold, power, and glory produced greater
That Columbus did them a favor by enlightening them with Christianity and teaching them European manners. However, this is untrue because Native Americans had their own cultures and religions. Just because it was not what the Europeans thought was acceptable does not make Europeans better than them. The Europeans knew that the natives were not barbaric, unsophisticated people, but they still had that mindset because they did not want to accept that different nationalities have different cultures. After seeing the native people and their society, De Las Casas wrote, “Not only have [the Indians] shown themselves to be very wise peoples and possessed of lively and marked understanding...they have equaled many diverse nations of the world, past and present, that have been praised for their governance, politics and customs; and exceed by no small measure the wisest of all these, such as the Greeks and Romans, in adherence to the rules of natural reason.”
When the Native Americans’ territory was transferred to the Portuguese, the Jesuits, and Native Americans refused. The Jesuits realized the Portuguese wanted to sell the Native Americans in the slave trade and their main goal was never the land. Don Cabeza stated, “They must be subdued at their will and must be brought to profitable labor”(Joffé). Don referred to the Native Americans as vicious beasts thus portraying cowardice as he failed to recognize them as humans. The location of the Native American community is isolated and unproblematic, yet, the Portuguese are intent on taking it to diminish the Jesuit’s influence.
These indigenous people expressed this “greatest affection” towards these people through these acts of generosity and kindness. The indigenous people were welcoming and willing to accept them onto their lands. Columbus used the indigenous peoples generosity and kindness to appeal to his audience, Spanish crown, as a push to invest in the colonizations of the Americas because they felt like the people were approachable and curious. Overall, these interactions between Columbus's crew and the indigenous people shows the potential for religious opportunities for spreading Christianity in the newly discovered
By the end of the sixteenth century, the new colonies in Mexico were thriving under Spanish control. The once vibrant and busy city of Tenochtitlan had become a distant memory, which the Europeans ensured to suppress by removing remanence of Aztec representation throughout the land. Moreover, the Spanish made every possible effort to impose its traditions on the conquered natives and rule in the manner, which favored the crown, primarily thorough the spread of Christianity. Moreover, European culture was not a matter of choice for the natives to adopt, in fact, entirely the opposite transpired. Upon arrival to the new world, the Spaniards expressed negative sentiments regarding the native’s religious affiliation and customs, which prompted
In 1550, Emporer Charles V summoned a debate to determine how Spain would deal with the Native Americans. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas engaged in discourse about this topic: Sepúlveda denigrated the Natives while de Las Casas defended them. Sepúlveda felt that the Native Americans were basically barbaric sub-humans, and that the Europeans were greatly superior to them. He felt that Christianity was far more altruistic than the Natives’ religions. However, Las Casas felt that the Natives should be treated equally, since he believed Jesus died for the Natives just like he died for the Europeans.
In his story of The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, the Spanish priest and scholar Bartolome de Las Casas describes the native peoples of the ‘New World’ as more Christian than the Spanish. His frustration is particularly focused in the way the conquistadores try to spread the religion of Christianity. Casas does not fear to express this frustration: “It is not difficult to discover who are the real Christians and who are not” . De Las Cases uses this phrase due to his frustration of the ways the Christians were treating the innocent peoples of the New World. In one hand de Las Casas argues that the terror being done to those innocent people who are peaceful and gentle is wrong and should stop as soon as possible.
While monks complain that conquistadors torture the innocent Indians, conquistadors state that the words of monks are complete falsification. In the letter to king Lope de Aguirre states, “Look here, Lord, don 't accept what they may let you know, on the grounds that the tears that they shed before your imperial individual is with the goal that they can come here to summon. On the off chance that you need to know the life they lead here, it is to bargain in stock, look for and get transient merchandise, and offer the Ceremonies of the Congregation at a cost. They are foes of poor people, uncharitable, goal-oriented, avaricious, and haughty, so that even the least of the ministers tries to charge and represent every one of these terrains. Remedy this, Ruler and master, in light of the fact that from these things and awful cases confidence is not urged the locals.
