Evangelization of Natives

             History has an important and major subject that is responsible for what we now coin as modern America. This historical subject is that of the Spanish conquests that took place in the early 1500's and there was a significant factor that they implemented in their conquests. Evangelization or otherwise known as Christian conversion of the Natives was something that was key for Spaniards during the colonial times. As history reveals, the conversion was not always a peaceful one as the following will display. After all, when a stranger tries to impose something on someone that they don't agree with, 9 times out of 10 there will be an objection.
             First of all, Spanish conquests held up for a while through the use of the encomienda system which Natives were basically slaves and served a master of particular jurisdiction ( KH, 78). With the success of these factors in the hands of the Spaniards their belief was to place an " inferiority" label on the Natives and to do this conversion was the ideal way. Although, Bartolome de Las Casas was an important factor in trying to stop the Spaniards from expressing their scorn for Natives by utilizing his protective laws in their favor, it wasn't enough. They proceeded to implement their evangelization of Natives with determination.
             The first friar missionaries in the Indies converted mass amounts of Natives although some were unwilling to accept the new divinity placed upon them (KH, 103). Moreover, the Franciscans dominated Mexico and converted more than a million Natives by 1531, while Motolinia converted fifteen hundred in one day ( KH, 103). Some Natives in an effort to oppose this act were baptized or resorted into idolatry, which is the continued belief in a certain god or idol. These sort of resistance tactics by the Natives ended in their being punished through burning or hanging. In Mexico, Aztecs who were converted were described as " Christian enough&quo...

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Evangelization of Natives. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 01:12, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/28706.html