Spanish Castilian Empire
Why was it considered necessary for the Spanish Crown to justify and legitimise the conquest of the Americas and what arguments and means did it employ for this purpose?Every colonial country needs an idea to base its conquest and Spain was no different. The ideology behind the Spanish conquest of the Americas was the spread of Catholicism. This belief in the conversion of the Indians is what drove the Spanish to conquer, settle and govern the New World.The Castilians modeled their Catholic empire on the Holy Roman Empire of old. They viewed themselves as successors to the Romans. The Castilians regarded themselves as the superior race, who were on a divine mission to achieve a universal Catholic empire.The Castilians felt obligated to extend the faith and conveniently this proved to justify their colonisation of the Americas. They understood that by giving the natives the protection of the crown, they would lead a better life. This better life would also arise due to the absence of slavery and the spiritual guidance provided for those 'ignorant of Christianity'.If the spreading of the faith was the sole reason for the conquest of the Americas then we must understand how religion was spread. The devout Castilia
The Spanish Crown had great ecclesiastical power in the newly conquered kingdom. The influx of bureaucratic control gives the illusion that the Spanish were running a civil society and had tamed the 'barbaric' Aztec and Inca races. This made the whole exercise pointless in practice but perfect in the Castilians view of fairness. Was this to protect Spanish or Amerindian interests? In truth it helped the natives but benefited the Spanish more as it provided stability which encouraged other colonists to travel to America. Further justification arose from the Spanish substituting a diet of human flesh with that of beef, pork, chicken and mutton. These councils had strong judicial and executive authority. This is a contributing factor to the massive decline in population in America due to disease, colonial savagery and warThis socio-economic viewpoint enables us to see that the Castilians hid their true mission under the arguments of civil and social reform. If this was without the force and mindless pillaging of the land, it would be a legitimate theory. Did the Spanish Crown wish to use legislative foundations to their conquest to ensure protection against dissident conquistadors? This question is based around morals, loyalty and trust. Unfortunately, I feel this is the case for the Castilians. The Royal Crown put forward 'The Requirement' which was a legal obligation and had to be read before battle. In my opinion the ideology of religious conversions as the basis of conquest is a sound idea considering the savagery of the natives religion. This form of taxation was justified by the need to finance the spread of Catholicism. This legislature clearly did not aid the natives against the ruthless warfare yet merely showed Spanish ignorance. "By what right did Castile lay claim to the sovereignty over the Americas".
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Acceptance Essays
