Narvaeza Analysis

The Spanish and English colonies varied in terms of religion such as immigration and opinions on salvation. Starting in the late 1500s and early 1600s, conquistadors such as Vasco Nunuez de Balboa and Herman Cortes of the Spanish empire first started to make their way into the New World. Known for their mantra, “Gold, Glory, God”, the main reason for their expansion was for power and wealth. In the Spanish church, the Pope decided who went to Heaven. This

Slavery, like Portugal, was crucial for Spain. Unlike Portugal Spain used Native Americans as their slaves. (Mainly because of geography) Spain also believed in Encomienda. Which is basically there way of “giving back” to Native Americans, they would teach Native Americans their religious views and in return Native Americans would be forced to work to death. So it would appear that converting people (slaves) to Catholicism was an important reason why they went to the “new world”. Needless to say relations between Spain and the Native Americans spoiled just like the relationship between Portugal and Africans did. A lot of Native Americans believed that Spain gave them nothing. Most if not all of Spain’s economy was based on mining silver and gold and sugar plantations. At the time of this colonization and for the next 200 years Spain is extremely rich.

The Spanish conquistadors wanted to convert the Aztecs to their Christian faith. There are three main theories of how the Spaniards converted the Aztecs. The first theory was the belief that the Aztecs suspected Cortez to be a god returning to claim his lands. The second theory was that the Spaniards forced the Aztecs to convert to Christianity. The last theory was the belief that Spanish missionaries blended the Native and Christian religion to easily convert the Aztecs. During this blend of religious ideas, however, many Spaniards, intrigued with the customs of the Aztecs, adopted some beliefs of the Aztecs, fusing these beliefs into their own religious practices. The combination of all three theories eventually caused the conversion of the Aztecs to Christianity. The Aztecs first viewed these acts of conversion as attacks on their ideology, but most Aztecs succumbed to the Spaniard’s conversion tactics. After the Aztec-Spanish war, Aztecs who wished to become Catholic were allowed to retain the assets of their property, which was a major incentive. Catholicism became the religion of Mesoamerica, as it is to this day. Another reason why the Aztec-Spanish War was a significant event in the Spanish colonization of the Americas is that for the first time, alliances with natives in surrounding areas

Religion in this period began to be forced on South Americans during the time of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) came in to this region, but failed in converting many people to the monotheistic religion of Christianity. Before the Jesuits, South Americans believed in a polytheistic faith, such of that of the Inca “Sun God” and “Thunder God”. Jesuits, originating in French Canada or Spain, worked hard to convert those to Christianity by mastering native languages, along with creating boarding schools for young boys and girls, along with setting up model agricultural communities for converted Americans. They established churches throughout the region such as in in Huron and Algonquin territories. While the culture never really adapted to that of the Christian faith but instead continued to have faith in their deity’s. Due to the lack of acceptance, the church in the end redirected its missions and resources to different countries such as French settlements, founding schools, hospitals and churches.

, “ Therefore I removed the statues of the false gods, cleaned the temples, and taught the people our religion.” The Spaniards did not like the ways of the native peoples so they tried to instill their beliefs

In Spanish colonization the Catholic Church played the role in which catholicism would be the only religion of their new territories. Throughout this came missions whose job was converting natives to Catholicism.

Religion played a huge part of the initial Spanish conquest of the Americas. Most of Europe practiced Christianity while the Indians of the Americas worshiped many gods. "Although Columbus concluded that the Tainos "had no religion," in reality they worshipped gods they called zemis, ancestral spirits who inhabited natural objects such as trees and stones", (Roark, 35). When the Spanish came to New Asia, the missionaries made it their goals to convince the Indians to change their religions and accept what they believed as the one true religion. "Catholic missionaries worked to convert the Indians. They fervently believed that God expected them to save the Indians' souls by convincing them to abandon their old sinful beliefs and to embrace the one true Christian faith" (Roark, 44). Many people would travel to the New World just so they could try and convert the Indians that live there. “In the Spanish colonies the Catholic Church was instrumental in the conquest and worked hand in hand with the secular government” (lecture 1: the Spanish conquest –page 1).

The colonization also established Catholicism as the mandatory religion of the newly acquired Spanish territory. The Spanish Inquisitions’ aggressive action against what they considered to be “heathen” beliefs, effectively eradicated the indigenous religions. Today, Catholicism

The history of religion in the United States comes a long way dating from the early 1600s when the first pilgrim settlers came to this country. It has been noted that these settlers were highly influenced by the Protestant faith which led to a community level of influence in this country as well. The faith of theses settlers were motivated from the New World of Europe where they practiced their religion in a peaceful environment. Later in history, it was noted that people of Spanish decent started the famous network of the Catholic missions in California. When California became a part of the United States, Catholic churches and institutes were formed. These churches and institutes were also formed in New Orleans and Louisiana.

With that mindset, forced conversion was very common throughout the New World. Conversion methods were different depending on the populous of the area that the Spanish were targeting. In other words, in the heavily populated areas of the Mayan and Aztec lands, there were not enough priests to cover the many Natives that lived there. The way it would work in those areas is that a small group of priests would go out to the Native villages and preach the gospel for a couple of days. Then they would choose a local citizen, who seemed most excited to become a Christian, to be taught independently by a priest about the entire Gospel—or at least enough to make them local authority. When the schooling was done and the priest had taught the Native about Jesus and how to perform baptisms, the priest would move on to the next village, counting on the one he had left as converted to teach all the other people living in the area about their new religion. In Spain, religion was of utmost importance and was an integral part of civilization and evangelization was considered to have both spiritual and secular benefits. Overall, the Spanish came into the New World with Christianity and missionaries with good intentions and honestly believed that they were helping the Natives in showing them a way to civilization. Nevertheless, the way these plans

There were many different causes that drove the age of exploration forwards and religion, advances in technology, and trade were only a few of the many reasons. As religions in Europe grew, the leaders of churches began to form the idea that maybe through trading routes, they should promote their religions and gain popularity. Through the trading routes, missionaries travelled, seeking out followers and promoting their religion where they could (Document 3). It was difficult trying to convert people to a different religion, until through the Columbian Exchange, an alternative was found. The Natives to the Americas were viewed as uncultured, monstrous, even. It was just so much easier to view them as savages

The Spanish colonizers had a huge influence on the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Peru’s, culture, language, traditions, religion, even on their native food. One can say that this came into being shortly after Columbus discovered the New World. The Spanish conquistadors, who sailed with Columbus to the New World, were the first to leave their mark on the new territory. We still see some of these traditions in today’s society. The Spanish taught the Indians of their oral traditions of legends and jokes, music, food, beliefs, and customs. The Indians even picked up on their native tongue, Spanish, and used it as their own and still do to this day. There are many things in the Mexican culture which have contributed to the shaping and molding of the modern Latino society, such as the Mexican history, culture, language, religion, and traditions.

Starting with the background of conquest before the two types of interactions. The Spanish main religion in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries was Catholic. As members of the Catholic faith, the Spanish felt as though it was there right to explore new lands as long as that meant converting the natives from their previous religious views to the beliefs of Catholicism. “As Hernán Cortés tore through the Aztec Empire, he was following a letter of

There are many different languages spoken across the world and thus, the possibility of misunderstanding is great. “It is important to appreciate that long with language, significant communication

The pope required Spain and Portugal to spread Catholicism to the Native Americans, and in the sixteenth century this was reinforced when the Protestant Reformation divided the Catholic Church. Spain agreed