Who Were the Discoverers Working For?
I’ve been reading about early Spanish colonial history lately. I’ve stumbled onto to something I never knew: that the Spanish conquered the Americas primarily in the name of the Pope. They didn’t just use Christianity to rationalize their aggression – rather, it was in fact the sole purpose and justification.
The Church has always defended its missionary efforts among the Indians. The second archbishop of Santa Fe wrote, “The Catholic religion was not forced on the Indians. The first step… was to introduce himself, cross in hand, and to explain as well as he could, the mean of this sign. The priest alone in the tribes, and far from the soldiers, was, as a rule, received without any suspicion of bad intentions, and surrounded, almost generally, by people eager to catch the ideas he tried to convey to them.” Not knowing the language, the padre had to use other means to teach. “First of all, the naked cross was planted… before it knelt the missionary, crossing himself… and inviting the persons around to do the same.” He would then use pictures and sung prayers to introduce them to the faith.
A very pretty, pious picture, but the reality was a little different.