During the mid 16th century, the Spanish began their conquest of the newly ‘discovered’ North America . The native populous of North America (referred to as ‘Indians’) became the subject of a heated debate in which the humanity and mental capacity of the Natives were called into question. Specifically, whether or not the Indians had ability to accept Christianity. As the subject became more in-depth Charles V, the king of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire at the time ordered a group of lawyers and theologians at the University of Valladolid to evaluate the two most prominent opinions on the matter -- Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474-1566). The two opinions were very different in the fact that Sepúlveda believed that …show more content…
Sepúlveda first uses the Indians intelligence as a reason why they could not accept Christianity. In Sepúlveda’s argument only beings possessing intelligence could commit themselves to God and Christianity. Las Casas counters in his Apologetic History of the Indies, where he states that the Indians have surpassed the Greeks and the Romans and that they have “reached the knowledge that there is a God” . Las Casas goes on to describe how wise the Indians must have been to be self-governing and self-providing for their people. Las Casas argument on the capability of the Indians did not focus as much on what they produced and created but rather than the system and culture that they had created without the influence of Europe. In his Just Causes for War Against the Indians, Sepúlveda brings up the subject of the Indian’s purity and, how because of the savage or barbaric way they have been living they could never truly convert to Christianity or accept the European way of living. Sepúlveda states that the Indians have eaten human flesh and have committed other sins such as idolatry and sodomy . These acts committed against natural law and nature allowed the Europeans to wage war against the Indians and their barbaric acts, at least from Sepúlveda’s point of view.
The argument of Juan Gines de Sepulveda is that of negative feedback to what was experienced in the first encounter of the Spaniards and American Indians in the Sixteenth Century. Also, Sepulveda demonstrates through his opinion that war against the Indians is a rightful act due to the fact that the Indians are seen as lower beings. The proof that Sepulveda uses to support his position is the glimpse the Spaniards noted in the short time they observed the Indians. Sepulveda thought that the Indians were uneducated individuals that were uncivilized in the way they conducted their lives. This can be seen in that Sepulveda comments on how Indians are not educated because they seem not to have an alphabet, any knowledge of the sciences, or any
The Spanish and New England colonies from 1492 to 1700 were significantly similar in terms of treatment of indigenous people. Admittedly, there was a difference in the treatment of indigenous people. The Spanish conquistadors used forced labor through the encomienda system, while the New England colonists did not have forced labor systems. This difference between the treatment happend because the Spanish ran large plantations and needed manual labor, while the New England colonists survived on subsistence farming and had no need for extra labor from the Indians. On the other hand there was a similarity in the forced conversions of the Indians to a Christian faith. This similarity occurred because The Roman Catholic Church saw the Indians as people who were in need of saving and insisted that the Indians
Convinced of the superiority of Catholicism to all other religions, Spain insisted that the primary goal of colonization was to save the Indians from heathenism and prevent them from falling under the sway of Protestantism. The aim was neither to exterminate nor to remove the Indians, but to transform them into obedient Christian subjects of the crown. To the Spanish colonizers, the large native populations of the Americas were not only souls to be saved but also a labor force to be organized to extract gold and silver that would enrich their mother country. Las Casas’ writings and the abuses they exposed contributed to the spread of the Black Legend-the image of Spain as a uniquely brutal and exploitative colonizer. This would provide of a potent justification for other European powers to challenge Spain’s predominance in the New World.
Throughout the passage Las Casas accredit to the Spanish Apologia in such a way as to show his position as set forth in the Latin Defense. Las Casas speaks against the wars carried by the Spanish ostensibly, also arguing against the forced labor system, and a system of slavery which the Spanish imposed on the Indians. Many studies has shown that the Indian culture, lack human guidance and order, that the Native Americans cannot govern themselves. Las Casas assured his readers that the truth is opposite. Indian people pass the Romans and Greeks selecting their own gods, not men that are label
Much of European criticism of Native American was based on differences in religion, land use, and gender relations. Most Europeans reasoned that Indians needed to be converted to the “true religion” of Christianity (Give Me Liberty, 11). In fact, Verrazano concluded that the Indians had “no religion or laws” (Voices of Freedom, 10). The Europeans did not understand the Indians’ use of the land and thus justified overtaking it, reasoning that they did not truly “use” it. Some Europeans criticized gender relations, claiming that women lacked freedom due to their work in the fields (Give me Liberty, 12-13). Others, like Verrazano, criticized the Indians for having “absolute freedom” in which they did not abide to any laws due to ignorance (Voices of Freedom, 10). Regardless of
During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.
Prior to European influences, many indigenous religions did not dichotomize the world into good and evil, and, as a result, natives interpreted their deities as both good and bad. When the town council describes their indigenous beliefs as “wicked,” this diction represents how European influences affected and shifted how natives interpretation of nature.
Bartolomè de Las Casas said “with their heads split, their hands amputated, their intestines torn open?... Would they want to come to Christ’s sheepfold after their homes had been destroyed, their children imprisoned, their wives raped, their cities devastated, their maidens deflowered, and their provinces laid waste?”. He could be considered one of the first people to speak out for human rights. The Spanish conquest to the Americas caused the Indians to be severely injured and could of possibly pushed them further away from accepting any European religion. The mistreatment could of also made the relationships between the Spanish and the Indians strained and
An important aspect of Todorov's thesis is his well-supported claim that it was precisely the claim to European racial superiority that Christianity strongly reinforced and provided justification for the actions of the Spanish, even in its most severe manifestation. In fact, Todorov invokes the unimaginably horrible image of Catholic priests bashing Indian baby's heads against rocks, allegedly to save them from damnation to hell, which their "savage" culture would have otherwise consigned them to. The logic of this deed and others like them illustrates the destructive influence of Christianity in the Colonial project, which lies at the root of the hegemonic self-image of Western experience--first defined from the perspective of Columbus and Cortes.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed west and found himself on the shores of a new world. His mission was to secure new land for Spain. Other European countries heard of his findings, they too crossed the ocean in hopes of securing new opportunities in this newly discovered land such as fur trading and gold mining. Little did they know that a community of indigenous people had already settled in this land thousands of years before. The Europeans decided to negotiate with the natives in order to set up their own communities in the land but the Native Americans held beliefs about society and religion that were far different from their European peers. Europeans thought the Indians to be “Noble Savages, gentle and friendly, but uncivilized, brutal, and barbaric” (citation). They could not see past their own
The fact that the Indians didn't embrace all the changes that took place does not imply foolishness, but rather, stubbornness. The Indians reaction to Spanish conquistadors coming and forcing their religion and their way of life upon them would be expected from almost any culture.
The Europeans, therefore, described the indigenous people as savage, polytheistic pagans and heathens, who were doomed to damnation for the worship of animals and nature. The Europeans, within their understanding of the will of God, believed it their duty and their responsibility to teach these indigenous people the “correct” way to live, and were determined to impose their own religion upon the indigenous people by enforcing the worship of the God of the Christian Bible through any means deemed necessary, including slavery, coercion, and the threat of, or actual maiming or death. Europeans chose to dismiss the religious and cultural practices of the indigenous peoples because the indigenous peoples did not engage in scheduled worship services as the Europeans did, or call their deities by the names that the Europeans used, nor did the indigenous peoples perform their worship ceremonies in the same manner as the Europeans.
In his treatise as well as Cruelties of Spaniards, Bartolomé Las Casas supported the Native Americans by explaining that they were just as human as the Spaniards were. He states in his treatise that “…it is unlikely that anyone will resist the preaching of the gospel and the Christian doctrine.” Because he has been in the New World, he has seen the acceptance of Catholicism from the Natives, unlike the crown whom have never seen such cooperation. He continues by taking shots at the Spaniard colonists who fought with the Natives, even though their kings “have prohibited wars against the Indians of the Indies…” It’s rather confusing to find out where Las Casas
The killing of Indians for this purpose could then be justified by they were doing what God had wanted them to do. They saw themselves as messengers of God and they needed to get rid of theses ?Devilish creatures to do so.? The English created these negative and unholy images of Indians to lower their own moral standards. In their minds they weren?t killing another human being, they were killing a demonic unholy beast.