The Role of the Catholic Church In The New World Essay

One of the main reasons Europeans sought to explore the world was to spread Christianity. As far as they knew, the New World had never heard of Christianity, and the Spanish Cardinal Trinlini said that this made them “heathens [who] live a barbarous life”. His motivation for exploring these new lands was to save the natives from their ignorance

Because of this the pope require Spain to spread Catholicism around the Americas. The Spanish say that their main goal of colonization was to rescue the Indians from their barbaric ways, and to prevent them from becoming Protestants. They did not want to eliminate the Indians, instead they wanted to help change them into obedient Christians. Along with Spain's goal of

Christopher Columbus was an Italian who worked on behalf of, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. The Spanish monarchs’ ultimate goals were to find a trade routine to India, Asia and to spread the Catholic religion to others. They financed Columbus with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria to find a western route to India. Thinking that it was India, Columbus found land. In his journal, Columbus described his first account of the natives as “they were very friendly to us, and perceived that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force” (“Fordham University”). Also, he plans for them to be great servants so they “may learn our language” (“Fordham University”). He says

In 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World. This “discovery” led to the colonization of the New World by several European nations. European nations, such as Great Britain, started colonization for a variety of reasons.

Alternately, behind the movement for converting Indians lay some important influences in Spain. The Spanish Crown established royal controls over the ecclesiastical benefices and over the immense wealth of the church.[ii] Two papal bulls were issued in the year of 1493 that established the

When Christopher Columbus entered the Americas in 1942, one of his first tasks were to deal with the Indigenous people, who, compared to the Europeans, were much less advanced. Europe began waging wars of conquest to get resources for trade, and missionaries were brought in to teach the Indigenous people Christianity. Although some Europeans viewed the civilizing of the Native Americans and the new World necessary and just, many others believed that taking dominance over their culture was wrong.

The Spanish were the first European settlers in the Americas when Christopher Columbus in October 12, 1492 while searching for a new route to Asian Indies, discovered new land. Columbus wrote to the king of Spain telling him that the Americas was kind of heaven, full of thousand of different kind trees, with prosperous land. This letter has helped understand the motives of the Spaniards for colonizing the Americas, the virgin continent, untouched lands, full of gold and precious metals as Columbus described in his letter. Columbus also told King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that the natives we simple, timid people who went about naked and lived simple lives in an environment like that of the Garden of Eden, and that they can also be made Christians. The monarchs saw this as an opportunity to impose their modes of civilization upon this vast population, justifying the colonization of the New World as the white man’s duty. Motivating and accelerating the occupation to the Americas. Since in fact the Spaniard kingdom initial motives to venture out into the oceans were richness and to acquire goods that were rarely available. The Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella were also wanted to establish missionaries to purify and reform.

Before The Renaissance, there was a time period known as the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time of darkness and illiteracy. Around eighty percent of the European population was illiterate and or uneducated relying completely on the Roman Catholic Church for education. The uneducated were mostly peasants. The few people that were educated were priests, and other religious figures in the church. Although as time progressed peasants, began to become more independent. With the invention of the printing press education began to become more widespread. Many people began to become specialized in other subjects besides farming and questioned the ideas of the church. As the Middle Ages came to an end so did the strength and overall power of the Roman Catholic Church.

In many places such as Europe, people did not have religious freedom. The new world provided freedom of religion and place where you could spread your beliefs without being punished. People wanted to spread Christianity to the new world to help stop the spread of the Middle Eastern Muslims. After the explorers and settlers arrived in the new world, missionaries were sent to help spread Christianity.

the New World was to convert the locals to Christianity. For example, some important religious figures were Friar Bernardino de

In April of 1492, before he came to the New World for the first time, Columbus negotiated a contract with the King and Queen of Spain. This contract entitled him to ten percent of all profits he earned in the New World. Not only did Columbus come for the profits, but he also came to convert the native people to Catholicism. Columbus kept a journal while on his expeditions to the New World, he wrote “They [the Indians] would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus knew the power and influence that he had over the Indians and this statement provides evidence that Columbus enslaved the Indians.

Christopher Columbus and his goalsCertainly, Columbus was a devout Catholic. He lived during the period of the great Spanish Inquisition, which led to the defeat of the Jews and Muslims. Perhaps he wanted to continue the Spanish legacy and spread the faith toward the west. However, personal ambitions may have also sparked Columbus's interest in finding a water route to the Indies. He asks for gold many times from the natives and searches all the islands in hopes of discovering more. He views the natives as a source of economical benefit, hoping to employ them for practical purposes. Even though there are not any indications of immense amounts of gold and spices in the New World, Columbus continues to ask for more Spanish support in order

The papacy of Roman Catholic Church reached its zenith in the thirteenth century. But there was a decline of the papacy in the fourteenth century due to disaster like the Black Death, The Great Schism, and many other evolutions in Europe. Many new ideas and advanced technologies were developed after series of changes. These ideas influenced the lives of many normal people in the Medieval Ages.

Christopher Columbus set out on his expedition with the hopes of discovering a shorter and faster route to Asia in order to make the trade of silk, spice, and porcelain more efficient. In addition to this, he sailed in order to colonize new territories and spread Catholicism. The first document regarding Christopher Columbus’s travels states, “ … determine to send me, Christopher Columbus … to learn their disposition and the proper method of converting them to our holy faith”. With conversion and Catholicism being high on Christopher’s list of priorities, it seemed to impact the way he saw and treated the indigenous people in which he encountered. Later on in the document, the text described Christopher’s first encounter with native people. Christopher

During the Medieval Ages the Catholic Church was able to rise to one of the most powerful institutions in Europe. After Rome subsequently