The discovery of America and its' ingenious people by Christopher Columbus in 1492 led to a debate about how to deal with the ingenious people. The main concern about the Indians was that they did not practice Christianity as their religion. The debate about how to Christianize the Indians of America were headed up by two main schools of thought: peaceful conversion of the Indians to Christianity or concurring the Indians and forcing them to accept Christianity as their religion.
Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda was a strong supporter of the idea that the best way to Christianize the Indians was to first conquer them, then subject them to Spanish rule and Christianity. I believe that this is partly due to the manner in which he viewed the Indians. He viewed them as “barbaric” and “uncivilized”. I fell that de Sepúlveda views the
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Indians as lessor humans than the Spaniards even saying that the Indians were as different “as men from beasts.” His view of the Indians is very different from how Christopher Columbus saw the Indians. This differing in views makes me wonder if de Sepúlveda had an other motive to wanting to conquer the Indians in order to Christianize them. Bartholome de las Casas wrote In Defense of the Indians, in response to de Sepúlveda view of the Indians and his thought that it was necessary to conquer them before converting them to Christianity.
De las Casas shares the Columbus' view of the Indians as peaceful people. De las Casas states that the Indians “are of such gentleness and decency” more so “than the other nations of the entire world. Columbus and de las Casas both believe that the Indians are willing and fully capable of dropping their current religious belief and learning and accepting Christianity.
De las Casas believes that it is morally wrong to wage war against the Indians. I agree with de las casa belief that ware would be morally wrong. First the Indians has not do anything to the Spaniards and are not deserving of war for no particular reason. I fell that waging war does not model the Christian beliefs and behaviors that the Spaniards want to teach and have the Indians adopt. De las Casas brings up and interesting point that waging war on the Indians would cause the Indians to resent Spain. This potentially could make Indians less receptive to Christian
teachings. I believe that the Indians are just has deserving of respect as any other group of people in the world. I agree with de las Casas belief that best way to attempt to Christianize the Indians is by being peaceful to the Indians and encouraging them to practice Christianity.
The source of the first passage that I read was History of the Indies written by Bartolome de Las Casas written in 1528. Bartolome was a 16th century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar/priest, who condemned the treatment of Indians in the Spanish empire. Bartolome widely disseminated History of the Indies and helped to establish the Black Legend of Spanish cruelty (Give Me Liberty, 28). The source of the second passage that I read was the “Declaration of Josephe” which was created by Josephe on December 19, 1681, and Josephe was a Spanish-speaking Indian questioned by a royal attorney in Mexico City investigating the Pueblo Revolt, which is the revolt of the indian population, in 1680, which temporarily drove Spanish settlers out of present day New Mexico
By introducing how Christopher Columbus coining the term “Indian” influenced the initial perception of Native Americans. Although he paints them as intellectual, generous, and happy people, there is also account of them being cannibalistic, thieves, and intimidating. As a result of this depiction and many more, American Indians are never seen as good enough in comparison to Whites due to not being Christian and civilized. Along with this view, they were seen as “wilder” and “savage” Indians, which is to this assumption that Native Americans do not have guidance (13). Also considered heathens, this idea that converting them to Christianity came about through Alexander Whitaker’s pamphlet. Furthermore, separation of American Indians according to tribes was unheard of and resulted in grouping all the tribes into the same customs and beliefs. In effect, they were described as the opposite of Whites by lacking features necessary to being successful as a Caucasian
Cabeza de Vaca’s Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America shows that while Christians thought themselves superior to natives, both sides were diverse and could commit good, bad, or neutral behavior towards each other. Therefore, the Indians and the Christians were much more similar than different. This is apparent in de Vaca’s accounts of Indian to Indian behavior, Christian to Christian behavior, and Indian to Christian behavior (and vice-versa).
Columbus and de las Casas were both explorers of the new world. They both encountered Native Americans and their treatment of them was both similar and different. Columbus viewed the Native American as subhumans. He did not have much respect for the people of the land and treated them as such. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says how he took possession of the native’s highnesses by proclamation. He also discloses how no one fought back which then made native Americans seem weak. He also states how he already took Indians aboard with him.At one instance Columbus had a dispute with Spainards and decided to give up Indians as a peace offering. Which he states in the letter to that tey were not his to give
The Indigenous people of America are called Native Americans or often referred to as “Indians”. They make up about two percent of the population in the United States and some of them still live in reservations. They once lived freely in the wilderness without any sort of influence or exposure from the Europeans who later came in the year of 1492, and therefore their culture is very different from ours.. In the following essay we will discover some differences between the religious beliefs of the Native American Iroquois and Christianity to see if the culture and ways of living have an effect on the view of religion, but we will also get to know some similarities between them. I am going to be focusing on the Iroquois, which are the northeastern Native Americans who are historically important and powerful.
Bartolome de las casas had hoped to prevent further harm to Indians, and clarify that they were not barbarians. Of the text named Bartolome de las casas: In Defense of the Indians(c.1550) it covers what is to be the Spanish Conquistadores, and talks of the natives to which at the time seen by many are barbaric, ignorant, incapable of learning, just another group of people to be conquered. But to the Catholic missionaries, they see the Natives as new people to influence and enlighten. But if at any time the person drops the belief in Christianity, they would use deadly force against the person or family. Adding to that, Hernán comments that their cities are “ worth of admiration because of their buildings, which are like those of Venice”(Poole 4).
There is one difference between Columbus’s and Hariot’s encounter with the Native Americans. Columbus believed the natives had no religion or gods because the only thing he saw on the island besides the natives themselves were parrots, no other animals or beasts (Document 1). Moreover, in the morning of Columbus’s second arrival to the Americas, the natives came running to the boats calling out to the Europeans, and giving thanks to God (Document 1). Whereas, Hariot on the other hand believed the natives already had a religion of their own that was far from the truth, but at the same time could be more easily reformed and converted to Christianity (Document 2). The natives from Roanoke “believed in many gods, which they called Mantoac. They affirmed that when he created the world, he first made the other principal gods, in order to use them in the creation and government to follow” (Document 2). Hariot concluded that “in time they will find our kinds of knowledge and crafts accomplish everything with more speed and perfection than do theirs” (Document 2). At the very end of their journey to the Americas, Columbus and Hariot viewed these natives on the whole to be a very friendly, simple race with delicate bodies (Document 1). They thought of the natives as people that were less intelligent and human than they were
The discovery and conquest of American Indians inspired efforts to develop an ideology that could justify why they needed to enslave the Indians. The Spanish monarch wanted an ideal empire. "A universal empire, of which all their subjects were but servants. Charles V remained for them the dominus mundi, the legitimate and God-ordained lord of the world." (Weckmann, The Transit of Civilization, 23) Gold and religious conversion was the two most important inspirations for conquistadors in conquering America. Father Bartolome De Las Casas was a Dominican priest who came to the New World to convert the Indians to become Christians. He spent forty years on Hispanolia and nearby islands, and saw how the Spaniards brutally treated the Indians and sympathized with them. The Devastation of the Indies was an actual eyewitness account of the genocide by Las Casas, and his group of Dominican friars in which he demonizes the Spanish colonists and praises the Indians. Father Las Casas returned to Seville, where he published his book that caused an on going debate on whether the suppression of the Indians corrupted the Spaniards' values. What Las Casas was trying to achieve was the notion of human rights, that human beings are free and cogent by nature without the interference of others.
...tence it at least allowed him to educate the natives about Christianity and that their experiences before now with the Europeans were not of a Christian nature. Throughout the letter, Las Casas seems careful to be very consistent and never veers from ensuring that his audience knows of the atrocities of the people of their own land to the natives fellow humans. God has a plan for everyone and this is not it.
Without intention, in 1492 Christopher Columbus initiated an event that is perhaps the most important historical turning point in modern times to the American Continents. . “For thousands of years before 1492, human societies in America had developed in isolation from the rest of the world. ”(P. 4) Christopher Columbus and other European voyagers ended all this beginning in 1492 as they searched for treasure and attempted to spread Christianity. For the first time, people from Europe, Africa, and the Americas were in regular contact. Columbus was searching for one thing and discovered something entirely different.
Cabeza de Vaca, like many other Spaniards, wanted to seek fortune in the new world, but things did not go as planned, and he eventually lost everything. Although he came to conquer in the name of Spain, he ended up living amongst the Native Americans in need for survival and became very close to them. Although originally the Spaniards were very narrow minded and believed the Indians were uncivilized and barbaric, Cabeza de Vaca shortly found out that they were not uncivilized, but quite the opposite. He saw that they were just as human as the Spaniards were and were no less than they were. His perception of humanity altered as a result of living with “the others.”
The removal of Indian tribes was one of the tragic times in America’s history. Native Americans endured hard times when immigrants came to the New World. Their land was stolen, people were treated poorly, tricked, harassed, bullied, and much more. The mistreatment was caused mostly by the white settlers, who wanted the Indians land. The Indians removal was pushed to benefit the settlers, which in turn, caused the Indians to be treated as less than a person and pushed off of their lands. MOREEE
Unlike Sepulveda, Las Casa argues that slavery is wrong. Las Casa comes right out in the first line and says, "Indians are so skilled in every mechanical art that with every right they should be far ahead of all the nations of the known world." Las Casa believes that these Indians are remarkably talented in grammar and logic because they have been brought up in it till now. Las Casa mentions that the Indians are capable of having a government and do not need to be ruled by others. He brings up a new point that these Indians once had their own civilization that was prosperous. Las Casa argues that they will embrace the teachings of the Gospel and would be better than most people in the world. Las Casa finishes by saying all men are equal and no one is born with knowledge. He uses a comparison between Indians and uncultivated soil that is useful, but within itself holds natural virtues that with work could become something
Bartolomeu de Las Casas noted the treatment of the Native Americans by the Spanish as an affront to God and the very essence of Christianity - using what influence he had to decry the actions of the local corrupt Spanish forces and bring to light their transgressions. While Las Casas was noble in his fight against the genocide of the Native Americans - his message was did not capture as massive attention as that of Loyola and the Counter-Reformation against Protestantism due to the remoteness of the New World and the more immediate threat of heresy spreading throughout Europe. Therefore, Las Casas was facing an incredibly distracted audience that was not even entirely sure that Native Americans had souls, and it took years for the Catholic Church just to determine that these natives did indeed have souls and could be
In the beginning the settlers created the heavens and the earth. For, America was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the continent. Why is it that we look at the early settlers with such admiration? We view them like gods, where America didn’t exist until they came along; and, once they finally made it through that first thanksgiving turkey, then only good ever came about because of them. Now, you may be saying to yourself: “Thank goodness I’m more educated than that! I know that they were mortal, and even killed Native Americans sometimes.” But do you know what really happened? Do you actually care about the Native Americans more than just being sorry they’re on reserves?