the Spanish saw the natives abundance of gold and that they were not Christian, and they felt justified in mistreating them because they thought they were helping them religiously
For example the African female body was seen as desirable by Ligon however, a laborer body could not be seen as beautiful. So to justify actions for the slave trade Ligon and other European slave traders had to write their (African females) bodies off as repulsive and “monstrous”(26). Another relative example of the lust that the European explorers had for both African and indigenous women would be comparing their bodies to a medieval wild woman who’s breasted sagged to the ground and could be thrown over her shoulders. This imagery used in comparing shows the lust of the explorers, because it was believed that her beauty and youth was a disguise to permit seduction on her “victims”. In excerpts from the travel narratives of Richard Ligon and Sebastian Munster this idea of a woman’s body being both desirable and repulsive is clearly
Still, he did provide a look back into Native American history, how the silver flow consequently led to their enslavement. Pursuing this further, Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa, a Spanish priest, wrote of the harsh quagmires the natives underwent on a daily basis (Doc 3). Like de Bry before him, Espinosa may have harbored a bit of frustration toward the Spanish, considering his position as a priest intent on gathering converts. It must have been quite difficult, though, since the Native Americans probably wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Life was already ephemeral enough as is, what with their still somewhat primitive lifestyle and whatnot, but then the white man had to come along and introduce smallpox, a disease hitherto unbeknownst to their immunity.
Zinn also includes a quote from Las Casas that says “two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day. . . and for fun beheaded the boys, emphasizing the often meaningless abuse of Spanish power. Quotations from Columbus and Las Casas along with shocking statistics of death strongly portray the Spanish as patronizing and bloodthirsty to
One of the lasting impact the Spanish settlements had; the settlers created a bad relationship with the natives. The natives had several purposes to contemn the settlers. One reason being, in document c, that it states that the natives inculpated the settlers, or more specifically priests, for transporting disease from Spain to the native’s motherland. Corresponding to the natives, the settlers also have their motives for resenting the natives. For instance, the Apache and Comanches tribes had slaughtered several innocent settlers and soldiers, as well as raiding a couple of missions around San Antonio and La Bahia (doc b).
In Chapter two section “Encountering the Spanish” Nichols stated, “The Indians’ first experiences with the Spanish proved more violent and disruptive than their meetings with most other Europeans.” I believe that the intentions of the Spanish Invasion of 1513 was always of evil and served not for religious purposes, but to further greed and corruption. The invasion was to let the Indians know and be alert that the Spanish wanted them to give up, convert to christianity, or else they will be killed. Furthermore, the Spanish feel that they have met the legal and religious obligation to take possession of the land and wage war against the natives. The requerimiento was a recitation of the Christian history of the world followed by the requirement that the Natives come forward of their own free will to convert to Catholicism.
It raises the question of how the Spanish viewed the natives: as people standing in the way of their gold, or fascinating and interesting people with rich culture and
Under the “dogmatic assumption that the new world belonged to Spain by the right of Pope Alexander’s bull of donation,” Cortés believed that he was the “instrument of divine justice” permitting him to violently act upon the inhabitants if they did not cease their possessions to the Spaniards. In addition, Cortés believed that he had the right to destroy the natives’ forms of idols and replace them with Christian statues. Through the narrative of Cortés’s leadership, it is evident that religion was valued since it served as a guide to administer Spanish expansion. The narrative of Sundiata demonstrates that religion was important to the Mandingo culture because it was spiritual force that granted Sundiata blessing and fortune in
In The Requerimiento by Juan López de Palacios Rubios, natives in the new world were told, “We ask that … you acknowledge the Christian church as the ruler and superior of the whole world, and as superiors that you agree to let the Christian priests preach to you … (The Priests) shall not compel you to become Christians unless you yourself wish to be converted. But if you do not do this … we shall forcefully enter into your country and make war against you.” The Spanish conquistadors allowed natives to choose whether or not they wanted to convert to Christianity, However if they did not, then the Spanish turned them into slaves. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo openly stated that a reason for Spanish exploration was, “To serve God and his majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness.” The Spanish viewed non-Christians as unintelligent people because they believed in a different God.
In the 16th Century, Spain became one of the European forces to reckon with. To expand even further globally, Spanish conquistadors were sent abroad to discover lands, riches, and North America and its civilizations. When the Spanish and Native American groups met one another, they judged each other, as they were both unfamiliar with the people that stood before them. The Native American and Spanish views and opinions of one another are more similar than different because when meeting and getting to know each other, neither the Spaniards nor the Native Americans saw the other group of people as human. Both groups of people thought of one another as barbaric monsters and were confused and amazed by each other’s cultures.
The treatment of the native inhabitants varied among the three explorers. The worst treatment of the natives was seen in great detail through the perspective of De Las Casas. During his expedition in the Indies, he and his comrades killed millions of the natives to take everything and anything they wanted. He stated, “And thus they have deprived the Indians of their lives and souls, for the millions I mentioned have died without the Faith and without the benefit of the sacraments. This is a well-known and proven fact which even the tyrant Governors, themselves killers, know and admit.
In 1550, Emporer Charles V summoned a debate to determine how Spain would deal with the Native Americans. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas engaged in discourse about this topic: Sepúlveda denigrated the Natives while de Las Casas defended them. Sepúlveda felt that the Native Americans were basically barbaric sub-humans, and that the Europeans were greatly superior to them. He felt that Christianity was far more altruistic than the Natives’ religions. However, Las Casas felt that the Natives should be treated equally, since he believed Jesus died for the Natives just like he died for the Europeans.
On these islands I estimate there are 2,100 leagues of land that have been ruined and depopulated, empty of people.” (Las Casas) Nothing positive came from the people of Spain setting foot on the land of the Indians. Depopulation was just one of many hazardous effects that the Spaniards
When thinking of the Spanish Conquest, two groups often come to mind: the Spaniards and the Native Americans. The roles of each of these groups and their encounters have been so heavily studied that often the role of Africans is undermined. As Matthew Restall states in his article Black Conquistadors, the justifications for African contribution are often “inadequately substantiated if not marginalized [as the] Africans were a ubiquitous and pivotal part of the Spanish conquest campaigns in the Americas […]” (Restall 172). Early on in his article, Restall characterizes three categories of Africans present during the Conquest – mass slaves, unarmed servants of the Spanish, and armed auxillaries (Restall 175).
Joey Cho Mrs. Middleton English 10 17 October 2016 Persuasive Research Essay Outline Introduction LGBT/ same-sex marriage is one of the most heated and controversial debates in our current society. Unlike the past thousands of years whereas marriage was defined as a legal union between a man and a woman, now the concept of marriage has been extended to a broader context. “Homosexuality” in most cultures is viewed as a disgrace, and it is often considered as a great sin from a religious aspect.
