ipl-logo

What Is Columbus's Attitude To The Conquistadors

538 Words3 Pages

The personal satisfaction in being the most dominant and powerful group of people inspired the Spaniards to persevere through the colonization. The Europeans considered themselves an advanced population, individually, and collectively. They were confident in their European superiority over other indigenous cultures. During colonization, the European people encountered a wide range of communities of people, yet “with very few exceptions, Europeans felt powerfully superior to virtually all of the people they encountered, even those like the Aztecs who had technological and organizational skills the Europeans could recognize and greatly admire”(Greenblatt 9). This attitude of dominance made it easy for the Europeans to justify their brutality …show more content…

Columbus’ goal was supposedly “…to propagate His holy name and His Gospel throughout the universe”, but as Todorov reveals, spiritual expansion is tied to material conquest. (Todorov pp.10,44). The Catholic Church had begun issuing papal bulls in 1452, which granted rights and privileges in order to promote missionary activity. In the eyes of the conquistadors, the Papal Bull was a justification to conquer the indigenous people and exploit them. Todorov then argues “Some priests were more interested in gaining treasure on earth than in heaven” giving the example of the lack of baptism of the Aztec Emperor Motezuma, due to the fact the conquistadors were too busy collecting gold from the Aztecs (Todorov). While the spreading of the Christian faith was said to be a motivator of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the historian Fernández de Oviedo claimed the majority of conquistadors were, “the sort of men who have no intention of converting the Indians or of settling and remaining in this land. They come only to get some gold or wealth in whatever form they can obtain it”(Thomas 137). The desire for Catholicism to dominate religion on a global level was said to be a basis for the Spanish conquest, yet many individuals didn’t actively pursue this goal because motivators such as gold, power, and glory produced greater

Show More
Related

Encounter The Spanish Nichols Chapter 3 Summary

603 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Ap Us History Chapter 1 Questions And Answers

1288 Words | 6 Pages

Sandra Nava-Martinez P.5 Chapter 2 questions Section 1: 1. The conquistadors came to the Americas to continue the tradition that is “God, Gold, and, Glory.” They wanted to get all the riches that were on the land that they were conquering. Along with this they wanted to teach the people that were on the land about their religious views, and they wanted the glory that they would receive when they returned to their home. 2.The cortes’ conquered the Aztecs by knowing that the native americans that lived in that area hates the Aztecs.

Read More

How Did Bartolome De Las Casas Treat The Americans

975 Words | 4 Pages

This does not justify how they are considered the worst of the colonizing empires because they happen to have more things said about how they treated the Natives. They set up missions spreading their beliefs in the Christian religion and yet somehow became known for using un-Christian methods. Also they gave Natives the encomiedas system which limited their rights by a bit yet when it came down to it the English did the exact same thing but they worded it just a bit differently. Lastly the whole belief that the English and French came to the New world to help the Natives who they saw as meek and gentle while in reality they were only after more money. Spanish lives were negatively influenced by the Black Legend and made to think that they did something so horrible while in reality they were just bits a pieces of things that they really did that were bad.

Read More

Spain In The New World Dbq

844 Words | 4 Pages

Spain in the New World As the Spanish began to conquer land in the Americas from the 1500s to 1600s, their demand for goods to bring back to Europe caused a greater need for labor in which the Spanish were not willing to provide themselves. The Spanish were also aspiring to spread the Christian faith unto the Native Americans. When such did not go as planned they used the Native’s rebellion against the Catholic faith as an excuse to use them to force them into laboring for the good of Spanish wealth. The Native Americans were treated unfairly under the system of Encomiendas, causing a change of attitude and governmental protocol by the Spaniards and soon imported the African population to supply their labor. Document one shows a letter written

Read More

Compare And Contrast Pzarro And The Conquistadors

518 Words | 3 Pages

The monarchy—viewing the native people as mere parts of an economic system to their benefit, equated to the maltreatment on behalf of the conquistadors. The Spanish conquistadors came to view the Andean region as utopian on the basis that they could attain both wealth and prestige. There is a common misconception that the conquistadors were of grand importance and nobility, however, this was not the case. Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Pizarro typically constituted the lower ranks of nobility hidalgos who had no hopes of ever ascending within the rigid social conventions of class and nobility within the Spanish monarchy. Henceforth, for the Spanish, “America was an escape, the refuge for those in Spain who for different motives were not well looked upon” (pg 14).

Read More

Was Spanish Exploration Of Texas A Failure Or A Success?

717 Words | 3 Pages

The exploration era, from 1519-1684, of Spanish rule in Texas was both a failure and a success. The early Spanish exploration of Texas was a failure because they went in expecting to find gold and silver anywhere they looked, but found little to none. Another failure during this era was their inability to uphold their other goal of following the will of God. On page 24, a conqueror said that the reasons they were going to Mexico were because “We came to Serve God and get rich”. However, they were not able to get rich because of the lack of fine substances like gold and silver, but they also were not very Godly when it came to dealing with the Indians.

Read More

American Religion Vs Conquistadors

362 Words | 2 Pages

The conquistadors worked to convert the American Indians to their religion because a major factor of Christianity

Read More

Differences Between North And South American Settlers

439 Words | 2 Pages

They didn’t feel as if the Native population mattered, and quickly enslaved them, “...the extraction and appropriation of gold and other riches by the ‘conquistadors’ was marked by violence and based on 〚exploitation〛of the Indigenous population” (SAIIC). The conquistadors saw the Native population as savage, and in need of control and ruling. To the Spanish, they were less than human; some saw them as in need of religious conversion, to others they were wild, and to many they were faceless. “The official religion 〚appeased〛the ‘conquistadors’ consciences… only 45 years〚later〛, the Catholic Church recognized the Indigenous peoples as human beings” (SAIIC). Any doubt conquistadors had about killing and enslaving thousands were hushed by the Church, which was benefiting off the slaughter and slavery.

Read More

European Exploration Pros And Cons

757 Words | 4 Pages

One of the the things Europeans did when the age of imperialism started in the Americas was to convert natives to their faith after all their religion was the best. One example of one such event is when the Europeans arrived in the Americas in the 16th century they encountered people who had different religious traditions then them or had no religion. Profit minded Spanish conquistadors and french fur traders competed for wealth. French and Spanish missionaries competed for the “saving the souls”. By the mid 16th century Spanish occupied modern day Florida and New mexico establishing missions.

Read More

Cultural Differences: Similarities Between Spanish And Native Americans

1187 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The New World

1251 Words | 6 Pages

The Spanish empire wanted to come and expand their religion and get money as well of their purpose towards the reason why they migrated to the New World. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was one of the Spanish conquistadors, on the reason of Spanish motivations towards the New World stated that, “We came to serve God and to get rich, as all men wish to

Read More

Compare Christopher Columbus And Bartolome De Las Casas

861 Words | 4 Pages

He believed it a good idea to take some natives back with him to Spain so that the natives could learn their language, customs, and faith…and of course, tell the Spanish what treasures they have in their country. “They are ready to believe […] quick to recite any prayer we tell them to say, and to make the sign of the cross. Your Majesties should therefore determine to convert them to Christianity…” (p. 9). Columbus believed the Indians had no religion and that they did not know the meaning of evil thus, implying that it would be very simple to convert them to Christianity.

Read More

The Role Of The Catholic Church In Latin America

1514 Words | 7 Pages

Spanish claims to Latin America were based on the Christianizing mission.  When Christopher Columbus arrived at the ‘New World’ in 1492 he quickly and forcibly took advantage of the wealth of the Indian tribes; those who refused to hand over their gold and jewels faced brutal punishment of all sorts. In return, Columbus and other Spaniards bestowed the Indians with Catholicism by baptizing them and teaching them the rituals of the religion. Hence, the colonization of Latin America was justified under the guise of spreading Christianity.

Read More

Analysis Of The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account Of The Conquest Of Mexico

1506 Words | 7 Pages

This power imbalance and these payments are key in the subjugation of the natives. Furthermore, the paternalism of the Spanish toward the Indigenous peoples is obvious: “Captain [Cortes] stared at him [Cuauhtemoc]…then patted him on the head” (p.117). Post-conquest, and still today, “difficult relations” between the descendants of the Indigenous peoples and the “others” (p.117) still exist. The European view of the natives “as idolatrous savages” or, on the contrary, as “models of natural virtue” (p.175) demonstrate the versatile and often contradictory views held. Similarly, the Aztecs at times saw the Spaniards as gods, and other times as gold-hungry savages who “fingered it like monkeys” (p.51).

Read More

How Did The Spanish Conquistadors Treat The Natives

900 Words | 4 Pages

“One Hundred Indians should dye for every individual Spaniard that should be slain”, “Spaniards breed up such fierce hunting Dogs as would devour an Indian like a Hog”, and “they erected large Gibbets, but low made, so that their feet almost reached the ground, under which they made a Fire to burn them to ashes while hanging on them” are just some of the few atrocities committed by the Spanish on the Native Americans. These accounts are first hand experienced by the Spanish Dominican Priest, Las Casas, who objected to the Spanish treatment towards the natives. Not only did he tell how the Spanish conquistadors treat the peoples of the New World, but also told how his views on the Native American population, what he thought should be done with

Read More

More about What Is Columbus's Attitude To The Conquistadors

Related Topics

Open Document