Introduction of Christianity in New Spain
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The spread of Catholicism beyond the Iberian Peninsula to the New World began in 1519. Pope Innocent VIII made his declaration saying, “Our chief concern and commission from heaven is the propagation of the Orthodox faith, the increase of the Christian religion, the salvation of barbarian nations and the repression of the Infidels and their conversion to the Christian faith.”[1] Prior to Pope Innocent VIII’s message the Spanish Crown had just re-conquered the Iberian Peninsula from Muslims. As a result of Spain’s re-conquest, Spain had received special status (the ability to spread Catholicism anyway they saw fit) within the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Julius II justified the Spanish Crown’s evangelization of the Native populace in the New World in 1508. This introduction of Christianity in “New Spain” ultimately was an extension of what Spain had previously done to re-conquer the Iberian Peninsula.
The Spanish evangelization of Native Americans concealed political motives. Hernan Cortes arrived at Tabasco in 1519 he had brought with him 11 ships, 508 soldiers, and nearly 100 sailors.[2] Before Cortes set out to conquer Mexico’s interior he was able to befriend the local Native American populace and received offerings from them which included precious metals like gold and silver in addition to native women. Consequently, receiving these treasures which Cortes had not previously known were there, he then turned his attention to Mexico’s interior where he wanted to extract as much precious metal as possible to bring back to the Spanish Crown. The conquistadors felt no embarrassment about the exploitation of Indians. They wrote back to the Spanish Crown saying they wished to make a fortune in their conquest of Mexico.[3] In 1520 Cortes would deny the Aztec ruler Cuauhtémoc a good death (the ability to sacrifice himself for the good of his people). Cortes had captured Cuauhtémoc and kept him alive, periodically pouring hot oil on his feet and setting them a blaze, in hopes of learning the whereabouts of the gold that was lost on the Night of Sorrow (battle where Cortes and his army fought their way out of Tenochtitlan).[4] Cortes goes on to invite Franciscan missionaries to follow the military conquest with a religious conquest of their own. Pope Alexander VI also declared it mandatory that the Indians were to be properly instructed in the Catholic faith saying, “For the salvation of these souls, and so that the barbarous nations maybe humbled and converted to the faith.”[5]
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In 1524, 12 Franciscan friars (a number deliberately evoking Jesus’s apostles) arrived in New Spain. The Franciscan order was the first religious order to be charged with bringing the newly conquered Aztec populace into Christianity. From the beginning the friars decided they wanted to preach to the Aztec’s in their native Nahuatl language. Friars thought this would make it easier to persuade the Aztec peoples to abandon their old gods and rites in favor of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the sacraments of the Church.[6] This tactic would consist of the friars studying 10 years to understand the Nahuatl language. Those who studied the language admired its elegance and richness of its metaphors. The Franciscan friars made it clear from the beginning their sole intention was the tearing down of the Aztec culture and rebuilding it with the word of God. The Franciscans had come to Mexico with the intention of building the kingdom of God on earth there.[7] However the Franciscan friars never seemed to have much confidence in Native evangelization because Natives didn’t understand Spanish. The friars were compelling the Native populace to convert to a religion they knew nothing about.
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Clerics wanted the Aztecs to have an active role in the church, along with the disappearance of the ceremony of their old cults, and replaced with Christian institutions. As a result the Aztec dwellings began to take form around the Spanish controlled area. The Aztecs built 30 churches where they would hear mass and were instructed in the Christian faith. When the Spaniards came into contact with the Aztec people they saw native shrines and temples. The Spanish witnessed the large and beautiful buildings for their idols, where they honored, prayed, and sacrificed to them.[8] An anonymous conquistador wrote back to Spain in 1523 saying, “The idols they worshipped were certain statues the height of a man or taller, made of a paste of all the seed they have and eat, kneaded with the blood of human hearts.”[9] Yet an anonymous friar in 1527 writes, “The idols that the Aztec’s worshipped were numerous and could be found in various places, especially in the temples of their demons and in the courtyards.”[10] Friars first viewed the Aztec’s idols as being demonic figures and the worshippers themselves being manifestations of Satan.
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[1] Fuentes, Patricia de. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ronald, Wright. Stolen Continents Conquest and Resistance in the Americas. London: Phoenix Press, 1992.
[5] Fuentes, Patricia de. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
[6] Burkhart, Louise. Aztecs On Stage: Religious Theater in Colonial Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011.
[7] Ronald, Wright. Stolen Continents Conquest and Resistance in the Americas. London: Phoenix Press, 1992.
[8] Fuentes, Patricia de. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
[9] Ibid
[10] Braden, Charles. Religious Aspects of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: AMS Press, 1966.
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[1] Fuentes, Patricia de. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ronald, Wright. Stolen Continents Conquest and Resistance in the Americas. London: Phoenix Press, 1992.
[5] Fuentes, Patricia de. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
[6] Burkhart, Louise. Aztecs On Stage: Religious Theater in Colonial Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011.
[7] Ronald, Wright. Stolen Continents Conquest and Resistance in the Americas. London: Phoenix Press, 1992.
[8] Fuentes, Patricia de. The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
[9] Ibid
[10] Braden, Charles. Religious Aspects of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: AMS Press, 1966.