Jesuits: Saviors or Heroes?

The Jesuits: Saviors or Killers?

The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540, created as a military organization dedicated to missionary work across countries, the members of the association are identified as the Jesuits, they soon became known as being able to interweave the beliefs of Christianity with the customs of the local inhabitants (Bumsted, 2011). Between the years of 1632 to 1670 roughly a hundred Jesuit missionaries were sent to New France in an attempt to learn the Native languages, culture, and assimilate the local populace to European culture and Christianity (Welton, 2005). The integrating of the Jesuit s into the everyday lives of the Native peoples created more issues and hardship for the inhabitants than it did benefits. The Jesuits brought many foreign diseases to a group of people that were not accustomed to European illness like smallpox and measles. The Jesuits were also known as the “black robes”, they were known to bring sickness into most tribes they encountered. The mass epidemic of the disease ultimately leads to the down-fall of the Huron people; it lessened their numbers and made them vulnerable to attacks from the Iroquois. Lastly, the ultimate goal ofthe Jesuits was to assimilate and convert the First Nation peoples to Christianity which led to a massive erosion of culture and heritage within the tribes. The introduction of Catholicism and European values eradicated many traditional customs of the First Nation; such as the religious view of Animism, the role of females within the tribe, introduced a European educational curriculum, and illustrated a new understanding of life and death. The Jesuits were unsuccessful in their attempt to improve the lives of the First Nation inhabitants, for the reason that they brought a number of devastating diseases, aided in the down-fall of Huron people, and eroded traditional heritage