Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
English and spanish colonization of north america essay
Christianity's impact on Native Americans during European colonization
English and spanish colonization of north america essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Spain’s colonization and conquests in the New world started a Indian Slavery Debate, the Christianizing of the Indians was heavily used as reason for the Spaniards actions. The debate was between Bartolomé de las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepulveda, they debated the issue of Indian inferiority and whether or not they had the right to enslave them (The New World: an Introduction, 1). The bible and words of philosophers served as sources of decision making for the colonists, one philosopher's words brought up continuously was Aristotle. Sepulveda argued that the natives were barbarians due to the way they looked and lived so since the the colonists were thought to be “civilized” he believed they had the right to punish them for what he saw as sin (The New World: an Introduction, 1). He believed that everything done was in the name of natural rights or by the right they had to christianize the natives (The New World: an Introduction, 2). He believed their natural condition and their …show more content…
He believed that it is better to avoid war at all means possible. He believed that both the together they could build a new civilization in America together. He used his experience with the encomienda system to support his beliefs. He also believed that no crime committed while not under the influence of Christ is punishable (Thirty Very Juridical Propositions, 2). He believed that dividing the natives up and assigning them to work for Spaniards was the work of the devil (Thirty Very Juridical Propositions, 2), what better way to destroy the new world but by killing off its people? He believed that by using the encomienda system they were preventing the natives from receiving the Christian faith and religion because they were being held night and day laboring for the
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
Cronon raises the question of the belief or disbelief of the Indian’s rights to the land. The Europeans believed the way Indians used the land was unacceptable seeing as how the Indians wasted the natural resources the land had. However, Indians didn’t waste the natural resources and wealth of the land but instead used it differently, which the Europeans failed to see. The political and economical life of the Indians needed to be known to grasp the use of the land, “Personal good could be replaced, and their accumulation made little sense for ecological reasons of mobility,” (Cronon, 62).
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.
If you are studying the colonization of the America’s, the majority of the stories you will hear are about the great Spanish conquistadors. These explorers acted more so as military leaders, but are shown in a light of heroism when looking at history. When the conquistadors came across new lands in the America’s the only thing they were concerned about was their own fame and accomplishments. If anything or anyone got in their way of achieving greatness they would often destroy it. The indigenous people living in the Americas already are included in this statement. The time when someone finally stood up to these Spaniards and told them what they were doing was ethically wrong did not arive for nearly 25 years. This man was Fray Bartolome de Las Casas (Gonzalez, 11). Fray Bartolome
Bartolomé de Las Casas presents, for its time, an astounding claim human equality before God. Defending the native people of the New World from the violence executed by Spain and the claims to authority given voice by Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Las Casas provides a precocious assertion of human rights and the limits on civil and church authority. In this paper I will argue that Las Casas makes a nuanced assessment of civil government, to which he gives a vital but limited authority. I further propose that Las Casas, even while holding to the traditional and scriptural authority of the church, ascribes a similarly circumscribed earthly authority. The effect of these positions is to afford to non-Christians rationality and the freedom of self-government. My assessment of Las Casas’ thought will begin with Las Casas’ view of civil authority and then move to his description of the church’s role in the world. I shall then turn to his defense of the rationality and freedom of the indigenous Americans.
Black lives in America have been devalued from the moment the first shipment of black slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619. They were seen as nothing more than an lucrative animal to help aid in the production of various crops, such as tobacco, rice, and cotton. The Europeans were careful in the breaking of the black slaves, as they did not want a repeat of the Native American enslavement. European settlers found it difficult to enslave natives as they had a better understanding of the land and would often escape from the plantation. The African slaves however were stripped of everything they had ever known and were hauled to a new distant world.
The fifteenth century was a period of mass exploration for many areas of the world. Countries such as Spain, France, and England were beginning to send explorers to the newly discovered western hemisphere for their nations to gain both wealth and territory. Many of the explorers thought it was necessary to subordinate Indian civilizations in order to benefit both themselves and their country. Decisions that the explorers made on the other side of the world proved to introduce great controversy in Europe. Some theologians and historians, such as Ginés Sepúlveda, saw invasions of the New World as a way to introduce civilization and Christianity to “barbarians” that are “incapable of government” (Las Casas 3). However, many religious leaders,
Some would say that Christopher Columbus was a devout Christian. He believed that "his was a mission that would put Christian civilization on the offensive after centuries of Muslim ascendancy" (Dor-Ner 45). Columbus' original mission was to find a western route to the Indies. But when that failed, his mission became clear: convert these new people to Christianity. Throughout this paper I will show the view of the natives by Columbus and Christendom and how these views changed over a span of fifty years.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.
The Spaniards methods and strategies to convert Indians to Christianity moved from a pacified one more brutal and violent. Since the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World, it was clear that the mission of the Spaniard...
One of the main focus points in European colonization was to further their economic order by using abundant recourses that were found far from the home land. They looked to gain power and produce wealth. In order to reach these goals, Europeans directed cultural change among the indigenous people and justified their actions by claiming it was “God’s work”. However, with all of these changes came diverse reactions from the native people. In the beginning they were eager to build relationships, however after time passed many considered them as sons from the devil.
“I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more, if only they had known they were slaves.” Harriet Tubman was a woman known for her important role during the time that led up to the Civil War. She was a woman of incredible strength, courage, and determination. And while Harriet Tubman is credited for giving the slaves an option as to what way they shall spend the rest of their life, the sad truth lies within the quote above. While many people like to believe that slavery was a horrendous act that happened only with small minded people from the south many years ago, that isn’t the case in all honesty. In fact, the idea of slavery was highly debated about and troubled more minds than many are led to believe. While there are
“Las Casas traveled to Spain and harangued the government. In his books and articles, he demanded that the Spaniards return Indian land and end forced labor. By the end of his life, he also proclaimed a revolutionary idea: the equality of all human races,” (“The Washington Post” Gibbin). Bartolome believed in equality and in the vicinity of Columbus, he should have been the real hero. Not only did Columbus enslave Native Americans, as he punished them by cutting parts of their body off, he like every other Spaniard kept the Indians as slaves expecting taxes of gold every three months. “Whenever an Indian delivered his tribute, he was to receive a brass or copper token which he must wear about his neck as proof that he had made his payment. Any Indian found without such a token was to be punished. With a fresh token, an Indian was safe for three months, much of which time would be devoted to collecting more gold,” (Loewen, 2).
2. Sex Trafficking: Involving commercial acts induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person performing the act is under age 18. Victims can be found working in massage parlors, on the streets, in brothels, strip clubs, and escort services. (Williams, 2013)
Saiba Haque Word Count: 1347 HUMANITIES 8 RECONSTRUCTION UNIT ESSAY Slavery was a problem that had been solved by the end of the Civil War. Slavery abused black people and forced them to work. The Northerners didn’t like this and constantly criticized Southerners, causing a fight. On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln to free all the slaves in the border states. “