How Did The Catholic Church Influence Latin America

The Catholic Church has been a big influential force in the Latin America. It influence can be found since the beginning when Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas. On the first island that they landed, Hispaniola or now Haiti/Dominican Republic, was were the church started to spread its influences. Among their priorities, the first of Church was stablish in the new continent. The other priority was to be a conscience to the “conquistadores” or conquerors about fair treatment of the Indians that would be become new subjects to the church and protect them from slaves’ treatment. One example to illustrate this is when the Dominican fair Antonio Montesinos warmed the conquerors of that they practice of hurting the innocent will sent them to damnation. (Winn, 42) As time passed, these conquerors and more explored more land in the Americas which allowed the Catholic Church to spread to what would later become different new countries. There, the church intervene with people’s lives in things like: education, charity, alliances with business, protection, feeding the poor among other things. When we think about the Catholic Church, we need to think about its priests and about the …show more content…
He came from a novel family that French and possibly Jewish roots. He studied letter and Latin, and later studied canon law until he got a “Licenciatura” or Bachelor’s Degree in it. Because he father was a merchant, he was able to come in Columbus second trip to the Americas where he was able to live in both the Hispaniola and Cuba for about a decade. During this time, he attended military expeditions where he was witnessed the horror of what happened to the indigenous people and the part that the “encomienda” system played in these horrors. There he saw families being destroyed and also the enslavement of them. These experiences contributed to Las Casa what would become his life goal of helping and protecting the indigenous