The Motivations and Justifications for the Spanish’s Treatment of the Natives
After Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, Spain began to expand trade beyond their adjacent surroundings. They began multiple expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean in order to find new lands to develop into Spanish colonies. While establishing colonies in the New World, the Spanish discovered a wealth of gold. The Spanish enslaved natives of the New World and forced them to mine for gold and convert to Catholicism. Therefore, motivated to conquer the New World in pursuit of gold, wealth, and religions conversions, the Spanish justified their harsh treatment of natives by claiming them to be inferior and religiously impure.
One of the main motivations for …show more content…
The Spanish believed that they were superior to the natives, and they used this narrow-minded belief to justify their cruelty. In Document 5, Juan Gines de Sepaeulveda, a scholar and apologist who argues in favor of the Spanish, states the Spanish are superior in every respect. Thus, he is saying that not only are the Spanish naturally better human beings than the Indians, but also that the Spain’s customs and laws are superior as well. Toward the end of the document Sepaeulveda compares the Indians to children and the Spaniards to adults. It is ironic that Sepaeulveda would suggest that the natives were cruel and inhumane and the Spanish were very gentle, when in reality the opposite was true. Document 8 proclaims that it is the Spaniard’s mission from God to save the natives because their religion, and they themselves are impure. The Spanish saw the mission to convert the “barbaric” cultures as their purpose for being on earth. In the document, the tone begins as non-threatening by saying things such as “we ask,” and “not compel… unless you wish.” Toward the end of the document the tone changes to an unapologetic threat of violence. It even goes so far as to blame the natives for their impending death. All the while, this proclamation is delivered in Spanish, so the natives are left in the dark. The Spanish used the fact that they read a proclamation to justify their actions by saying they warned the natives and it was their fault for not
After Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, Spain began to expand trade beyond their adjacent surroundings. They began multiple expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean in order to find new lands to develop into Spanish colonies. While establishing colonies in the New World, the Spanish discovered a wealth of gold. The Spanish enslaved natives of the New World and forced them to mine for gold and convert to Catholicism. Therefore, motivated to conquer the New World in pursuit of gold, wealth, and religions conversions, the Spanish justified their harsh treatment of natives by claiming them to be inferior and religiously impure.
One of the main motivations for …show more content…
The Spanish believed that they were superior to the natives, and they used this narrow-minded belief to justify their cruelty. In Document 5, Juan Gines de Sepaeulveda, a scholar and apologist who argues in favor of the Spanish, states the Spanish are superior in every respect. Thus, he is saying that not only are the Spanish naturally better human beings than the Indians, but also that the Spain’s customs and laws are superior as well. Toward the end of the document Sepaeulveda compares the Indians to children and the Spaniards to adults. It is ironic that Sepaeulveda would suggest that the natives were cruel and inhumane and the Spanish were very gentle, when in reality the opposite was true. Document 8 proclaims that it is the Spaniard’s mission from God to save the natives because their religion, and they themselves are impure. The Spanish saw the mission to convert the “barbaric” cultures as their purpose for being on earth. In the document, the tone begins as non-threatening by saying things such as “we ask,” and “not compel… unless you wish.” Toward the end of the document the tone changes to an unapologetic threat of violence. It even goes so far as to blame the natives for their impending death. All the while, this proclamation is delivered in Spanish, so the natives are left in the dark. The Spanish used the fact that they read a proclamation to justify their actions by saying they warned the natives and it was their fault for not