Evangelism and Colonialization - Essay Example

Evangelism and Colonization Portugal is a European country located in Europe with rich culture. Approximately 80% of the citizens in Portugal are Catholics. The presence of Portuguese in South America changed the social, economic and political structure of the states in the continent. The relationship between Portugal and the church grew stronger, and it led to the widespread of Christianity across the nation (Beidelman, 56). Portugal enjoyed power over the world because of their missionaries were agents of colonization. Evangelism played an important role in the spreading of Christianity across the Caribbean. The arrival of Portuguese in the Brazil led to an increase in the civilization of the country. Inhabitants of Brazil during the period were hunters and gatherers. Agriculture was the main source of livelihood for most of the natives during this period. Brazilian Indians were the main inhabitants of the place, and they had a high mortality rate. Pedro Cabral is one of the most renowned explorers of the world for his discovery of Brazil in 1500. In 1549, the first governor general of Brazil was Tome de Sousa. During his period as governor general, there was an increase in evangelism in Brazil. Pedro Cabral explores the coast of Brazil under the orders from the King of Portugal (Beidelman, 73). The Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas that meant there was a division between Christians and non-Christians outside of Europe. The Jesuit missionaries spread Christianity to Brazil Indians. The missionaries clash with adventurers in Brazil with the main aim of capturing Indian and looking for minerals. The Jesuit missionaries play an important role in the spread of evangelism in Brazil and its surrounding areas (Rivera, Pagán & Justo, 54). The Portuguese individuals turned to slavery to solve their labor problems. The presence of slaves led to the development of sugar industries in North East of the country. Brazil became the largest producer of sugar because the conditions in the country were favorable. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Spain and Portugal became the new states that promoted colonization in the world. The developed of skills to travel in the ocean meant that they could travel around the world in search of colonies. The discovery of ocean skills the world the Portuguese China trade between the 1514 and 1550 (Rivera, Pagán & Justo, 54). . Jorge Alvares was the first European Explorer to reach Asia. His arrival in China boosted trade within the region. Maritime trade becomes important in the region. Maritime trade becomes important within the region, and it leads to the development of the region. Macau was a small along the coast of China, and the Portuguese declares the land as part of their territory. The Portuguese colony rules the area until the late 1980s when they offer the territory back to the Chinese (Rivera, Pagán & Justo, 68). . The Spanish Kingdom wrote to the inhabitants of the Caribbean states that they have to surrender their land to the Spanish, or they would face execution. The Spanish gave the inhabitants the condition that they would have to change to Christianity to enjoy the benefits of the Spanish rule. Portugal and Spain were competing to claim the new territories in the Caribbean Sea. The two nations wanted to control the resources and trade in the region. The scramble for the Caribbean nations was for the sole purpose of increasing wealth of the nations (Solá-García, 35). At the beginning of the 16th century, reports were sent to the King in Spain over harassment and slavery. The king reacted by sending Dominican priest in the region to investigate the allegations. The priests argue that the Spanish invaders had no right to treat the natives poorly. Two of the Franciscan missionaries ventured into Mexico to spread Christianity in the region. The missionaries settled in Mexico and provided education to the natives. It leads to the development of the region because of increased level of education among the natives of Mexico (Rivera, Pagán & Justo, 75). . The invasion of missionaries in the city helps in the economic growth of the region. The missionaries went to Peru to try to spread Christianity among the native individuals. The launch was at Santa Domingo, which is one of the cities of the country. The missionaries find difficult to spread Christianity in the region because of hostility from the natives. Friar Francisco took missionaries and went further south to try to spread Christianity among Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia. The conflict between colonization and the spread of Christianity leads to the creation of a peaceful way to spread Christianity in the region. Bartolome’ de Las Casas comes up with means of spreading the gospel (Beidelman, 103). France and England join the scramble to look wealth and mineral resources around the world. King Francis of France authorizes Jacques Cartier to look for a passage to the continent of America. The king wanted Jacques Cartier to find a link between the Pacific and Atlantic. He goes on several voyages and set camps in St Lawrence and Quebec in North America. Jacques Cartier discovers that there was interest in the fur from France. The discovery of the routes leads to the increase in French descendants in Boston. Jesuits establish camps at the junction of the great lakes, and they name it Sault Sainte Marie. The region was strategic to colonize the northern region. Samuel de Champlain explores the North America region and creates a network for fur trade with the help of the Indians (Beidelman, 125). The French settlers move down the great Lakes through the Ohio Valley because of the expansion of their territories. European countries in the 17th century focused on the massive plantations and the demand for cash crops. The European colonists ventured in the slave trade because of the high demand for slaves. It means that they would make profits of the trade. Slavery began with the main aim of providing labor for massive plantations in the ruling countries. Most of the slaves die at the Middle Passage to the North America. It results in approximately 11 million individuals heading for the North America(Solá-García, 46). In conclusion, slave trade destabilized Africa because it led to the reduction of energetic individuals to develop the economy. The labor power was low leading to increase in poverty because the old individual does not have the energy to drive the economy. The raids of the slaves led to the deaths of most individuals in the African countries. Works Cited Beidelman, T. O. Colonial Evangelism. 6th ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007. Print. Rivera, Pagán L. N, and Justo L. González. A Violent Evangelism: The Political and Religious Conquest of the Americas. Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Pr, 2007. Print. Solá-García, César J. Slave Emancipation And Colonialism. Köln: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2009. Print. Read More