European Politics in the 16th and 17th Centuries - Essay Example

Module During the 16th and 17th century, when the Spanish invaded the native Indian land, every political action they took was covered with religious terms and reasoning. The major part of the Spanish conquest of the Americans was focused on the religion. They believed that there was a need to convert the Native Americans to the one true religion. The natives were viewed as heathen savages who were involved in worshipping the devils. As a result, the Spanish thought that the Indians would spend their life being tortured in hell unless they are saved. From the Spanish point of view, any resistance that the natives demonstrated to the conversion was a work of none other than the Satan. The Spanish presented the natives with an ultimatum to both adopt Christianity and then swear allegiance to the Spanish crown of Castile. Those who would refuse to do that would then face military action. This occurred as one of the immediate and unfortunate effect of the reformation. The intolerance that developed expressed itself in religious wars and persecution. Albeit the main motive should have been to generate the true spirit of Christ or the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, the reformation made millions of people to suffer on the account of religion. The main subjects of the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese monarchs were deliberately forced to remain catholic. Those who refused to convert to catholic suffered death or imprisonment. The main aim behind ‘a Short account of the Destruction of the Indies’ was to inform the King of Spain regarding the gold hoarding and the murders that were occurring in the New World. The reason of the expeditions was chiefly to convert the natives to Christianity and as a result protect them from the eternal damnation. In contrast to this, the Spaniards that were sent did not follow the rules that were given to them. Instead they targeted and killed millions of natives for their gold. A minor percentage of the gold that was hoarded was allocated for the Spanish purse. At this time, Christian missionaries such as Las Casas tried their best in order to bring justice to the land. De Las Casas was committed to saving the natives and also to uncover the truth of the conquest of the New World. There was no instance where he gave up his work and struggled throughout his life for a cause that seemed completely impossible to attain. In settling the new world, Spain was one of the major powers. The route of colonizing the new worlds that Spaniards were interested in was to acquire the huge amounts of silver, gold and other valuables. There existed a great interplay between the religious conditions and visual culture that prevailed in the 16th and 17th century. The religious artifacts and arts were created so as to stimulate identification, wonder and devotion among the natives. The meanings and forms were inextricably linked to the religious practices of the individuals. Las Casas has described the natives as the most docile people that he had ever met. Every time a Spanish group of men set foot into their territory, they welcomed with open arms. These natives were at time so welcoming that this resulted in them being eaten out of their own homes. However, these natives continued to be this accommodating since it was their custom. He describes the natives as people devoid of any duplicity and wickedness and was obedient to the masters as well as the Spanish Christians who they were forced to serve. The Indians held no such hostility towards the Spaniards and wanted nothing but passive encounters with them. Las Casas stressed that the natives looked at the Spaniards as their Gods and were willing to learn about the Christian faith and to adopt it as their own. The Spanish soldiers, on the other hand, utilized this generosity. They took advantage of this generosity and pillaged the villages only because they were faced with little or no opposition from the natives. This allowed them to hoard the jewels and gold and above all the slaves that they desired. Las Casas has mentioned in his work that the natives Indians were a group of people who were meek, humble and peaceable and offended no person near them (Casas, 124). The Spaniards treated the natives in the most gruel some manner. In every part of the America that these Spanish would reach, they would violently subjugate the natives. They would commit the genocidal massacres and committed brutal acts only to extract the tributes of gold and thereby reducing the remaining population to slavery. Las Casas mentions in his work that these Spaniards massacred million of the natives and as result killed infants and innocent children followed by raping women along the way. Those that survived the killings were taken as slaves and were sold in Hispaniola and Peru where they received the best prices for these slaves. The slaves were not only tortured but also were used for pearl diving, carrying packs, attacking other villages at times when the Spaniards did not use their own men. Furthermore, these slaves were used for building large buildings. After being sold to different areas, these native slaves were tortured to death within months and were overworked but never fed. This resulted in most of them to die within months of sometimes even days. Most of the natives died en route to being sold as slaves on the ships and were then thrown overboard. The leaders of Hispaniola, who were the most loyal to Spain, were burned alive or hung. The Indians were used brutally for the financial gains, for sports and as tools in the oppression of the Indian population of the Spaniards. At times, the natives were used as pack animals and even as food for the Spaniards dogs. As mentioned by Las Casas, one day, the Spanish beheaded, raped and dismembered 3000 Indians and cut off their legs. They also poured boiling soup on the bodies of the natives (Orique, 13). Work Cited Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Casas, Bartolomé . A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Middlesex: Echo Library, 2007. Print. The Unheard Voice of Law in Bartolome De Las Casass "brevisima Relacion De La Destruicion De Las Indias". University of Oregon, n.d.. Internet resource. Bottom of Form Read More