The Arrival Of The Spanish And Portuguese - 1332 Words

The arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese in the Americas has been widely debated. Was it a pleasant encounter, or an attack on the native peoples’ way of life? The truth is that the Portuguese and Spanish had a dramatic negative impact on the lives of Native Americans. Their harsh attempts to Christianize the Americas changed the Native Americans forever. The Spanish empire gained control of much of the Americas and sent Spanish colonists there to enlist the help of encomiendas, or Native American laborers. The natives had to be profitable to the Spanish in the eyes of the crown. The Spanish worked them to the bone growing crops, and made sure that only the Spaniards held power. It was the beginning of the destruction of one culture by†¦show more content†¦Once an area had been conquered, it was separated into encomiendas and covered in representations of their new faith including numerous catholic visual reminders. The natives were continually surrounded and questioned about their faith. Missions were established to create peaceful Indians and the Jesuit missionaries were the most behind it. The establishment of Christian missions aligned with the colonizing efforts of European powers such as Spain, France and Portugal. Indigenous people were hardly considered human beings. Spanish missions also shaped massive population dec line, food shortages, and increased labor demands. The layout of the community was never in the Natives’ favor. The grid outline of the landscape lent itself to a very divided community. In the center of the town sat the plaza, and there resided the most high status members such as the tetrados and correigidores. The proximity to the plaza defined honor. Trade work with low honor was found on the periphery of the village. Much like the towns we have today (Chicago, New York City, etc.) the wealth lived at the center and the farther you were the less status you held. The indigenous weren’t even found toward the center because they were always on the outskirts being converted to Catholicism. As covered in lecture, the Catholic Church established the schools and universities. This inhibited natives to go to school and become more intelligent