La Nueva Raza:

The Origins of the Hispanic Peoples

 

Grades 7-10

 

Subjects: Language Arts /World History/United States History

Categories: Primary Documents/History and Society

 

Standards:

Please read the New Jersey Student Learning Standards at the end of the lesson. They will help you give explicit instructions to your students and help you create rubrics most appropriate for your class.

 

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1. Closely read The New Laws of the Indies, 1542.
2. Determine whether Emperor Charles V properly addressed abuses of natives in the New World.
3. Conclude that indigenous natives were entitled to enter the Catholic Church and could marry fellow Catholic Spanish settlers according to both imperial and Church law.
4. Explain why a new Hispanic people was able to form in Latin America.
5. Compare the commands of King Ferdinand with those of Emperor

Charles V and the practices of Spanish colonists.

Abstract:

The lesson will have students conduct a “close-reading” of the Holy Roman and Spanish Emperor, Charles V’s letter to Spanish colonists regarding the treatment of Indians. They will be able to compare and contrast it with the earlier commands of King Ferdinand and with Pope Paul III’s letter condemning Indian slavery.  Students will see that all letters consider the indigenous natives as made in God’s image and entitled to baptism and entrance into the Catholic Church.  As fellow Catholics, Spanish men could marry indigenous Catholic women, raise children, and form interracial families. The lessons will explain the origins of the Hispanic people.

 

Key Terms:

Audiencias                  Spanish            Appellate court in the Spanish Empire.

Encomienda                Spanish            Spanish labor system that rewarded conquerors with

the labor of conquered non-Christians.

Exchequer                   Old French      The treasurer.

Hispanic                      Spanish            The Spanish-speaking parts of the New World. The

term is from 1889, in American English since

1972. 1972. The term is not to be confused with “Latino” which includes people from other Latin American nations who do not speak Spanish. They speak other Romance (Latin based) languages, such as Portuguese in Brazil and French and Haitian Creole in Haiti.

Hacienda                     Spanish            In the Spanish colonies, an estate, similar to a

Roman latifundium, where there was forced labor. Some were plantations, mines, factories, or a combination of all three.

Manumission              Old French      Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of

freeing slaves by their owners.

Naboria                       Taíno               Originally an indigenous noble’s dependent. The

term was later used by the Spaniards on the mainland for the first wage laborers.

Vassal                          Old French      A person who held land from a feudal lord and

received protection in return for homage and allegiance.

Background:

Many scholars try to explain Christopher Columbus’ expeditions to the New World and the subsequent Spanish colonization as quests for “God, Gold, and Glory.”  For Columbus there is much evidence to substantiate this claim. It may also apply to ensuing waves of Spaniards who followed Columbus westward. Nevertheless, for some settlers who sojourned westward, they pursued either God absent gold, or gold absent God.  Still others, wanted glory just for themselves; some wanted glory for all three: God, King and themselves.

Conquistadors trekked across the Atlantic in pursuit of gold and profits. They were Spanish warriors, veterans of years of bloody combat, expelling Muslim Moors from Spain.  In contrast to these inured warriors, Spanish monarchs also sent legions of Catholic missionaries to bring eternal salvation to the natives through the Christian faith. Some historians explain the missionaries were a means to pacifying the natives for Spanish exploitation.  Many of those historians have a more temporal worldview and do not really comprehend the fervent faith of the 15^th century religious.  They look for ulterior motives for monarchs’ and missionaries’ actions and try to understand them according to secular 21^st century values. They don’t appreciate how much the missionaries did to ameliorate harsh conditions experienced by the natives.  To be sure, some landowners and Conquistadors solely focused on profit; nevertheless, most did have varying levels of faith.  For the kings and queens of Spain, religion held a primary position in the creation of empire. They were the “Catholic” sovereigns of Spain. They did enjoy profit and the glory of empire, but it would be irresponsible to underestimate their commitment to bringing what they believed was “eternal salvation” to the natives, through conversion to Catholicism.

In this lesson, students will examine documents that commanded Spaniards to consider American natives as eligible for Christian baptism because like the Europeans, they were created in the image of God. They all said Christian natives could not be enslaved. In addition, as fellow Catholics, the Spaniards and natives could intermarry and thus produce offspring.  These offspring are the current members of the Hispanic communities that populate the Americas.

 

Procedure:

Close Reading of the Text: The New Laws of the Indies, 1542

1. Have students watch the video:
   1. Have students read the essay: “La Nueva Raza: The Origins of the Hispanic Peoples”.
      1. And/or present the essay content using the PowerPoint.
   2. Have them answer the questions:
      1. Why were Spaniards able to marry native women?
      2. Why did the Kings and the Pope command that the colonists not abuse the natives?
   3. Before reading The New Laws of the Indies, 1542 text, have students:
      1. Step 1- Number the paragraphs in the left-hand margin.
         1. This helps students cite and refer to the document.
      2. Step 2- Break the text into manageable “chunks.”
         1. When faced with a larger text, reading it can quickly become overwhelming for students.
            1. Breaking up the text into smaller sections (or chunks) makes the page much more manageable for students.
               1. Students will deal with “one chunk at a time.”
            2. Step 3- Circle and highlight with a purpose. What key arguments is the             author making?
               1. Telling students to simply underline “the important stuff” is too vague.
                  1. “Stuff” is not a concrete thing that students can identify.
               2. Direct students to underline and circle specific things.
                  1. Ask students to underline the key terms or key arguments.
                     1. Tell students to circle all words they do not know.
                     2. Tell students to underline or highlight all commands to treat the Indians and Africans well. e., no slavery, no using Indians against their will.
                  2. Step 4- In the left margin write: What is the author saying in each chunk?
                     1. Analyze each chunk, one chunk at a time.
                     2. Write a sentence, an action verb, draw a picture.
                  3. Step 5- In the right margin: Dig deeper into the text and have students ask questions of that chunk.

 

Have the students answer the following questions:

• What is the overall purpose of this document?
  1. How do you know?

1. What is the most important idea of this document?
   1. Support your answer with 2-3 pieces of evidence.
2. Choose three of the arguments presented in the document.
   1. Based on your understanding of events leading to the creation of the document, explain why Emperor Charles V wanted to make sure the American natives were treated justly.
3. Based upon your understanding of the document, create your definition (not based on a dictionary or online resources) of the following terms: illustrious, enquire, dilatory, expedients, henceforward, lading, viceroy, and defunct.
   1. Have students use their understanding of these terms and rewrite the sentences that contain each of the terms.

• Have students explain the role of the eighth paragraph in relation to the rest of the document.
  1. What is the purpose of Charles V saying, “Let the fishery of the said pearls cease, since we value much more highly (as is right) the preservation of their lives than the gain which may come to us from the pearls,” as evidence of his serious concern for the Indians and Africans?
• Have students predict what would be the probable consequences of both the Spanish and converted natives practicing the Catholic faith, in areas of marriage, forming families, and having children.

1. Have them explain why a new Hispanic people was able to develop in Latin America.

Assessment:

Use the New Jersey Registered Holistic Writing Rubric to assess students’ answers.

 

Extension:

1. Have students read King Ferdinand’s 1500 letter to the Taino-Arawak Indians.
   1. How do the letters from Charles V and King Ferdinand differ in purpose?
      1. How are they similar? Support your answer.
   2. Students will then read Pope Paul III’s Sublimus Dei (1537).
      1. Students: Using the documents provided and your own research on the topic, write a well-argued reason that all three offered the Indians freedom.
         1. Students will then consider and write why King Ferdinand strongly encouraged the Indians to convert to Catholicism and why Pope Paul III’s and Emperor Charles V’s orders would be extremely hard to enforce in the Americas.

• Students will integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
  1. Students will analyze paintings of a Spanish warrior fighting an Aztec warrior, the Spanish warriors taking Indian slaves, and a painting of Don Juan and the “Our Lady of Guadalupe image.”
     1. Students will use the Painting Analysis Tool.
        1. Have students explain what the artists are trying to convey regarding the Spanish presence in Latin America.
        2. Why did the story about “Our Lady of Guadalupe” completely change Latin America until this day?
        
        

                                     La Nueva Raza:

The Origins of the Hispanic[1] Peoples

 

Many scholars try to explain Christopher Columbus’ expeditions to the New World and the subsequent Spanish colonization as: “quests for God, Gold, and Glory”.  For Columbus there is much evidence to substantiate this claim. It may also apply to ensuing waves of Spaniards who followed Columbus westward. Nevertheless, for some settlers who sojourned westward, they pursued either God absent gold, or gold absent God.  Others wanted glory just for themselves; some wanted glory for all three: God, King, and themselves.

Conquistadors trekked across the Atlantic in pursuit of gold and profits. They were Spanish warriors, veterans of years of bloody combat, expelling Muslim Moors from Spain.  In contrast to these inured warriors, Spanish monarchs also sent legions of Catholic missionaries to bring eternal salvation to the natives through the Christian faith. Some historians explain the missionaries were used to pacify the natives for Spanish exploitation.  Many of those historians have a more temporal worldview and do not really comprehend the fervent faith of the 15th century religious.  They look for ulterior motives for monarchs’ and missionaries’ actions and try to understand them according to secular 21st century values. They don’t appreciate how much the missionaries did to ameliorate harsh conditions experienced by the natives.  To be sure, some landowners and Conquistadors solely focused on profit; nevertheless, most did have varying levels of faith.  For the kings and queens of Spain, religion held a primary position in the creation of empire. They were the “Catholic” sovereigns of Spain. They did enjoy profit and the glory of empire, but it would be irresponsible to underestimate their commitment to bringing what they believed was “eternal salvation” to the natives, through conversion to Catholicism.

The missionary zeal of the Spanish evangelists contrasts starkly to the noticeable scarcity of missionary efforts of the later English colonizers.  This difference allows an easier mingling of races into one culture, as opposed to the forced, strict segregation in the other.  Protestant ministers and missionaries were essential in establishing the English Protestant planter culture.  Ministers articulated the brutal slave laws every year in Barbados. The English developed a Protestant supremacy that would not allow the baptism of black slaves and Indians, since baptism implied their equality as Christians. The gradual shift from Protestant Supremacy to Christian Slavery was not initiated by Anglicans, nor even by 17th century Quakers who saw no inconsistency between their religious beliefs and owning slaves. To English Protestants, Christian baptism was closely tied to manumission and reserved for only a select group of favored slaves. Both American Indians and Africans were considered ineligible for baptism for most 17th century English ministers.

In contrast, the Spanish, like the later French Catholics, often brought the missionaries with them on expeditions. Spanish missionaries were part of government efforts.  French missionaries, however, funded themselves and were auxiliary to French colonizers. Missionaries did serve the Spaniards’ spiritual needs, but the conversion of the natives was paramount to their missions. The Church was extremely interested in the salvation of souls because they considered the natives, like themselves, to be human beings made in the image of God. Since Indians were made in God’s image, they must be baptized, not enslaved nor mistreated, and could be educated as any European Christian.

Since baptized Indians were to be considered equal to all Christians, many Spanish had ambivalent opinions regarding their treatment.  Various conquistadors looked upon the Indians as primitive and inferior and often mistreated them.  Missionaries, popes, and the monarchs, however, looked at the natives as humans in need of salvation. Popes and kings ordered Spanish colonists to not enslave or mistreat Christian Indians and emphasized that they were created in God’s image.  This is not to say all colonists heeded the popes’ and monarchs’ demands.  There were many abuses since the kings were far away and enforcement was sporadic. Nevertheless, major differences between the Spanish Catholics and later arriving English Protestants in North America are observable.  Spanish colonists could more easily marry native women since both the Spanish and the Indians were Catholic.  In addition, there was no major migration of Spanish women to Spanish colonies.  Many Spanish men took Catholic native women as wives. The common faith was able to reduce or even eliminate much of the couples’ reluctance to marry, form families, and produce children. The intermarriages produced a new race of people, thereafter, known as Mestizo.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, International Database, 70% of the Mexican population is made up of mestizos; 75% of Paraguayans are mestizos; 82% of Costa Ricans, 78% Nicaraguans, 91% of Salvadoreans, 84% of Hondurans, 53% of Chileans are mestizos, while the Dominicans record 75% are either mestizos or mulatto (African and European) or a mixture of races.  In Spanish colonial societies, eight separate racial divisions would often mix with one another. Their common Catholic faith allowed the intermarriages, whereas, in British North America there were fewer interracial unions because neither the Indians nor Africans were initially baptized into the Protestant Christian faiths, particularly in New England.

The categories in Latin America were:

1. The Peninsular – a person of Spanish descent born in Spain (Iberian Peninsula) who later settled in the Americas;
2. Criollo (Creole) – a person of Spanish descent born in the Americas;
3. Castizo – a person with primarily Spanish and some Amerindian ancestry born into a mixed family; the offspring of a castizo and a Spaniard was considered a Spaniard;
4. Mestizo – a person of extended mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry;
5. Indio – a person of pure Amerindian ancestry;
6. Pardo – a person of mixed Spanish, Amerindian and African ancestry;
7. Mulato (Mulatto)– a person of mixed Spanish and African ancestry;
8. Zambo – a person of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry; and
9. Negro – a person of African descent, primarily former enslaved Africans, and their descendants.

Today, however, all the groups that emerged after 1492 are collectively called Hispanic in the United States.

Hispanic culture is different from the many indigenous cultures found in pre-Columbian Latin America.  The modern Hispanic nations retain much of the culture of their common Spanish past: the Spanish language, and especially the influence of the Catholic Church. To separate the Catholic heritage from Latin American culture would be analogous to studying Saudi Arabia or Iran, while ignoring their Muslim culture, faith, and heritage.  This amalgamated Latin culture can be witnessed in some of the national and societal holidays celebrated in Latin American countries.

For example, the following holidays are celebrated throughout Latin America:

• Latin countries all mark the New Year on the first day of January.

• On January 6 most celebrate Día de los Reyes Magos or Día de los Santos Reyes, Epiphany, or the Feast of the Three Kings who had visited the baby Jesus and presented gifts.

• Many celebrate January 21, the Feast of Nuestra Sra. de Altagracia, or Our Lady of Highest Grace. She is the patron virgin of the Dominican Republic.

• All celebrate Carnaval, an official holiday in Mexico. Carnaval is a five-day celebration before the Catholic Lent, a 40-day period of reflection, repentance, abstinence, and fasting. The weekend before Lent, Carnaval is celebrated exuberantly with parades, floats, and dancing in the streets.

• As Lent ends, most celebrate La Semana Santa or Easter and the Holy Week. This holiday is observed in Spain, Mexico, and all Latin America.

• May 1 is a modern European holiday that is celebrated in Latin America as: Primero de Mayo or Día del Trabajo or Día del Trabajador, a national holiday celebrated in most Spanish-speaking countries, equivalent to the U.S. Labor Day.

• May 10 is another modern, western celebration: Día de las Madres, or Day of the Mothers, (Mother’s Day) observed on this date in Mexico and other Latin-American countries.

• June 24 and 28 is the Feast of San Juan Bautista, or Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan. Other Hispanics celebrate the day as el Día de San Pedro. Or celebrate it as Saint Peter and Saint Paul, known as San Pedro y San Pablo on June 28. It is celebrated in Spain and many Latin-American countries.

• August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption, celebrated by Catholics worldwide. It celebrates the belief that the Virgin Mary’s body was taken up, directly to Heaven.

• October 12 in Spanish-speaking countries is celebrated as Día de la Raza, Columbus Day, or Panamerican Day. This holiday commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America. Here the Latin American countries acknowledge and celebrate the new race that emerged after the Spanish settling/conquest of the New World.

• November 1- Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead (Mexico, Central America). This is the Catholic Holy Day, “All Saints Day” that has elements of ancient Aztec ritual. November 1 is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2 (the Catholic “All Souls Day”). This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Santos Inocentes.

• December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; a Catholic celebration of Mary being conceived without “Original Sin.” It is celebrated in many Spanish-speaking countries.

• December 12 Hispanics celebrate Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe or the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of Mexico and Empress of the Americas. The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to an Indian, Juan Diego, on this date in 1531. This apparition is said to have done more to convert Native Americans to the Catholic faith than any other factor.

• December 16 through 24, Las Posadas are celebrated in Mexico, Guatemala, and other Central American countries. Las Posadas commemorates the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and their search for a place to stay. Family and friends visit one another in their homes, enjoy conversations, traditional foods, and sing carols. Colombians celebrate a similar holiday called “La Novena,” and for nine days, families pray and sing carols.

• December 24 -25 is La Nochebuena y la Navidad, Christmas Eve and Christmas. In many Catholic countries, people attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Preparing traditional foods is also an integral part of the holiday. Mexicans get together for a tamalada, or a tamal-making session. A tamal is usually made of shredded pork and corn meal called masa and tucked into a corn shuck or leaf. Puerto Ricans prepare pasteles puertorriqueños, which are encased in plantain leaves and stuffed with black beans.

The 1492 Spanish expedition to the New World changed the western hemisphere forever.  The Spanish settlers and the indigenous peoples, along with the later arriving enslaved Africans, created a new race of people with a common Spanish language and cultural heritage.  There were some mixtures of native and African cultures in various portions of Latin America, but the dominant unifying factor of the races was the Spanish language and Catholic culture, brought to the New World by the Italian, Christopher Columbus. This heritage is practiced by Hispanics from Chile in the South to northern Hispanic neighborhoods in the United States.

Resources:

 

Books

Rivera, Luis N. A Violent Evangelism: The Political and Religious Conquest of the Americas, 1992.

John F. Schwaller. The Church in Colonial Latin America. 2000.

Ibid., The History of the Catholic Church in Latin America: From Conquest to Revolution and Beyond. 2011.

Articles

Christopher Cannon Jones. “From Protestant Supremacy to Christian Slavery.” Black Perspective. https://www.aaihs.org/from-protestant-supremacy-to-christian-slavery/

Roberta Estes. “Las Castas – Spanish Racial Classifications.” Native Heritage Project.

https://nativeheritageproject.com/2013/06/15/las-castas-spanish-racial-classifications/

 

“Major Holidays and Celebrations of Spanish-Speaking Countries.” University of California: Agriculture and Natural Resources.

https://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Calendario/Major_Holidays_and_Celebrations_of_Spanish-Speaking_Countries/

Directly from the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards– Social Studies

Go to: Social Studies Social Studies NJSLS 2020 (June) for specific Performance Indicators appropriate for your curriculum

6.2 World History / Global Studies by the end of Grade 8

Era 4. Expanding Exchanges and Encounters (500 CE–1450 CE)

The emergence of empires (i.e., Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas) resulted from the promotion of interregional trade, cultural exchanges, new technologies, urbanization, and centralized political organization. The rise and spread of new belief systems unified societies, but they also became a major source of tension and conflict. While commercial and agricultural improvements created new wealth and opportunities for the empires, most people’s daily lives remained unchanged

6.2 World History: Global Studies by the End of Grade 12

Era 1. The Emergence of the First Global Age: Global Interactions and Colonialism

The methods of and motivations for exploration and conquest resulted in increased global interactions, differing patterns of trade, colonization, and conflict among nations. Colonization was inspired by the desire to have access to resources and markets, often at the expense of the indigenous culture, population, and environment.

The New Laws of the Indies, 1542

 

. . . To the Most Illustrious Prince Don Philip our very dear and very beloved grandson and son, and to the Infantes our grandsons and sons, and to the President, and those of our Council of the Indies, and to our Viceroys, Presidents and Auditors of our Audiencias (an appellate court in Spain and its empire) . . . .

You know that having for many years had the will and intention as leisure to occupy ourselves with the affairs of the Indies, on account of their great importance, as well in that touching the service of God our Lord and increase of his holy Catholic faith, as in the preservation of the natives of those parts, and the good government and preservation of their persons . .  .

Whereas one of the most important things in which the Audiencias are to serve us is in taking very especial care of the good treatment of the Indians and preservation of them, We command that the said Audiencias enquire continually into the excesses or ill treatment which are or shall be done to them by governors or private persons; and how the ordinances and instructions which have been given to them, and are made for the good treatment of the said Indians have been observed. And if there had been any excesses, on the part of the said Governors, or should any be committed hereafter, to take care that such excesses are properly corrected, chastising the guilty parties with all rigor conformably to justice. The Audiencias must not allow that in the suits between Indians, or with them, there be ordinary proceedings at law, nor dilatory expedients, as is wont to happen through the malice of some advocates and solicitors, but that they be determined summarily, observing their usages and customs, unless they be manifestly unjust; and that the said Audiencias take care that this be so observed by the other, inferior judges.

Item, We ordain and command that from henceforward for no cause of war nor any other whatsoever, though it be under title of rebellion, nor by ransom nor in other manner can an Indian be made a slave, and we will that they be treated as our vassals of the Crown of Castile since such they are.

No person can make use of the Indians by way of Naboria or Tapia or in any other manner against their will.

As We have ordered provision to be made that from henceforward the Indians in no way be made slaves, including those who until now have been enslaved against all reason and right and contrary to the provisions and instructions thereupon, We ordain and command that the Audiencias having first summoned the parties to their presence, without any further judicial form, but in a summary way, so that the truth may be ascertained, speedily set the said Indians at liberty unless the persons who hold them for slaves show title why they should hold and possess them legitimately. And in order that in default of persons to solicit the aforesaid, the Indians may not remain in slavery unjustly, We command that the Audiencias appoint persons who may pursue this cause for the Indians and be paid out of the Exchequer fines, provided they be men of trust and diligence.

Also, We command that with regard to the lading of the said Indians the Audiencias take especial care that they be not laden, or in case that in some parts this cannot be avoided that it be in such a manner that no risk of life, health and preservation of the said Indians may ensue from an immoderate burthen; and that against their own will and without their being paid, in no case be it permitted that they be laden, punishing very severely him who shall act contrary to this. In this there is to be no remission out of respect to any person.

Because report has been made to us that owing to the pearl fisheries not having been conducted in a proper manner deaths of many Indians and Negroes have ensued, We command that no free Indian be taken to the said fishery under pain of death, and that the bishop and the judge who shall be at Veneçuela direct what shall seem to them most fit for the preservation of the slaves working in the said fishery, both Indians and Negroes, and that the deaths may cease. If, however, it should appear to them that the risk of death cannot be avoided by the said Indians and Negroes, let the fishery of the said pearls cease, since we value much more highly (as is right) the preservation of their lives than the gain which may come to us from the pearls.

Whereas in consequence of the allotments of Indians made to the Viceroys, Governors, and their lieutenants, to our officials, and prelates, monasteries, hospitals, houses of religion and mints, offices of our Hacienda and treasury thereof, and other persons favoured by reason of their offices, disorders have occurred in the treatment of the said Indians, it is our will, and we command that forthwith there be placed under our Royal Crown all the Indians whom they hold and possess by any title and cause whatever, whoever the said parties are . . .

Moreover, We command that from all those persons who hold Indians without proper title, having entered into possession of them by their own authority, such Indians be taken away and be placed under our Royal Crown.

And because we are informed that other persons, although possessing a sufficient title, have had an excessive number of Indians allotted to them, We order that the Audiencias, each in its jurisdiction diligently inform themselves of this, and with all speed, and reduce the allotments made to the said persons to a fair and moderate quantity, and then place the rest under our Royal Crown notwithstanding any appeal or application which may be interposed by such persons: and send us a report with all speed of what the said Audiencias have thus done, that we may know how our command is fulfilled. And in New Spain let it be especially provided as to the Indians held by: (a list of names) and many other persons who are said to hold Indians in very excessive quantity, according to the report made to us. . . .

So also, The said Audiencias are to inform themselves how the Indians have been treated by the persons who have held them in encomienda (Conquered peoples were considered vassals of the Spanish monarch. The Crown awarded an encomienda as a grant, including the vassals on the land to a particular individual) and if it be clear that in justice they ought to be deprived of the said Indians for their excesses and the ill-usage to which they have subjected them, We ordain that they take away and place such Indians under our Royal Crown. And in Peru, besides the aforesaid, let the Viceroy and Audiencia inform themselves of the excesses committed during the occurrences between Governors Pizarro and Almagro in order to report to us thereon, and from the principal persons whom they find notoriously blameable in those feuds they then take away the Indians they have, and place them under our Royal Crown.

Moreover, We ordain and command that from henceforward no Viceroy, Governor, Audiencia, discoverer, or any other person have power to allot Indians in encomienda by new provision, or by means of resignation, donation, sale, or any other form or manner, neither by vacancy nor inheritance, but that the person dying who held the said Indians, they revert to our Royal Crown. And let the Audiencias take care to inform themselves then particularly of the person who died, of his quality, his merits and services, of how he treated the said Indians whom he held, if he left wife and children or what other heirs, and send us a report thereof with the condition of the Indians and of the land, in order that we may give directions to provide what may be best for our service, and may do such favour as may seem suitable to the wife and children of the defunct. If in the meantime it should appear to the Audiencia that there is a necessity to provide some support for such wife and children, they can do it out of the tribute which the said Indians will have to pay, or allowing them a moderate pension, if the said Indians are under our Crown, as aforesaid.

Item, We ordain and command that our said Presidents and Auditors take great care that the Indians who in any of the ways above mentioned are taken away, and those who may become vacant be very well treated and instructed in the matters of our holy Catholic faith, and as our free vassals. This is to be their chief care, that on which we principally desire them to report, and in which they can best serve us. They are also to provide that they be governed with justice in the way and manner that the Indians who are under our Royal Crown are at present governed in New Spain. . ..

Source:

From The New Laws of the Indies, ed. Henry Stevens (London: The Chiswick Press, 1893), pp. iii-xvii, passim.

Translated from the original Spanish.

King Ferdinand’s letter to the Taino-Arawak Indians c 1500

In the name of King Ferdinand and Juana, his daughter, Queen of Castile and Leon, etc., conquerors of barbarian nations, we notify you as best we can that our Lord God Eternal created Heaven and earth and a man and woman from whom we all descend for all times and all over the world. In the 5,000 years since creation the multitude of these generations caused men to divide and establish kingdoms in various parts of the world, among whom God chose St. Peter as leader of mankind, regardless of their law, sect or belief. He seated St. Peter in Rome as the best place from which to rule the world but he allowed him to establish his seat in all parts of the world and rule all people, whether Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles or any other sect. He was named Pope, which means admirable and greatest father, governor of all men. Those who lived at that time obeyed St. Peter as Lord and superior King of the universe, and so did their descendants obey his successors and so on to the end of time.

The late Pope gave these islands and mainland of the ocean and the contents hereof to the above-mentioned King and Queen, as is certified in writing and you may see the documents if you should so desire. Therefore, Their Highnesses are lords and masters of this land; they were acknowledged as such when this notice was posted, and were and are being served willingly and without resistance; then, their religious envoys were acknowledged and obeyed without delay, and all subjects unconditionally and of their own free will became Christians and thus they remain. Their Highnesses received their allegiance with joy and benignity and decreed that they be treated in this spirit like good and loyal vassals and you are under the obligation to do the same.

Therefore, we request that you understand this text, deliberate on its contents within a reasonable time, and recognize the Church and its highest priest, the Pope, as rulers of the universe, and in their name the King and Queen of Spain as rulers of this land, allowing the religious fathers to preach our holy Faith to you. You own compliance as a duty to the King and we in his name will receive you with love and charity, respecting your freedom and that of your wives and sons and your rights of possession and we shall not compel you to baptism unless you, informed of the Truth, wish to convert to our holy Catholic Faith as almost all your neighbors have done in other islands, in exchange for which Their Highnesses bestow many privileges and exemptions upon you. Should you fail to comply, or delay maliciously in so doing, we assure you that with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and of Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals. And we declare you guilty of resulting deaths and injuries, exempting Their Highnesses of such guilt as well as ourselves and the gentlemen who accompany us. We hereby request that legal signatures be affixed to this text and pray those present to bear witness for us, etc.

The Latin Library http://thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/readings/ferdinand.html

Translated from the original Spanish.

Sublimus Dei

(Sublime God)

On the Enslavement and Evangelization of Indians

Pope Paul III – 1537

Pope Paul III (Topic: the enslavement and evangelization of Indians)

To all faithful Christians to whom this writing may come, health in Christ our Lord and the apostolic benediction.

The sublime God so loved the human race that He created man in such wise that he might participate, not only in the good that other creatures enjoy, but endowed him with capacity to attain to the inaccessible and invisible Supreme Good and behold it face to face; and since man, according to the testimony of the sacred scriptures, has been created to enjoy eternal life and happiness, which none may obtain save through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is necessary that he should possess the nature and faculties enabling him to receive that faith; and that whoever is thus endowed should be capable of receiving that same faith. Nor is it credible that any one should possess so little understanding as to desire the faith and yet be destitute of the most necessary faculty to enable him to receive it. Hence Christ, who is the Truth itself, that has never failed and can never fail, said to the preachers of the faith whom He chose for that office ‘Go ye and teach all nations.’ He said all, without exception, for all are capable of receiving the doctrines of the faith.

The enemy of the human race, who opposes all good deeds in order to bring men to destruction, beholding and envying this, invented a means never before heard of, by which he might hinder the preaching of God’s word of Salvation to the people: he inspired his satellites who, to please him, have not hesitated to publish abroad that the Indians of the West and the South, and other people of whom We have recent knowledge should be treated as dumb brutes created for our service, pretending that they are incapable of receiving the Catholic Faith.

We, who, though unworthy, exercise on earth the power of our Lord and seek with all our might to bring those sheep of His flock who are outside into the fold committed to our charge, consider, however, that the Indians are truly men and that they are not only capable of understanding the Catholic Faith but, according to our information, they desire exceedingly to receive it. Desiring to provide ample remedy for these evils, We define and declare by these Our letters, or by any translation thereof signed by any notary public and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical dignitary, to which the same credit shall be given as to the originals, that, notwithstanding whatever may have been or may be said to the contrary, the said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect.

By virtue of Our apostolic authority We define and declare by these present letters, or by any translation thereof signed by any notary public and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical dignitary, which shall thus command the same obedience as the originals, that the said Indians and other peoples should be converted to the faith of Jesus Christ by preaching the word of God and by the example of good and holy living.

[Dated: May 29, 1537]

Papal Encyclical Online https://www.papalencyclicals.net/paul03/p3subli.htm

Translated from the original Latin.

Use the Painting Analysis Worksheets to analyze each panting.  

• Use these pictures to create a story about the encounter between the Spanish and Indians in Mexico.
• Why did the story about “Our Lady of Guadalupe” completely change Latin America?

[1] The Spanish-speaking parts of the New World. The term is from 1889, in American English since c. 1972.  The term is not to be confused with “Latino” which includes people from other Latin American nations who do not speak Spanish.  They speak other Romance (Latin based) languages, such as Portuguese in Brazil and French and Haitian Creole in Haiti.