Analysis Of Fray De Solis Perceptions Of Colonial Indians
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Colonial Paper Assignment
“The Indians are very wild and untamed they go naked and live on dormice, rabbits, snakes and other animals of the country along the slope of the tableland of the Catujanes”(Fray de Solis, “Diary”) This was a basic perception of Indians by most Spanish people, and they believed these beings had to be tamed. The Spanish missionaries served as conquerors for the Spanish Empire in different ways, as they not only converted the natives to Christianity but they also embedded their way of life into them, turning the hostility given to a Spanish into a form of coalition.
Spanish missionaries used to recruit native boys when they had grown up a little, not just for labor but also to try to civilize them and convert them to make the boys like one of their own. “The boys would eat in the missionary’s kitchen and sleep in a cell, they were not kept…show more content… (Mission Guidelines). The missionaries also accustomed the Indians to their culture by appointing the natives with different jobs to help its community advance. The jobs vary from cooks to blacksmiths to mayor. The missionaries also provided clothing for the women and some supplies for the men, especially those who were to use the supplies given to them for their daily activities.
The missionaries not only wanted to further their Christianity (Catholicism) to the natives but, religion also played a part in the political role, which was mainly what the Spanish were there for. The Spanish did not see the Indians as being human and also believed that the natives needed Christian salvation before they could be seen as humane. Their purpose was to educate the natives could not only about Catholic teachings, but as well