1.6 Cultural interactions in Americas

What were the differences in Spanish and Native religious views

Natives: Polyheistic, Animism (attribution of a soul to nature) ; (land have a spiritual nature, don’t treat as commodity)

Spanish: Monotheistic, land should be treated as a commodity (saw as a valuable resource for economic gain)

Land Use

Natives: believe in spiritual nature of land = not a commodity

Spanish: Land exists for private ownership

Family

Natives: Kinship Networks (extended families for support and cooperation)

Spanish: Nuclear

Natives adopted from Spanish

Natives adopted use of metal tools for farming

French Adopt from natives

adopt native american culture to marry and gain access to north american fur trade

How did Pueblos bring Catholicism into own religion

worship and incorporate catholic teachings alongside the other gods of their polytheistic religion —> retained own religious practices

example of native american resistance to european conversion

pueblo revolt

pueblo revolt

spanish missionaries forced christinaty on pueblos, forbidding devotion to other deities

resentment worsened by drought, pueblos felt it was caused by spanish

burn Churches and Spanish settlements —> spanish fled

Bartolome de las casas

Defender of Native americans

justified with religion, argued that if natives killed, their souls lost to god and survivors would hate Christianity