religion as a way of subjugation
Renata Gomez A.
HIST 591
Sep 8, 2014
Religion: a Way of Subjugation
Throughout the history of the world, religion has had a significant influence for society. Being close to God and having his holy word represents social power. This social power is based in the belief that a specific religion is the only one supported by God and that other faiths are not accepted. In the time of Christopher Columbus and the expansion of Europe to the Americas, religion played an important role. The European kingdoms used Christianity and its beliefs to dominate the indigenous communities encountered during this time, first in the Canary Islands, then in the Americas. Once the Europeans arrived in their lands, the natives thought that Europeans and their ships where coming from the sky and identified them as gods. Europeans took advantage of this situation. As they did not find what they were expecting (gold, spices, and gems among others) then the way to use these native communities was to subjugate them. To subjugate these communities, the explorers used Christianity. The conversion of the natives to the “real” religion made Europeans more powerful over these communities; they used this power to control and govern the native people and their resources.1 To see how the religion was taken as a way of subjugation, we will refer to The Discovery of Mankind Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus by David Abulafia, and the articles “Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America” by Alfred Crosby and “Virgin Soils Revised” by David Jones. According to Abulafia, when the explorers found the native communities, the Europeans were wondering if the native people were “fully human”2.The Europeans believed that there were two kinds of natives. The good ones who were inferior, innocent and in need of protection; they represented the ones who could be converted to Christianity because they were living according to the Natural Law. The second
HIST 591
Sep 8, 2014
Religion: a Way of Subjugation
Throughout the history of the world, religion has had a significant influence for society. Being close to God and having his holy word represents social power. This social power is based in the belief that a specific religion is the only one supported by God and that other faiths are not accepted. In the time of Christopher Columbus and the expansion of Europe to the Americas, religion played an important role. The European kingdoms used Christianity and its beliefs to dominate the indigenous communities encountered during this time, first in the Canary Islands, then in the Americas. Once the Europeans arrived in their lands, the natives thought that Europeans and their ships where coming from the sky and identified them as gods. Europeans took advantage of this situation. As they did not find what they were expecting (gold, spices, and gems among others) then the way to use these native communities was to subjugate them. To subjugate these communities, the explorers used Christianity. The conversion of the natives to the “real” religion made Europeans more powerful over these communities; they used this power to control and govern the native people and their resources.1 To see how the religion was taken as a way of subjugation, we will refer to The Discovery of Mankind Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus by David Abulafia, and the articles “Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America” by Alfred Crosby and “Virgin Soils Revised” by David Jones. According to Abulafia, when the explorers found the native communities, the Europeans were wondering if the native people were “fully human”2.The Europeans believed that there were two kinds of natives. The good ones who were inferior, innocent and in need of protection; they represented the ones who could be converted to Christianity because they were living according to the Natural Law. The second