Roles of Religion In Spanish and English Colonization of the New World

Although there were many incentives pertaining to the colonization of the New World, by the Spanish and English, religion demonstrated several distinct roles. Religion became a way for empires to justify their actions. These nations believed it was their duty to educate and spread their religion to those they considered "uncivilized". Thus to a larger extent, religion was part of a greater scheme of cultural assimilation of the natives but it was not a simple process regarding the destruction of the Indian population. In the 1500s, the Spanish had constructed an extensive and independent empire in the Americas. The first phase of Spanish colonization included many forms of malicious violence. The English had taken little interest in creating its own overseas colonies during the early 16th century because of the religious conflict when King Henry VIII launched the English Protestant Reformation. England’s second attempt at colonization was more successful because individuals wanted to flee religious persecution.
The Spanish colonization of the Americas was introduced by the conquistadors and developed by the Monarchs of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The spread of Puritanism in England became a threat to the Anglican Church. Puritan leaders were severely persecuted therefore they fled to New England in search of establishing a pure and religious unified community. One of the focal motives for colonial expansion was to spread the religion through indigenous conversions. Both the Spanish and English used religious motives to justify their cruel actions towards the natives. These countries thought it was their responsibility to instruct and spread their religion to the indigenous people. Juan Gines de Sepulveda is a perfect example of how the Spanish justified their actions to the natives. He rationalized Spanish treatment of American Indians by arguing that Indians were “natural slaves” and that Christianity in the New World would benefit them.
Resistance of the Native Americans resulted from the English forcefully taking lands and the Spanish persuasively converting the natives to Christianity. The Pueblo Revolt that occurred in Santa Fe among the Spanish settlers and the Indians led to violence and the departure of the territory by the Spanish for a brief period of time. The Puritans challenged resistance as they forcedly took over the lands of the Native Americans. Pequot Indians were the central effort of resistance, but were rapidly and aggressively forced out by their enemies, the Narragansett Indians, and the Puritans. Despite the fact that Spanish and the English colonies upheld analogous concepts of justification, they had different approaches of colonization.
Although the Spanish and English had some similar motives of colonization, they did have several differences. In the English colonies, the colonists did not commonly associate with the Indians; they considered the natives as inferior individuals who required guidance. Entire families from England migrated to the New World. The native peoples were excluded from colonial society and increasingly pushed of their homelands as the English settlers demanded for more territory, therefore building a Frontier of Exclusion. But in the Spanish colonies created a Frontier of Inclusion characterized by the involvement of the natives in the social and economic life of the community. Only Spanish men traveled to the New World, they allowed intermarriage, thus creating mixed ancestry groups. While there were many motivations relating to the foundation of the New World, by the Spanish and English, religion established numerous notable factors. Religion did indeed have an increasing impact in the establishment of the New World. Spain and England were both religious countries, thus the exploration of the New World was seen as an opportunity to convert Indians. This had a negative impact because the natives who converted were often treated better than non-converts. This analysis shows how the weakening of the Native American civilization caused them to mix with European culture, therefore creating the present stepping stones of our society.