The Mission Movie Essay
The Age of Exploration marked the beginning of a new chapter in world history and period of opportunity in Europe. Prominent European states such as England, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain all viewed the New World as a means of expanding their global footprints. While not the West Indies, the Americas were understood to possess incalculable amount of natural resources, and many of these European states were anxious to take advantage by any means. In South and Central America, power struggles between Spain and Portugal would ultimately transform the beautiful continent into a place that, for many, would embody death and destruction. The 1986 film The Mission captures beautifully the tragedy of these historical events, highlighting
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It gives an accurate picture of just how detrimental Europeans were to the indigenous peoples of Central and South America, and echoes a narrative that would eventually lead to Spain becoming known throughout the Americas as “The Black Legend.” The story itself echoes the account of Dominican Priest Bartolome Las Casas, whose published writings on the cruelty shown to Native Americans first shed light on the atrocities in 1537 . Though Las Casas was a proponent of African slavery, his views on the inhumane treatment of the Natives acted in the same way as the Jesuits’, and ultimately, Cardinal Altamirano’s. Coming from Europe, he, like many Europeans, saw Spanish colonization under any circumstances as an elevation from the primitive, savage communities of the natives. To them, subjugation was the most efficient way to cultivate the Native population into a “civilized” society. Father Gabriel saw the beauty in the simplicity of the native lifestyle, appreciating its ability to bring one closer to God. Though not corrupt, Altamirano, though he felt compassion for the tribes, simply could not understand the sanctity of what the missions provided. Spain would ultimately grow to become the richest nation in Europe from its colonies in the New World, transporting billions in gold across the Atlantic by enslaving Africans and Native American
It gives an accurate picture of just how detrimental Europeans were to the indigenous peoples of Central and South America, and echoes a narrative that would eventually lead to Spain becoming known throughout the Americas as “The Black Legend.” The story itself echoes the account of Dominican Priest Bartolome Las Casas, whose published writings on the cruelty shown to Native Americans first shed light on the atrocities in 1537 . Though Las Casas was a proponent of African slavery, his views on the inhumane treatment of the Natives acted in the same way as the Jesuits’, and ultimately, Cardinal Altamirano’s. Coming from Europe, he, like many Europeans, saw Spanish colonization under any circumstances as an elevation from the primitive, savage communities of the natives. To them, subjugation was the most efficient way to cultivate the Native population into a “civilized” society. Father Gabriel saw the beauty in the simplicity of the native lifestyle, appreciating its ability to bring one closer to God. Though not corrupt, Altamirano, though he felt compassion for the tribes, simply could not understand the sanctity of what the missions provided. Spain would ultimately grow to become the richest nation in Europe from its colonies in the New World, transporting billions in gold across the Atlantic by enslaving Africans and Native American