In 1493 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain reported
the “discovery” of the “New World” to the pope and fellow Spaniard, Alexander
VI, who, in the papal bull, Inter Caetera, granted the Spanish king and queen
the right and obligation to spread Spanish culture, and Catholic Christianity,
upon the inhabitants of these previously unknown parts of the world. In “New Spain” Catholic Christianity was
disseminated and administered by means of Royal Patronage, a system in which
the pope put the responsibility for spreading Catholic Christianity in the
hands of the monarchy, who subsequently conceded to non-clergy the authority to
found individual churches and dioceses.
These “patrons” were given the right to name bishops, abbots, and
priests in these dioceses, and to control the direction of missionary efforts
there.
The official justification made by the Spanish monarchy for
the spreading of the Catholic faith, and subsequently Spanish rule and culture,
came in the Requerimiento of 1513, which was a declaration of sovereignty, and
of war, utilized by the Spanish authorities to enforce and validate their
dominion over the Americas. The
Requerimiento asserted that God, through Jesus Christ and his earthly vicars,
held authority over the entire earth, demanding the immediate allegiance of the
native peoples to the Catholic Church and to the king and queen of Spain, thus
justifying the complete and utter subjugation of the native peoples and the
annihilation of their culture if they refused to abide by its demands:
So their Highnesses (King Don
Fernando and Queen Doña Juana) are kings and lords of
these islands and land (New Spain) of Tierra-firme by virtue of this
donation (from Pope Julius II)…Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require you
(aboriginal inhabitants of New Spain) that you consider what we have said to
you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand
and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the Church as the Ruler
and Superior of the whole world, and the high priest called Pope, and in his
name the King and Queen Doña Juana our lords, in his place, superiors and lords
and kings of these islands and this Tierra-firme by virtue of the said donation,
and that you consent and give place that these religious fathers should
declare and preach to you the aforesaid.
declare and preach to you the aforesaid.
If you do
so, you will do well, and that which you are obliged to do to their Highnesses,
and we in their name shall receive you in all love and charity, and shall
leave you, your wives, and your children, and your lands, free without
servitude, that you may do with them and with yourselves freely that which you
like and think best, and they shall not compel you to turn Christians, unless you yourselves, when informed
of the truth, should wish to be converted
to our Holy Catholic Faith, as almost all the inhabitants of the
rest of the
islands have done. And, besides
this, their Highnesses award you many
privileges and exemptions and will grant you many benefits.
But, if you do not
do this, and maliciously make delay in it, I certify to you that, with the
help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country, and shall make war
against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the
yoke and obedience of the Church and of their Highnesses; we shall take you
and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of
them, and as such
shall sell and dispose of them as their Highnesses may command; and we
shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and
damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey, and refuse to
receive their lord, and resist and contradict him; and we protest that the deaths and losses
which shall accrue from this are your fault, and not that of their Highnesses,
or ours, nor of these cavaliers who come with us. And
that we have said this to you and made this Requisition, we request the notary here
present to give us his testimony in writing, and we ask the rest who are present
that they should be witnesses of this Requisition."1
1 Arthur Helps, The Spanish Conquest in America, volume 1,
(London: John Lane, 1900) 264-267.
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