Response to the Spiritual Conquest

Three years after Hernan CortÐ"©s captured the Mexican capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Spanish continued to deceive the Indians into giving them goods and taking over their land. They decided that a good way of doing that would be to convince the native people that they were worshipping the wrong God and they should learn about the right God so they can convert to Catholicism To work this plan, Spanish minister general Francisco de los Angeles ordered twelve friars, now known as the “apostolic twelve” to go to New Spain. These friars had a strong desire to make the Indians learn about God and to eventually convert them to Catholicism. Before they could converse with the common natives about it, they had to face the lords and holy men of Tenochtitlan. Though the Spanish gave them their proposal, their desired results did not come up as planned because the Indians were reluctant to replace their customs with the newcomers’ religious set of guidelines for their own, which ultimately resulted in an ongoing battle of turmoil and conformity.

When the Spanish arrived to Spain, their goal of evangelizing the Indians and converting them to Catholicism was stronger than ever. They depicted the Indians as “unbelievers powerlessly awaiting a redemption of which they are completely ignorant.” During the process of conversion, they expected them to take the holy bible as their own to read, as well as attend church whenever possible in order to gain a connection from God. Furthermore, they wanted the Indians to respect the Spanish friars and evangelists so that conversion would be easier for them (the Spanish). If they did not object to that, then the Spanish would act cruel towards them until they complied.

When the Indians heard what the Spanish had to say, they naturally became skeptical about the situation. It greatly scared them to hear such a thing because no one ever told them that they were worshipping the wrong God. Furthermore, they feared the wrath of their ancestral gods if they were to neglect or forsake them. Because the Indians never left their native land, they did not know whether to believe the Spanish because they did not know where their own God reside, or to reject the offer. To them, it just did not seem right for the customs and rites that their ancestors passed down to them should be taken over and destroyed by another set of beliefs. In addition, they felt that if they were to adhere to the Spanish’s offer, all of the Indian inhabitants would go against them. So with that, the Indians gave their opinions on the situation, saying, “It would be a fickle, foolish thing for us to destroy the most ancient laws and customs left by the first inhabitants of this land…we are accustomed to them and we have them impressed on our hearts…as for our Gods, we will die before giving up serving and worshipping them. This is our determination; do what you will.”

Because the Indians declined their offer, the Spanish became frustrated. They felt that the acceptance of Christianity did not strike them as an all-or-nothing proposition. So really, it seemed as if