Student Question
Why did Spaniards in Columbus's time believe it was morally right to convert Natives to Catholicism?
Quick answer:
You could argue that Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards felt morally obligated to convert Indigenous people to Christianity so that they could become modern, civilized, and candidates for salvation. Yet Columbus and his cohorts didn’t act civilized or like saviors. It seems more sensible to argue that Christianity served as something of a cover for the political and personal greed and ambition of Columbus and the Spanish monarchy.
From a moral standpoint, you could argue that Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards (as well as European Christians in general) genuinely believed that their faith was the only decent, civilized one. Confrontation with Indigenous people—as well as battles with non-Christians elsewhere, like in the Middle East—gave Christians the impression that other races and religions were barbaric. The clashes left Christians feeling like only their religion could save these people from the backwardness of their ways.
You could argue that Columbus and others like him felt that it was their moral duty—or the right thing to do—to assimilate these newly discovered people into what they considered to be the supreme race and religion. Only by becoming Christian could these people be saved. According to this view, Columbus and crusaders should be commended for trying to spare these people from eternal damnation.
Conversely, you could argue that religion and morals were a...
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cover for more base aims. You could contend that Columbus was more concerned with fame and fortune than with spreading Christianity. What Columbus primarily wanted was to acquire as much treasure and land for the Spanish monarchy as he could. The monarchy’s reliance on him to bring riches and subjects into their kingdom would in turn make Columbus a person of extreme importance. It’d bring him into nobility.
Considering the amount of looting, plundering, kidnapping, murder, and general violence, it’s hard to make a sincere moral argument that Columbus and the Spaniards felt a true moral obligation to turn the people they encountered into Christians. If they were genuinely concerned about their well-being, they probably wouldn’t have treated them with such savagery and apathy.
Again, it seems more accurate to contend that the conversions were done for political and personal reasons. The Spanish monarchy had a lot to gain from turning Indigenous people into Catholic, Spanish subjects. They also had a lot to gain from usurping their land, resources, and freedom.
As I mentioned, Columbus, too, had much at stake. Yet what was at stake seems much more worldly than spiritual. Yes, Columbus referred to himself as “Christbearer.” Yet he was also honest about his nonreligious goals. He wrote of his wish to be the “high admiral of the Ocean Sea and viceroy and perpetual Governor” of all the lands that he discovered.
Personal stardom and ambition seem like the real reasons for Columbus’s ventures. The moral/religious aspect seems more like a way to try and hide the greed and domination at the center of his enterprise.
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