Baptizing Huitzilopochtli: Syncretism in Mexico

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the missionary efforts that were directed at the native peoples of Mexico over time. The paper explains that the attempts to convert the native peoples to Christianity were initially met with little resistance and that this was at least partly due to similarities between Christian religious philosophy and the religious philosophy of the Aztecs. The paper then discusses some of these similarities and contrasts the lack of resistance of the natives to the greater degree of difficulty missionaries encountered in trying to convert the African slaves who arrived in the region. Finally, the paper explains why the natives of Mexico never fully accepted all of Christian philosophy, the damage the missionaries caused by their zealousness and the how the missionaries also benefited Latin America.

From the Paper:

"Catholic missionaries in New Spain were zealously driven to save savage souls by bringing the indigenous people under the spiritual authority of the Pope even as the Conquistadores brought them under the civil jurisdiction of the King of Spain. After crushing the Aztec Empire, the Spanish simply took it over, maintaining the tribute system and other aspects of its infrastructure as they gradually developed a colonial government."

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