We Came, We Conquered, and We Saw the Light

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the conversion of Native Americans during the colonial period, primarily in the 16th and 17th centuries. The author delineates the conversion methods of the Spanish, the French, and the English, as well as the resistance movements on the part of the Native Americans. The essence of the paper lies in analyzing the effects of conversion, and how the groups interacted with each other.

From the Paper:

"It is not often that one thinks of any European nation as uncultured or backward, but it takes only a single look towards the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the conquest of North America to see that perhaps the conquered were more forward moving, at least spiritually, than their conquerors. Though thought to be savage and primitive, the natives of North America had long since developed coherent religious systems, as intricate as those of the Europeans even bearing similarities to them. Christianity and its various forms, however, proved to be a much less understanding opponent to the Native Americans, who hardly expected to be opposed in the first place. Along with the discovery of the New World came an onslaught of attempts towards conversion."

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