HIST 431 Blog Post #2

Pardo’s article on “How to Punish Indians” spoke more than just about colonization. The article’s deeper roots about respect, law enforcement, and the difference between a secular vs judicial governmental control over people that didn’t choose to be controlled in the first place, are all points that make the entire article more than just about punishment. Pardo explains that while the Spaniards were trying to convert Indians to Christianity, because of decrees from the Crown in Spain, Indigenous peoples were not responding as the Spaniards had hoped. They wondered how it was possible to show their control over indigenous peoples without the Crown having to intervene. This debate between the secular vs official power is something Pardo continues to discuss throughout the entire paper (Pardo, pg. 81).

Throughout the period of time, friars began to take over the process of conversion. They established rules about attending masses and the process of becoming Christian. As assumed, most indigenous peoples did not like this method of conversion and rebelled. At first, the Spaniards and friars had no idea how to punish those who did not follow the rules of conversion, but the Spaniards quickly realized that hair shaving was a punishment that changed the attitudes of the indigenous peoples very quickly. It is unsure why the punishment of shaving one’s hair was so disrespectful to the indigenous peoples, Pardo mentions it could be due to honor, when you shave the head of a person you are taking their identity and reputation and making it your own (Pardo, pg. 86). Another reason the shaving of hair was a method used by the Spanish was because it kept alive the indigenous culture, and the Spanish wanted the opposite of that. To take away the hair was to take away the culture and leave it only as a memory.

Pardo’s article connects with our lectures in class, while Hernando de Cortez traveled from Cuba into Mexico and up along the border, he took in indigenous peoples into his army as he conquered their lands. This relates to Pardo’s article because the indigenous peoples that were at the hands of the Spaniards did not ask to be converted, but because they were in contact and had lost control, they were forced into conversion just as they were forced into Cortez’ army. This is not to make the assumption that all indigenous peoples did not want to be in the Spanish army, or be converted Christians, but the connecting theme that these indigenous peoples were caught in a tough situation and did not have a way out. That theme is what makes Pardo’s article so important, how such a simple punishment like shaving one’s head can mean so little to the Spanish and to us, but to these indigenous peoples it was taken as a sign that the Spanish had full control.

It is easy to think of history from the European view, and hard to forget old facts that you learned in your history classes since fourth grade. In reading this week’s articles, it brought back memories of mine when history teachers told us the Spanish went to the Americas for the three G’s. These three G’s were imbedded in our brains to be tested on every year even throughout high school. God, Gold and Glory were the real reasons the Spanish came to the Americas. Even though this is a partially true statement, it takes away from the facts that the Spanish were implementing their three G’s on the people who already lived in the America’s.

Ida Altman’s piece on Port towns in the Caribbean goes on to prove my point that gold and glory were very important parts to colonizing the Americas. The port towns in the Caribbean all had different purposes but aided in launching expeditions to the Americas as well as importing and exporting peoples, ideas on infrastructure, and goods in between the islands as well as the recently colonized North America. Having the Spanish bring these ideas and goods to the Americas is one of the reasons why history sheds such a kind light on their work. We were taught early on that the Spanish colonizing America was one of the reasons why America was able to gain certain foods and even religion. Altman’s piece does not argue a specific thesis as much as she explains the way the port towns worked during the 1550s, but the piece is still helpful in creating opinions on how the Spanish should be viewed during this time period.

The Spanish were described as being “god-like” to the indigenous peoples, peoples who were looking for salvation and found it through the Spanish Crown. This ideology takes away all of the history of the indigenous peoples, as I described last week this viewpoint negates all of the indigenous history that happened before the Spanish even arrived. The Three G’s and other “facts” we were told in younger history classes gives way to Pardo’s article when he talks about the relationship between the Spanish and the friars. The Spanish came to the America’s first, and did not plan on having friars converting indigenous peoples until Queen Isabella made it clear one of the goals of American colonization was to also have the indigenous peoples practicing Christianity. In a weird sense, it was nice to read this portion of Pardo’s article, in a way to me it is nice to take away some of the credit that the Spanish get for colonizing the Americas by reading that the Spanish struggled to keep their power away from the friars. This sense of “taking control” from the friars is a little comforting considering the significant amount of power and control the Spanish gained from the indigenous peoples.

Overall, Pardo’s article gave insight into how the Spanish Crown was not only dealing with the conquest of new lands and peoples but how they also had to deal with their secular friends and how they had to draw a fine line between judicial and secular law.

Sources

  1. Pardo “How to Punish Indians”
  2. Altman “Port Towns in Spanish Caribbean”
  3. WikiCommons image, Columbus meeting Queen Isabella and King Fernidad after returning from the Americas. Although in this article I mentioned Spanish colonization into the Americas, I think this image is still useful because it shows the Crown’s power over exploration during this time period.

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