“I marvel how Your Majesty has for so long tolerated a man so restless, importunate, and troublesome... who does nothing but write of the evils and injuries committed by the Spaniards... He claims that the Spaniards have impoverished and oppressed the Indians, whereas they have in fact civilized them, brought them under the rule of law, and taught them the true Catholic faith, showing them charity and kindness in many places. If there have been abuses, they have been punished by Your Majesty’s judges.”
— Fray Toribio de Benavente (Motolinia), Letter to Emperor Charles V, 1555
The perspective expressed in the excerpt most directly supports which of the following arguments used to justify Spanish colonization of the Americas?
- The belief that Spanish dominion was justified because it introduced Christianity, European laws, and civilization to indigenous populations.Cevap
- BThe claim that the encomienda system was a voluntary labor agreement where Spanish land grants were developed by paid indigenous workers.
- CThe argument that indigenous peoples universally accepted Spanish authority and Catholicism because of their shared, homogeneous pre-Columbian cultural values.
- DThe assertion that the Spanish crown's primary motive was to import Old World crops like maize and potatoes to improve the agricultural productivity of native societies.
Cevap
The belief that Spanish dominion was justified because it introduced Christianity, European laws, and civilization to indigenous populations.
The correct answer represents the argument that Spanish rule was justified and moral because it introduced Christianity, European laws, and civilization, which proponents argued outweighed any negative impacts or abuses.
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Anahtar Kavram
Cultural and Ideological Debates on Colonization