92), they were quickly seen by the church as simple humans who needed saving. Priests were brought in to teach them the bible and churches were built as places for them to practise their new religion (Tennenbaum 1965, p.123). The systematic conversion took 24 years to complete and by 1547 the Catholic Church was all-pervading (Miller 1985, p. 102). The Indians embraced the Catholic way of life because it was easy for them to identify it with the rituals and forms of worship they had already known. The Indians didn't feel they were changing their beliefs merely embellishing them, worshipping their gods in temples provided by the Church (Tennenbaum 1965, p. 124). Realising the advantage of this almost immediate following the Indians were put to work for the Church, which was in turn controlled by Spain. The massive workforce the Church now had power over made it rich. However the Indians were kept poor and ignorant of the bigger picture. Each village had no knowledge of other villages they simply worked to sustain their tiny church and please their priest (Tennenbaum 1965, p. 125). By the mid 1700s haciendas had been established all over Mexico. These large areas of land were presided over by the hacendado who employed thousands of resident workers. The haciendas were self-sufficient, typically growing grains and retaining a small amount of livestock (Miller 1985, p. 136). The workers were paid very little and were sometimes forced to take out loans, provided by the hacendado, in order to support their family. This lead to many workers (pions) being forced to stay working at the hacienda until their debts were repaid. It was common for workers never to leave the hacienda where they were born, employed, married and buried. (Miller 1985, p. 137). The majority of Mexicans however remained in villages where they preserved their language and customs (Miller 1985, p. 141). From the beginning it was obvious that Mexico was made up of segregated groups, not only in geography and language but also race.