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Spains Conquest of the Americas

            Religion was an active part of the Spanish and English colonies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the Americas the Spanish wanted nothing more than to take over and spread Christianity around the New World. The English however were victims of the religious persecution and fled Europe to go to the New World. So the English just wanted a better life and they felt like coming to the new world would do that for them. It is safe to say that the Spanish were looking for control and power while the English wanted a normal lifestyle. Throughout these centuries there were hardships and tough.
             situations that these colonies had to deal with but both the Spanish and English ended up getting what they wanted.
             One part of the Spanish conquest of the Americas focused on religion: on their need to convert Native Americans to the one true religion. Since the Native Americans had a bad reputation and were seen as devil worshipers to the Spanish they needed to be converted to Christianity. The Spanish were all about taking over the Americas and spreading their power and religion across the continent. In 1512, Spain established the encomienda system, which separated the people into different classes, from riches to rags. The conquistadors and Spanish settlers were given grants of land and the Indians that lived in each part of them were considered their land. These parts of land had an owner that would convert and Christianize these Indians if the Indians worked for them. This was fair in the Spanish settlers eyes because if the Native Americans did not become Christian they would spend eternity unhappy. Not only did the Spanish get the Native Americans to convert, they also got them to be their employees. Having the Native Americans do the work that the Spanish settlers didn't want to do. The Spanish also instituted the policy of repartimento, which gave the Spanish colonist the right to use native labor for religious education.


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