The Spaniard Push

The Spanish perception of proper religion was faithful Roman Catholicism. Interestingly enough, legend has it that upon establishing St. Augustine, the first structure build was a large, beautiful church. Such a structure could not be erected without firstly facing some form of turmoil and/or resistance. By my own speculation, based on the geography of St. Augustine in particular, I would make an educated assumption that Ponce de Leon stumbled upon the Timucuan people. However, others argue that the Calusa were the first he made contact with. Regardless of who is correct in the speculation, Ponce de Leon and his countrymen were eager to eager to convert them to their own system of Catholicism.

From its beginning to its peak, the dominant spiritual practice of La Florida was Roman Catholicism. Though Juan Ponce de Leon and his crew, even the free Africans on board, exclusively practiced Catholicism, his intent to spread it among Native Americans was largely unsuccessful. The Natives rejected both Spanish physical and religious encroachment alike – in brutal fashion. Since nearly all of Ponce de Leon’s men were slaughtered, Christian conversion and baptism was a blatant failure. The attempts and strategical conversion would not end here.

The “Indians” that the Spaniards has crossed paths with were clearly differing in religious practices, which certainly did not assist them in defending against the European urge. Though none know for sure what religious outlook Floridian Natives held, it is safe to infer that it was nothing short of pure taboo to the Spaniards. In most cases, great monuments of the observable world were what formed the “religions” of Native American tribes. The vast, never-ending force that is the ocean, for example, was a common god. In other cases, natural, unexplainable, disasters were the work of deities. Interestingly enough, 17^th century Catholics were also familiar with the thought of God being

As history will tell, early European Christians are persistent in their attempts at conversion. 1578 saw eight Jesuits travel to Santa Elena, bringing along ten year old Juan de Lara, likely in an effort to relax any Native fears of impurity. Similar to Ponce de Leon’s initial attempt, though, this push was a failure, even after the year and a half that de Lara spent with the people. Contrarily, this peaceful approach to the spread of Catholicism most certainly failed, however, it lead to a more tolerable relationship between the Spaniards and Natives. Writes says that “There, the Spaniards were well received and given shelter with a demonstration of great joy.”

Religion was the cornerstone to nearly all European endeavor, the Spanish included. So many cases of European exploration tell of travel with the intent to, firstly, spread the Gospel among the “savages” and “barbarians” of foreign lands. The Spanish were no different, going as far as murder, coercion, and kindness in order to switch these foreigners to their form of thinking.

Sources: Nicholas, Mark A., and Joel W. Martin. Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape. The University of North Carolina Press, 2010. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=343680&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Oré, Luis Jerónimo de, et al. Account of the Martyrs in the Provinces of La Florida. University of New Mexico Press, 2017. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1423309&site=eds-live&scope=site.