Christianity in Colonial Mexico - Blog #5

This weeks lesson is on Christianity in Colonial Mexico.

Two important events, Church Councils and Reforms and the Holy Inquisition heavily manipulated the Indians while living under the Spanish Inquistion. The Council of Trent of 1561 mandated that the Spanish and Indians were to be segregated and live seperate lives as Indians were declared inhuman, and lacking moral strength and social virtue. With the Holy Inquisition, all of the initial parishes owned by religious groups were now under the control of the secular clergy, creating an extemely powerful economic entity which now had no disregard for the conversion of the Indians, but as using them as profit bearing, free labor machines. The art and architecture as well at this time made a dramtic change from the Baroque style "of the people" to a more "refined" style to mimic that from Europe and Spain. The churches were being built in a more traditional Christian manner, straying away from the Indian, Posa, and Convento architecture styles of worshipping.

From my point of view on this weeks lesson, is all a matter of what happens to be in style or in demand at the time, regards to the political, economical and social values being exercised at the time by the dominant governing bodies. Just as in our times today with the economic crisis, certain issues that were OK to discuss and bring out in the open are sensitive and taboo now. Al so I say that it had to do with the maturization of New Spain and that it was time for it to catch up to the rest of the Spanish kindgdom, but unfortunatley it was all at the expense of the Indigneous INdians.