While religion played a vital
role in the foundations of Spanish civilization in the new world, it was not
initially the driving force behind it.
Columbus initially made an agreement with Fernando and Isabella that was,
at least officially, an economic endeavor.
In an attempt to get a leg up on the Portuguese
by finding a route to the Orient that could be exploited for trade, the Spanish
Monarchy drafted a legal agreement with Columbus that would finance his
voyage. The agreement stated he could
fund up to 1/8 of the total cost of the trip, and as such, he could lay claim
to 1/8 of the profits from the voyage.
The Spanish crown also granted him the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea
and Governor over whatever new lands he should discover [1]. Inherently, since whatever was discovered on
his voyages officially belonged to Spain, this was a way religion played a part
of Columbus’ voyage, since the Monarchy and all its beliefs would be spread to
its new lands. Unofficially, ‘the colonization of the Americas can be seen
both as an extension of the Reconquista and as part of the imperial state
building initiated by the dynastic union of the two crowns’ of Fernando and
Isabella[2]. The discoveries made in the New World
reinforced Fernando’s and Isabella’s role as Catholic Monarchs because as their
empire expanded, they were responsible for more and more land as well as
people. Being that they had just won a
decisive battle over Muslims to retake Granada, they surely felt that they must
expand the influence of Catholicism over all new peoples discovered in order to
prevent any future religious strife.
It wasn’t
until well after the initial voyage that God was associated with giving
Columbus the ability to make these voyages.
Bartolemé de Las Casas noted that ‘….it is shown that the discovery of
these Indies was a marvelous event fashioned by God.’, but he did not write
this until at least 1527[3].
So it seems to me that credit was given to the dominant religion of the time in
Spain, even if religion did not play a vital role at the time of initial
exploration.
[1]
Geoffrey Symcox and Blair
Sullivan. Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A brief
history with Documents, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005, pg. 13.
[2] Symcox and Sullivan et al.,
Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with
Documents, pg. 11.
[3]
Jesus Carillo, ed., and Diane Avalle-Arce, trans., Oviedo on Columbus,
Repertorium Columbianum 9 (Turnhout, Belgium:Brepols, 2000), 40, 90…in Geoffrey
Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the
Indies: A brief history with Documents, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005, pg.
57.
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