First Draft

The Spread of Christianity in the Atlantic World

By

  Darrin Crago

            As different European countries scrambled to explore the Atlantic world around them, their travels led them to encounter many different races of people that had been unknown to one another previously. Dynamic changes were induced with this new mingling of race and culture during the time of exploration and empire building. One major byproduct of the meeting and intermingling of the race and cultures among the European, African, and indigenous tribes of the Americas over time, resulted in the creation of a new mixed-race of Atlantic people. But it was not just race- mixing that was going on, anywhere settlement sprung the inevitable act of mixing occurred, giving way to many different variations of people through these mixtures as well the concoction of culture and beliefs having many variables as well. Christianity and Islam both had roots in Africa by the time Europeans had reached the Americas, but my focus will be on Christianity in the Atlantic World. I will discuss how Christianity was, from the dawn of discovery, a driving factor in settlement and continued to be of importance throughout the colonization of all the Americas not only to the Spanish but also English slaveholders who found it important to indoctrinate their slaves into Christianity. I will compare similarities and differences between the ways Christianity was presented in the Atlantic world between these two forces of change and show the similarities in the resistance of those they sought to convert.  

           

            The research I am using to discuss the Spanish conquest to convert souls in the Indies include journal entries from Columbus and a letter from King Ferdinand to the Taino-Arawak, these primary sources give sound evidence of the fact that the church and crown both shared the view that conversions would be made. The journal entry written by Columbus upon meeting the simple naked inhabitants of this newly found world showed that introducing Christianity to any people discovered was at the forefront of thought, he writes, “As I saw they were very friendly to us, and perceived that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force. (Columbus) and in King Ferdinand’s letter to the Taino- Arawak it is to be understood that they are giving them the opportunity to convert to the Catholic faith, as many of their neighbors on other islands already had. They were told if they comply with this then they will have special privileges bestowed on them and their families and rights and possessions will be protected, but if they did not, the promise from Ferdinand was war from all sides through any means available they would then be enslaved and sold off at the will of the king and that they would cause them as much harm as possible in the process. (Ferdinand) 

           

            From the time of Columbus’ second voyage on, priests and friars accompanied the ships headed to the Indies to save souls. Another source I will be using throughout my research is the “History of Latin America” written by Benjamin Keen and Keith Haynes, it has given me a good look into the missions and what life was like for the indigenous as well as the clergy themselves in these missions. The Spanish example is important, as they are going in first with no real model except for the conversions of the inquisition and a strong desire to do work in the name of God as they saw it. There was a mixed school of thought when it came to dealing with the pagan pasts of the natives some friars destroyed all relics, idols, temples and picture- writings, while other friars believed that to combat pagan practice they should first learn all they could about it. (Keen)      

           

In his work “ON THE TRAIL OF VOODOO: AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS” John K. Thorton suggests a “blending of African and Christian elements” (Thorton) in creating an African Christianity. He accredits this blending and transition to earlier conversions in a great deal of Africa making it easy to comprehend, even if they had not yet been converted they most likely would have been exposed to it. Thorton also gives credit to Catholicism in these early conversions as the Protestants had little to do with the development of Christianity in Africa. (Thorton) The pairing of African gods with Christian saints made the church tolerant to the differences between the two. The relevance of this writing for this first segment is the fact that the Catholics are being given credit for the earlier conversions that took place in Africa prior to Columbus’ discovery. This blending is an important factor because not only does a blending take place with the indigenous in the Indies but again with people of import throughout the Atlantic realm. 

The use of Ira Berlins “From Creole to African: Atlantic Creoles and the Origins of African-American Society in North America” shows how Africans were progressed from “New Negro’s” to assimilated African- Americans,  through processes that included stripping them of their identities and giving them new names. This process of assimilation also includes a crash course in religion by other slaves who were to talk to the new comers and tell them about Christ and basically that this would be who they worshiped from now on. Everything that could be done was done to break the spirit of the slave and acquire more dominion over them. Berlin also brings up that Catholicism was moving into the areas of trade in Africa prior to discovery, the Africans saw this as a way to integrate with their trading partners, as well as with Islam to the north, already setting into motion a blending of beliefs as although they did convert they kept up with the old traditions as well.       

As I mentioned earlier Christianity and Islam both had roots in Africa at the time of Columbus’ discovery. So there was prior knowledge of Christianity, some were already even converted in Africa and for those who weren’t; they had most likely been exposed to the idea at some point, or were somehow familiar with the concept. Commonalities between Islam and Christianity helped hide the fact that many Islamic Africans held onto their own beliefs without raising the suspicion of their keepers. Many of the Islamic Africans were well educated and respected men in their homelands, Sultana Afroz claims in her article “The Jihad of 1831-1832: The Misunderstood Baptist Rebellion in Jamacia”, that 56.8 percent of the slave arrivals to Jamaica were from Muslim areas and that a large percentage of these Muslims came from the intellectual elite. (Afroz) The Muslims were able to build networks throughout and because of these learned men, could, behind closed doors, meet and practice their own faith as well as plot jihad.

So commonalities were found between Islam and Christianity but there was also common ground to be shared with tribal practices of Africans from still other regions who had not been exposed to either of the previously mentioned beliefs that could be also be used to mesh with Christianity. So the culture and religion that was exchanged between communities across the Atlantic found itself perhaps starting off as one thing but morphed into something different as worlds intertwined. Elizabeth Kiddy explains how Our Lady of the Rosary bridged a gap between African beliefs being brought to Brazil where Portuguese Catholicism was dominant, she writes, “She became a cultural bridge between what the Africans had known in their native lands and what they came to know in captivity.” (Kiddy)

Perhaps it can be said from the information reviewed so far that the similarities between all of my examples include people who change in accordance with what is going on around them to benefit their stance or to continue their survival. In each case whether it be a forced conversion performed by a Spanish clergyman on an Indian or a transplanted African who in all the shuffle across the ocean is now being held and told to believe a certain thing it is clear that they did it to appease their captors or invaders to make their situation more bearable.