HS 383 - The Cross and the Sword: Christianity and the Making of Colonial Latin America

(3.00 cr.)

Prerequisite: One HS 100-level course. Examines the Catholic Church, a central institution in the colonization and development of Latin America. The Church became integral to colonial Latin America's social, economic, intellectual, and political life. Discusses why missionaries succeeded while others became martyrs. Why were Jesuits simultaneously defenders of Indians yet owners of plantations? Why were Jesuits expelled from Latin America and other religious orders not? Also discusses Protestant and Jewish colonists and examines native religions on their own terms. GT/IC/IL