Conquest, Colonization, And The Cross: Religious Aspects Of The Conquest And Colonization Of Honduras

Religiosity pervades the conquest and colonization of Honduras. The secular church, the missionaries, and the colonial aristocracy all played vital roles in the process. The Hispanic social consciousness emerged out of the Reconquista which allowed a fusion of religiosity and conquest, and this psyche manifested in the New World. Spain became equally dependent on the sanctioning of the Catholic Church to justify their enterprises in the Americas. However, the extreme poverty in Honduras created a unique situation in which the ecclesiastics depended on the local mining economy to survive. Therefore the clergy in Honduras struggled to balance their economic pursuits and their spiritual causes. The crown depended on the clergy to protect the native populations, which in turn supplied the labor and later the tributes to maintain the colony's larger economic interests. The missions also became involved in the colonization process attempting to pacify and convert the natives on the peripheries, particularly in the locations where precious metals existed. What emerged was a codependency between the secular clergy, the missions, and the aristocracy which were all tied to the perpetually struggling economy.