天主教修会传教中心在西属美洲殖民地开拓中的作用

The Role of the Missions of Various Catholic Orders in Spanish Colonization of the Americas

在15世纪末和16世纪初,西班牙国王从罗马教皇处获得了保教权,西班牙成为事实上的政教合一的国家。西班牙对美洲的征服和殖民是剑与十字架同行的,天主教会发挥了极其重要的作用,而天主教修会更是充当了先锋。与在俗教会不同,修会传教的对象更多是农村地区的印第安人。在完成了对西属美洲中心地带定居印第安人的传教工作之后,修会的传教工作又转向了西属美洲的边疆地区。在新西班牙的北方地区和南美洲的拉普拉塔地区,都分布着大量的修会传教中心。修会传教中心在边疆地区发挥了多种功能,在文化上传播天主教信仰和欧洲文明,在军事上防御外国人和敌对印第安部落的侵扰并加强内部纪律管理,在经济上从事生产和贸易,在政治上为建立新的社区和行政单位打下基础。尽管修会传教中心对印第安人的剥削及其带来的疫病导致印第安人的大量死亡,激起印第安人的反抗乃至起义,其对印第安人的宗教皈依和文明传播的目标也未完全实现,但修会传教中心的确与西班牙国家一起塑造了一个与军事、政治边界平行的精神文化边疆,修会传教中心是西班牙殖民主义不可或缺的重要组成部分。

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries,the King of Spain received the right of Real Patronato from the Pope and Spain became a de facto unification of the state and the church.The Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas were achieved through violence and faith,with the Catholic Church playing an extremely important role in the spiritual conquest and the Catholic religious orders acting as pioneers.Unlike the secular Church,the Catholic religious orders were relatively independent,the missionaries had stronger ideals and pioneering spirit,and their missions were aimed more at the Indians in rural areas.Initially,the missionary activity of the orders in the colonies was carried out mainly within the framework of The Encomienda System,but after completing its missionary work with the settled Indians in the heart of Spanish America,their missionary work turned to the frontier areas of Spanish America.In the northern regions of New Spain,such as Florida,Texas,New Mexico,Arizona,Baja California and Alta California,and in the La Plata region of South America,such as Paraguay,the establishment of missions became the basic model for the development of these areas by the religious orders.The established religious missions usually resembled a square“castle”with guard towers at the corners of the walls.Inside the walls,there were churches,monasteries,mission quarters,the residence of newly converted Indians,schools,workshops,and warehouses,etc.Outside the walls were farmland,pastures,and Indian villages.The missions performed various functions in the frontier areas.Culturally,they spread the Catholic faith,strengthened the Spanish influence on the language,culture,laws,architecture and customs of these areas and promoted their civilization.Militarily,they defended against foreigners and rival Indian tribes and strengthened the discipline of the newly converted Indians.Economically,they introduced new crops and technologies,participated in production and trade and established new models of development.Politically,they experimented with the Spanish system of administration,laying the foundations for the creation of new communities and administrative units to expand territories.The exploitation of the Indians by the religious missions,together with the spread of disease,led to large number of deaths among the Indians,provoking resistance and even uprisings,and the religious objectives of the missions for the conversion of the Indians and the spread of civilization were not fully achieved.However,the religious missions did,together with the Spanish state,shape a spiritual and cultural frontier parallel to the military and political frontiers,and the religious missions were an integral and important part of Spanish colonialism.