Although the expeditions navigated by Christopher Columbus were not initially established for the purpose of expanding Christianity, religion increasingly played a central role in the continued ventures to the Indies. As seen in the Santa Fe Capitulations, the initial agreement between King Fernando and Queen Isabel and Christopher Columbus was five-fold: to commission Columbus as Admiral, grant Columbus Governorship of the lands discovered, grant Columbus rights to one-tenth of the goods acquired, grant Columbus jurisdiction over lawsuits, and allow Columbus to invest up to one-eighth of the costs. 1 Furthermore, the King and Queen agreed to make Columbus’ rights hereditary as well as granted Columbus the rights to acquire newly found land in the name of the Spanish monarchs as seen in the Granada Capitulations. 2 These two documents establish a purpose of exploration and an expectation of profits through the merchandise acquired in the Orient. “They envisaged a voyage of exploration, a reconnaissance, in search of the fabled wealth of the Orient, its gold and spices.” 3 However, the objectives of the expedition quickly changed as it became clear that the expected resources were not attainable in this new land. The fact that Columbus had to resort to slavery as a means of profit illustrates the lack of expected resources. 4 Exploratory missions quickly turned into religious ones. This can be seen in the actions taken by the Pope as well as the Spanish monarchs in the subsequent expeditions. The second expedition was paired with a number of Papal Bulls issued to establish a Catholic hierarchy and to convert the natives to Christianity. 5 6 7 On the third expedition, Columbus was specifically ordered by the King and Queen to bring the natives under the control of the Spanish monarch and “especially to convert them to our holy Catholic faith.” 8 This was then followed by a final Papal Bull issued in 1501 prior to the departure of the fourth an final expedition establishing the rights to collect tithings to build churches in the new world. 9 The actions taken by the colonists in pursuit of these goals can be seen through the report submitted to Columbus by Ramón Pané stating that “since the Christians arrived, all have been converted to Christianity, and those who resisted have been killed.” 10 Given the numerous primary documents provided in Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan’s Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies, it is safe to say that although religion was not the initial impetus for the voyage across the Atlantic, spreading the Christian religion became the driving force in the subsequent expeditions to the Indies.
1. Santa Fe Capitulations (April 17, 1492), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 60-62.
2. Granada Capitulations (April 30, 1492), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 62-65.
3. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 13.
4. Symcox and Sullivan, 22.
5. Alexander VI, Papal Bull “Inter Cetera II” (May 4, 1493), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 140-144.
6. Alexander VI, Papal Bull “Piis Fidelium” (June 25, 1493), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 144-147.
7. Alexander VI, Papal Bull “Dudum Siquidem” (Sept. 25, 1493), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 148-149.
8. Instructions to Columbus for Colonization of the Indies (April 23, 1497), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 102-105.
9. Alexander VI, Papal Bull “Eximie Devotionis” (Nov. 16, 1501), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 153-154
10. Ramón Pané, On Taino Religious Practices (ca. 1498), in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 159-166.
