Why Have You Come Here?: The Jesuits And The First Evangelization Of Native America University Press Scholarship Online

Christian Evangelism Was The Ostensible Motive For Much Of The Early European Interaction With The Indigenous Population Of America. The Religious Orders Of The Catholic Church Were The Front-line Representatives Of Western Culture And The Ones Who Met Indigenous America Face-to-face. They Were Also The Primary Agents Of Religious Change. In This Book, Nicholas Cushner Provides The First Comprehensive Overview And Analysis Of The American Missionary Activities Of The Jesuits. From The North American Encounter With The Indians Of Florida In 1565, Through Mexico, New France, The Paraguay Reductions, Andean Perus, To Contact With Native Americans In Maryland On The Eve Of The American Revolution, Members Of The Order Interacted With Both Native Elites And Colonizers. Drawing On The Abundant Documentation Of And Scholarship About These Encounters, Cushner Examines How The Jesuits Behaved Toward The Indigenous Population And Analyzes The Way In Which Native Belief Systems Were Replaced By Christianity. He Seeks To Understand How And Why The Initial European-indian Encounter Changed Not Only The Religion Of The Natives, But Also Their Material Culture, Economic Activity, Social Organization, And Even Their Sexual Behavior. Always Sensitive To The Influence Of European 'cultural Filters' On Jesuit Accounts, Cushner Attempts As Far As Possible To Discover The Authentic Voices Of The Native Americans With Whom They Interacted. The Result Is A Fascinating And Highly Accessible Introduction To The Earliest Colonial Encounters In The Americas -- Two Worlds Meet -- La Florida -- The Four Rivers Of Sinaloa -- Conquest, Pacification, And Conversion -- Julí : Utopia Or Theocracy -- The Guaraní -- Art, Architecture, And Theater -- The Beaver And The Fleur-de-lis -- Maryland : A Fine, Poor Man's Country -- Retrospective. Nicholas P. Cushner. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [231]-250) And Index. "Christian evangelism was the ostensible motive for much of the early European interaction with the indigenous population of America. The religious orders of the Catholic Church were the front-line representatives of Western culture and the ones who met indigenous America face-to-face. They were also the primary agents of religious change. In this book, Nicholas Cushner provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the American missionary activities of the Jesuits. From the North American encounter with the Indians of Florida in 1565, through Mexico, New France, the Paraguay Reductions, Andean Perus, to contact with Native Americans in Maryland on the eve of the American Revolution, members of the order interacted with both native elites and colonizers. Drawing on the abundant documentation of and scholarship about these encounters, Cushner examines how the Jesuits behaved toward the indigenous population and analyzes the way in which native belief systems were replaced by Christianity. He seeks to understand how and why the initial European-Indian encounter changed not only the religion of the natives, but also their material culture, economic activity, social organization, and even their sexual behavior. Always sensitive to the influence of European 'cultural filters' on Jesuit accounts, Cushner attempts as far as possible to discover the authentic voices of the Native Americans with whom they interacted. The result is a fascinating and highly accessible introduction to the earliest colonial encounters in the Americas"--Publisher description. "Christian evangelism was the ostensible motive for much of the early European interaction with the indigenous population of America. The religious orders of the Catholic Church were the front-line representatives of Western culture and the ones who met indigenous America face-to-face. They were also the primary agents of religious change. In this book, Nicholas Cushner provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the American missionary activities of the Jesuits. From the North American encounter with the Indians of Florida in 1565, through Mexico, New France, the Paraguay Reductions, Andean Perus, to contact with Native Americans in Maryland on the eve of the American Revolution, members of the order interacted with both native elites and colonizers. Drawing on the abundant documentation of and scholarship about these encounters, Cushner examines how the Jesuits behaved toward the indigenous population and analyzes the way in which native belief systems were replaced by Christianity. He seeks to understand how and why the initial European-Indian encounter changed not only the religion of the natives, but also their material culture, economic activity, social organization, and even their sexual behavior. Always sensitive to the influence of European 'cultural filters' on Jesuit accounts, Cushner attempts as far as possible to discover the authentic voices of the Native Americans with whom they interacted. The result is a fascinating and highly accessible introduction to the earliest colonial encounters in the Americas"-- Publisher description Worlds meet Native America The European world Why they went Church and state La florida Message and response Europeans and Indians The four rivers of Sinaloa Sinaloa and Sonora The mission : organization and methods Baptism and epidemics Fair with occasional showers Attitudes : Indian and European The formality of religion Conversions : sincere or fake? "Conquest, pacification, and conversion" The uprooting of idolatry Juli :́ utopia or theocracy Xulí of the Andes Socio-religious structures Doctrina Christiana "The devil has persuaded them" Isolation and indoctrination The Guaraní Beginnings "Men of one day" Why the European came "Arma mágica" The kingdom of God on earth Tea and cattle From folkways to heresy Art, architecture, and theatre Old forms in new settings Houses of God The great estates "Palaces in the desert" Jesuit theatre The beaver and the Fleur de Lis The land between the lakes Politics, culture, and religion Message and response Legacies Go left at the Gila River Maryland : "a fine, poor man's country" St. Mary's City, 1634 Jesuits and Indians Politics and religion Farms and manors Maryland missionaries Retrospective. ISBN-13: 9780195308013 Contents 13 Abbreviations 15 Introduction 19 1. Two Worlds Meet 29 2. La Florida 47 3. The Four Rivers of Sinaloa 65 4. Conquest, Pacification, and Conversion 87 5. Julí: Utopia or Theocracy 95 6. The Guaraní 117 7. Art, Architecture, and Theater 145 8. The Beaver and the Fleur-de-Lis 165 9. Maryland: “A Fine, Poor Man’s Country” 187 10. Retrospective 207 Notes 215 Bibliography 247 Index 267 A 267 B 267 C 267 D 268 E 268 F 268 G 268 H 268 I 269 J 269 K 269 L 269 M 269 N 269 O 270 P 270 Q 270 R 270 S 270 T 270 V 271 W 271 X 271 Y 271 # Publisher: Oxford University Press,USA # Number Of Pages: 270 # Publication Date: 2006-07-27 Contents......Page 13 Abbreviations......Page 15 Introduction......Page 19 1. Two Worlds Meet......Page 29 2. La Florida......Page 47 3. The Four Rivers of Sinaloa......Page 65 4. Conquest, Pacification, and Conversion......Page 87 5. Julí: Utopia or Theocracy......Page 95 6. The Guaraní......Page 117 7. Art, Architecture, and Theater......Page 145 8. The Beaver and the Fleur-de-Lis......Page 165 9. Maryland: “A Fine, Poor Man’s Country”......Page 187 10. Retrospective......Page 207 Notes......Page 215 Bibliography......Page 247 C......Page 267 H......Page 268 N......Page 269 T......Page 270 Y......Page 271 'Why Have You Come Here?' examines how the Jesuits behaved toward the indigenous population and analyzes the way in which native belief systems were replaced by Christianity. It also seeks to understand how the European-Indian encounter changed their material culture