Module 2: This is a day late. I apparently got a bit mixed up over due dates after the outage.

Religion played an incredibly central role in the defining purpose of exploration. There was an undeniable amount of crusading involved in the European exploration of the time. In fact, both the Spanish and Portuguese put much effort in establishing a worldwide Christian empire. For hundreds of years, Christopher Columbus was viewed as a hero for his contributions and accomplishments in bringing civilization and religion to the New World.  Columbus’ contemporaries also viewed him in the same light, describing how Columbus had “added to the assembly of Christians by the remarkable feat of daring of the Genoese Christopher Columbus[1].” In fact, Columbus also shared this same view of himself. He felt as though he had been chosen by God to become the bearer of Christianity to the Americas[2]. This can be clearly seen in his signature, “Xpo FERENS,” which translates to, “Christ-bearing[3]”. It can be seen here, though the opinions of both Christopher Columbus and his contemporaries, that a great deal of importance and religious significance was felt in the arrival of their superior religion to the heathens of the New World.  

One could also argue the importance of religion during the age of exploration came from papal power. Columbus’ journey fell in the middle of a land dispute between the Spanish and Portuguese Crowns. It could be said the Spanish Crown hoped to gain favor from the Papacy by the expansion of the Catholic faith through the building of churches and the conversion of natives[4]. This argument can be supported even further by examining papal bulls from the late 1400’s, showing the effort the Papacy was going to in order to build both clergy and churches in the Spanish colonies of the New World[5].

1. Agostino Giustiniani On Columbus the Evangelist, 1516, in  Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Document 9, Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan. (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 58.

2. Bartolome de la Casas on Columbus as an Instrument of God's Will, 1527-1563, in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Document 7, Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan. (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 57.

3. Christopher Columbus in a Letter to Nicolo Oderigo, March 21, 1502 in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Document 6, Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan. (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 56.

4. Alexander VI Papal Bull "Piis Fidelium", Rome, June 25, 1493, in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Document 24, Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan. (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 145.

5. Alexander VI Papal Bull "Eximie Devotionis", Rome, November 16, 1501, in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Document 27, Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan. (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 153-154.