William Tyler
Conquistadors, the Church, and Genocide
Summary
An examination of the brutality, exploitation, and genocide associated with the conquistadors’ actions during the Age of Discovery, as well as the role of religion, particularly Catholicism, in their endeavors. Also discussed is the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) and the unequal treatment of indigenous peoples in European treaties.
William Tyler
William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
Yes, they did. Consider the indigenous tribes of North America, they did not initially have horses but soon acquired them. They became extraordinarily proficient and extremely capable horseman, which contributed to prolonging the wars in the United States.
In some ways, the Catholic church in Latin America has changed. There are two aspects of the church, there is the church hierarchy and there are the individual priests working in appalling conditions, doing incredibly good work. They aren’t practicing a pre-15th century religion. The popularity of the Catholic church is declining across the world and I think ultimately South America will end up mirroring that decline.
I’m not sure any country has come to terms with its past. But I think nations have to find a way of living together, of having a history curriculum that looks as objectively as possible at the past and learns from those lessons. Otherwise, we may be condemned to repeat them.